WO2003067961A1

WO2003067961A1 - Process for mushroom cultivation and the storage device used in the method

Info

Publication number: WO2003067961A1
Application number: PCT/HU2003/000002
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ferenc MÉSZÁROS
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-02-18
Filing date: 2003-01-10
Publication date: 2003-08-21
Anticipated expiration: 2004-08-18
Also published as: AU2003202464A1

Abstract

The invention relates to processes and means of mushroom cultivation on layered nutrient substrate, comprising that the mushroom embryos on the nutrient substrate are grown into storage devices shaped as perforated packages arranged side by side on the nutrient substrate, that can be put on market, they are grown for a few days, then the mushrooms are removed from the nutrient substrate together with the trays, and they are packed, stored and shipped known per se. The storage device used in the present invention is a tray provided with perforations.

Description

Process for mushroom cultivation and the storage device used in the method

Technical field

The present invention relates to processes and means of mushroom cultivation on layered nutrient substrate.

The present invention also relates to the storage device used in the methods.

Background art

It is well-known that the production of the cultivated mushroom's substrate and/or cultivation base, and the mushroom cultivation is done on a very sophisticated level. This relates to the champignon, Pleurotus and shiitake mushrooms as well. The cultivation of other mushrooms is done at a rather small-scale level. Nowadays the mushroom-growing is done in mushroom-tents, on a number of levels, placed on shelves, and/or in mushroom-cellars in sacks that can store approximately 20 kilograms of mushrooms. After the mushroom-base - that was placed in the above mentioned way - becomes ripe, the mushroom gatherers gather the mushrooms from the base layers, they clean, and sort them out. The marketable product has various packaging.

During the large-scale production experiments were carried out for the mechanization of both the gathering of the mushroom (see Nr. P 00 02465 Hungarian patent) , and of the transportation of the mushroom (see Nr. P00 02464 Hungarian patent) .

The mushroom industry itself can be separated into three main sections: production mushroom starting materials, mushroom-growing, and marketing. Nowadays the mushroom-growing starting material marketing and/or mushroom marketing also exist. The method and/or product used by us combines the product of the manufacturer of the starting material and the mushroom-grower, which means a new product, in this case the live mushroom- culture itself with the fruit bodies.

Disclosure of invention The present invention provides a method for the mushroom-growing, and the making of a storage device for the method that can shorten the time of growing, packaging, and to ensure a more lasting, new, commercial product . The means and methods of present invention are based on the discovery that by the assistance of proper - perforated - storage devices, in which the perforations are on the bottom or in any of the side wall, the mushrooms can be grown right into the storage devices, and due to this it can be used as the package.

The growing and the ripening of the mushroom happens in the storage device. After the maturation, the ripe mushrooms are harvested with the storage devices from the nutrient substrate. In a preferred embodiment the invention provides means and methods where the mushroom embryos are grown on the nutrient substrate in perforated storage devices that can be used commercially, and after a few days of growing the storage devices will be collected with the fruit bodies in them, they will be packed, stored refrigerated, and shipped known per se.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the packing is carried out with foil. The storage device used in the present invention is a tray with perforations, where the perforations can be found on either side of the tray, and the tray has the form of a truncated pyramid. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention a thin layer of nutrient substrate has to be placed in the tray, to preserve the freshness of the mushrooms grown into the tray.

Brief description of drawings

A more detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the^' storage device is given^' the help of' the enclosed figures: • ^•

Figures la-lc. are the front-, side-, and bird's-eye view of the storage device used in the present invention, Figure 2. is one of the possible placements

the tray on the ^'nutrient substrate,

Figure 3. is another possible placement of the tray on the nutrient substrate, Figure 4. is the perspective view of more storage devices - mushroom trays - on the nutrient substrate,

Figure 5. is the storage device with the mushrooms in it, at the end of the process of present invention.

Best mode of carrying out the invention

Figures la-lc. demonstrate the storage device - hereinafter a tray - from various point of views, used in present invention, which tray preferably has the form of a truncated pyramid. Figure la. is the bird's-eye view of the tray, where the 2 perforations needed for the mushroom to grow into the 1 tray can be found on the bottom of the. tray. With the mushroom tray according to Figure lb, the perforation of the tray is on the narrower 5 side-wall, while according to Figure lc. it is on the longer 6 side- wall . Figure 2. is the 1 tray shown in the la. figure, placed in the process of the invention

When the tray is designed in that way, the 2 perforations can be found on the bottom of the 1 tray, and it gets laid in itself on 3 nutrient substrate in shelf-like tray.

Depending on the arrangement of the: 3 nutrient substrate, the lay out of the tray can change too. On Figure 3> we can see the lay outs, of the 1 txays on the 3. nutrient substrates according to figures lb. and lc. •"■•' On^'. Figure' 4. we can . see thev ^' 1^": strays' • lay-out accordin to Figure la. on the 3 nutrient substrate on 7 shelves.

Figure 5. demonstrates the „end" of present invention's process, when through the 2 perforations of the 1 tray placed on the 3 nutrient substrate a very thin layer of the 3 nutrient substrate is, and on that the. 4

' fruit ^"bodies developed.

Thereafter the tray with the 4 fruit bodies is removed from the 3 nutrient substrate, and when the tray is sealed with foil, we get live mushroom, which can be put on the market. The thin layer of the 3 nutrient substrate ensures longer keeping quality.

The great advantage of the tray used in present invention is that the fresh mushrooms placed in the tray can preserve their freshness for a much longer time than the mushrooms that were grown and packed with the original method. With the methods of present invention, the growing crop can be stored - depending on the thickness of the nutrient substrate in the tray - refrigerated at +2 - +8

°C for 2-4 weeks, because these are not "decayed" vegetables and/or mushrooms, but living plants that vegetate on this temperature. That is why it preserves its freshness for so long, as ^• . opposed to the traditionally sold fresh mushrooms that can be preserved for only 4-5, at some species 8-10 days on +2 - +8 °C. Further advantage of the present; invention that it doesn't need the exhausting manual harvesting, so a considerable amount of workforce and' expenses can .be saved.

List of reference numbers

Tray Perforation Nutrient substrate Mushroom Side-wall Side-wall Shelf Shelf

Claims

1. Method of mushroom cultivation on layered nutrient substrate, comprising that the mushroom embryos on the nutrient substrate are g own into storage devices shaped as perforated packages arranged side by side on the nutrient substrate, that can be put on market, they are grown for a few days, then the mushrooms are removed from the nutrient substrate together with the trays, and they are packed, stored and shipped known per se .

2. Method according to claim 1. comprising that the packing is done with foil.

3. Storage device according to the method of claim 1. which is a tray (1) with , perforations (2) .

4. Storage device according to claim 3. which has the perforations (2) on the bottom of the tray (1) . ,

5. Storage device according to claim 3. which has the perforations (2) on either side-walls (4,5) of the tray (1) .

6. Storage device according to any of the claims 3-

5. which tray (1) has the form of a truncated pyramid.

7. Storage device according to any of the claims 3-

6. which has a thin layer of nutrient substrate in the bottom of the tray (1) that ensures the freshness for a longer time.