This document discusses disease and pest management in mushroom production. It outlines several common fungal, bacterial, and viral diseases that affect mushrooms such as soft mildew, dry bubble disease, wet bubble disease, inky cap, and bacterial blotch. It also discusses common insect pests like sciarid flies, phorid flies, springtails, and mites. It provides details on the symptoms and management of many of these diseases and pests, emphasizing sanitation, proper pasteurization, and use of chemical treatments when needed. Plant-derived products from neem trees may also help control some pests and diseases. Strict hygiene is important to prevent introduction and spread of issues in mushroom farms.

1. Disease and pest management
in Mushroom production
Name: Altafur Rahman (UCSSMF), Shahid Jamal (GDWKUX)
Department of vegetable and Mushroom growing, SZIE

2. INTRODUCTION
• Mushroom are mainly subjected to bacterial , fungal and viral
diseases.
• Improper pasteurization of compost and casing soil can be the
major source of diseases
• Once the disease is introduced in the farm it can
be carried out by different agencies like air, water,
machines and workers.

3. Diseases and Pests of Mushroom
Fungal diseases
Soft mildew/cobweb
Brown plaster mould
White plaster mould
Olive green mould
Inky cap
Green mould
Truffle disease
Bubble disease
Bacterial disease
Bacterial blotch
Wet Spot/Sour Rot
Virus diseases
la france
Brown disease and
watery stripe
X disease
Dieback disease
Insect pests
Sciarids
Phorids
Spring tails
Cecid
Mites
Nematodes
Myceliophagous
nematodes
Saprophago
us
nematodes

4. Fungal diseases
Soft mildew or cobweb –
C. 0. :- Dactylium dendroides
Symptoms:-
• a fluffy, white, cobweb-like mould
• grows over the surface of the casing soil .
• Initially it is white but later changes to pink with age.
• The chief sources of infection are soil, air
wet surface and high humidity.
Control:-
• good ventilation and prevent excess humidity
• PCNB (Pentachloro Nitro Benzene) @ 0.1% and dithane Z-78 @
0.2%

5. Fungal diseases dry bubble:
Verticillium fungicola
Symptoms
• Muddy brown, often sunken spots on the cap of the
mushrooms
• Greyish white moldy growth seen on pileus
• Later stage mushroom becomes dry and leathery
Management of dry bubble
• Pick and destroy infected mushroom to prevent spread
• Sanitary conditions in growth house.
• Dithane Z-78 @ 0.2% 3 times at casing.
• Control of high tempertaure at casing and proper ventilation .

6. Wet bubble:
Mycogone perniciosa: –
• Malformed mushrooms with swollen stipes
• Reduced or deformed caps
• Undifferentiated tissue becomes necrotic and a wet, soft rot emit
bad odor
• Mushrooms become brown in color
Bubbles may be as large as a grapefruit
Control : –
• Sanitation in growth house
• Clean environment around cultivation
Area
• Incorporating Benzimidazole 150 mg/l. in the
casing.
• Benomyl at the rate of 0.95 g/m2
• Carbendazim and Thiabendazole at the rate of
0.62 g/m2

7. Inky cap :-
C.O. :- Coprinus lagopus and C. comatus
Symptoms:-
Appearance of long cylindrical stalk with small thin cap
and turns into black inky liquid Its presence Indicates the
presence of ammonia in compost.
Control :-
Trays of compost should be freed from ammonia
Re-pasteurization of spawn trays at 60 C for 2 hrs and respawned and
recased.

8. Brown plaster mould
C.O. Papulospora byssina
Symptoms:-
• Occurs on the cropping trees ,initially cloudy white
appearance later changes to brown.
• Originally fungus rises in compost.
• too wet compost , high temp.(28-32) c during spawn run
and cropping at more than 18 C encourages Infection.
Control:-
Maintain suitable temp. during the spawn run and cropping
2% of formalin

9. Bacterial disease:- Bacterial blotch
.O. :- Pseudomonas tolaassi
Symptoms :-
Appearance of brown slightly sunken blotches on the mushroom cap
Spots are irregular , yellowish to dark brown.
Main source of infection is infection soil and separate through flies ,
mites and nematodes
Pale yellow spots on the surface of the piles later
it turns to yellow
Control :-
Casing soil sterilization and proper ventilation . Use of chlorinated
water.
Spray of terramycin @ 9mg/f on beds
Watering with a 150 ppm chlorine solution (calcium
hypochlorite products are used since sodium hypochlorite
products may burn caps).

