. The cultivated mushroom ... Mushroom culture. [from old catalog]. 76 TECHNICAL STUDIES more prolific than the cheese mite, becoming at times so abun dant in mushroom beds as to cover the surface of the compost, and when present in such numbers is extremely destructive, feeding upon the mushrooms in all stages and penetrating the beds and destroying the mycelium. Indeed, in one case observed by Mr. August Busck, of this bu- reau, the mycelium was destroyed as fast as it grew from the spawn. This species is undoubted- ly the cause in many cases of the failure of the spawn to grow, which is lik
. The cultivated mushroom ... Mushroom culture. [from old catalog]. 76 TECHNICAL STUDIES more prolific than the cheese mite, becoming at times so abun dant in mushroom beds as to cover the surface of the compost, and when present in such numbers is extremely destructive, feeding upon the mushrooms in all stages and penetrating the beds and destroying the mycelium. Indeed, in one case observed by Mr. August Busck, of this bu- reau, the mycelium was destroyed as fast as it grew from the spawn. This species is undoubted- ly the cause in many cases of the failure of the spawn to grow, which is likely to be attributed to poor or weak spawn, or to defective cultural conditions. The minute size of the mites causes their presence to be little suspected, and the failure of the spawn to produce mycelium is not understood. Even under conditions favorable to the growth of the mycelium it is possible for the mites to increase to such an extent that the entire bed may be killed out. \ ^ Besides the injury to the Fig. 3.—The mushroom mite (Tyroglyphus myCclium, mushrOOm mitCS untncri). Highly magnified. (Prom causc damage to the fruit- ing bodies by eating into them, distorting or destroying the young growth. In the more mature mushrooms the mites may be found clustered in groups consisting of individuals of many sizes, usually hidden in the folds between the gills, where they burrow into the tissue and rapidly break down the caps. No direct observations bearing on the life history of this species have been made, but judging from that of related species it is about as follows: The eggs, which are large in proportion to the size of the mites, are laid in or about the mycelium of the mush- room, or on the young or developing caps. They hatch in a short time into the characteristic six-legged young, which rapidly mature to adults similar to the one in figure 3. The time from the de- positation of the egg to the maturity of the mite, has not, to the writer's knowledge, been accurate
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcontributorthe, bookdecade1910, bookyear1913