10. Wet Spot/Sour Rot
C.O. Bacillus spp.
• heat resistant endospores .
• A dull gray to mucus-like brownish
slime characterized
Management
• Soaking the grain at room temperature
12 - 24 hours prior to sterilization

11. VIRAL DISEASES:
Various diseases like:
• la France (Sinden hauser,1950)
• Brown disease and watery stripe (gandy ,1960)
• X disease(kneebone et al., 1962)
• Dieback disease(gandy and hollings ,1962)
Control:-
• ZAAYEN 1972 suggested:-
• Heat the growing room +trays and compost at 70 C for 12 hrs.
• Treating trays with 4% sodium pentachlorophenate, 0.5-1
% soda solution
• Disinfection doors, floors and walls -4% formaldehyde.
• Proper sanitation.

12. Major insect pest and diseases of mushrooms and their
management:
• Mushrooms are also attacked by insects and pests.
• Spring tails, phorids flies , sciarid flies, mites, Nematodes.
• They lay eggs and larvae feeds on compost, eat away the mycelim of mushroom
Sciarid fly:- Lycorella fenestralis , Scaria carpophilla
• Dark in colour, cylinder bodies, with long antennae.
• Larvae is more harmful than adult, and feed on compost.
Control :-
• Strict hygiene in the mushroom house .
• Proper turnings during composting process
• Drenching of malathion @0.01% ,chlorofenvinphos @ 208 ml/tonne
Spring tails; Megamedia nigra,M. Agrici ,M. bovistra.
• Cannot be seen by naked eyes When they are in mass, they looks like gun powder
Controle:-
• Clean cultivation, proper pasteurization of compost and casing materials
• Use of 0.05 % malathion as spray for disinfection.

13. Phorid fly :-
• These cause much damage to mycelium and
sometimes make tunnels.
• Their front end is tapered
Control:-
• Strict hygiene in the mushroom house . Proper
turnings during composting process.
Mites :-
• Mycophagous mites:-
• Saprophagous mites:
Control:-
• Cleaning the mushroom house and disposal of
organic debris.
• Disinfect the mushroom house by spray of
dicofol @ 0.1%.

14. MUSHROOM NEMATODES:
Two types of nematodes:
• Myelinophagous nematodes
• Saprophagous nematodes
Sources of infestation:
Compost ingredients like wheat straw, chicken manure, horse manure, saw dust,
wooden trays, shelves and other containers etc.; can be the primary source of infestation.
Symptoms of nematode infestation:
• The compost surface sinks
• Mycelium grows sparsely in patches and turns stingy
• The white mycelium starts disappearing from the infected mushroom compost leaving only
the coarse strands showing black compost mass .

15. :Controle
• Complete hygiene
• Proper pasteurization of compost and casing materials
• Growing resistant mushroom varieties like Agaricus bitorquis , Pleurotus sajorcaju,
Stropharia rugoso- annulata etc.
• Nematode trapping fungi like Arthrobotrys oligospora , A. superba , A. robusta
• several species of Pleurotus can be used as bio- control agents against mushroom
nematodes .

16. PESTS AND DISEASES MANAGED WITH PLANT-DERIVED PRODUCTS
• Allelochemicals/bioactive constituents are found in the tropics but have not been
exploited in preventive or curative measures against pests and diseases.
• In general, neem (Azadirachta Indica A. Juss.) has been extensively studied in agricultural
crops. Neem products contain limonoids, terpenoids, flavonoids, and alkaloids;
azadirachtin (AZ) is a major bioactive isomer (Gahukar, 1995).
• These constituents may act as oviposition deterrents, sterilant, antifeedants, growth
regulators, or contact toxins/poisons against insects and mites.
• With neem products, penetration by nematodes in fruiting bodies and development of
juveniles can be restricted

17. Floor of the mushroom house should be kept free of organic debris.
• Cleaning of surroundings and inside of the mushroom house along
with disposal of spent substrate is must.
• Such debris should be put in the manure pit and covered with atleast 10
cm thick layer of manure. Maintenance of farm and surroundings in a
hygienic way is a very important.
• Equipment's used for spawning and floor and walls must be washed and
disinfected.
• The substrate (paddy straw) should be fresh and protected from rain.
• Pasteurization should before optimum duration at right temperature
• Spawn should be fresh and free from all the contaminants.

18. References:
• R. T. Gahukar (2014) Mushroom Pest and Disease Management Using Plant-Derived Products
in the Tropics: A Review, International Journal of Vegetable Science, 20:1, 78-
88, DOI: 10.1080/19315260.2012.732204
• Raypuriya, N., Singh, Y., Wasnikar, A.R. and Prajapati, S. (2018). Insect pest and disease
management in mushroom. Volume 13. Issue 2
• U Singh, A. and Sharma, K. (2016). Pests of Mushroom. Advances in Crop Science and
Technology, 04(02)
• POPENOE, C.H. (1917). MUSHROOM PESTS AND HOW TO CONTROL THEM.
• https://plantvillage.psu.edu/topics/mushrooms/infos