Hello Friends!
This brief article is to shed some light on the contam known as "Cobweb Mold". I am here to say that I am by no means an expert on the topic, however, I do believe that I recently had a small out break of Cobweb, and have successfully over-came the potential contam.
What is cobweb mold? Dactylium Mildew aka Cobweb Mold is a contam which looks like a white cobweb. Appearing on the casing layer as small and white spots, the «cobweb» grows very fast all over the casing surface, colonizing all mushrooms on its way. The diseased mushrooms become covered with white and fluffy mold mycelium, weaken, become brown and rot. The mycelium threads of the mold gradually thicken, becoming a think layer of mold. In time, it becomes reddish-purple in color, and can change to yellow on the later stages of development. During spore-forming, the spore dust is easily spread by wind, or watering the beds. Moreover, Dactylium is easily spread by pieces of mycelium, which stick to personnel’s clothes and implements. (http://en.agaricus.ru/cultivation/diseases/dactylium)
How did I spot my case of Cobweb? I will state that I feel very lucky to even be writing this post. I feel a huge reason why I feel that my case of cobweb has been able to be treated was because of noticing the signs at an EARLY STAGE of growth. The earlier you can diagnose cobweb, the more likely you will be able to treat it. - Several days after the first wave of pins started, I began to notice a thin white, frosty coating on top of all my pins. Initially, I didn't think much of it because the pins were still growing. However, I began to notice that the pins weren't quite moving along as fast as they should be. Some even started to look like the were going to abort early. This was my first warning sign. This would have been my 15th monotub or so that I have done in my life and I could never recall seeing such a noticeable white film on the pins before. After doing some research, It seems to look like it was a sign of Cobweb Mold. I noticed very obvious signs that cobweb was also developing in my tubs that were not fully colonized yet. [whispy cobweb looking shit that clearly looked different compared to the hearty, snow-white mycelium]
Why does Cobweb form? The most simple way to put it is that Cobweb loves hot/stale air. If you notice a case of cobweb developing you are most likely not getting enough FAE. This was definitely part of my problem. However, I believe the direct origin to the mold itself started in a bucket of old seeds I had soaking in a corner of the room. I had rinsed a new batch of seed less than a week before and had forgot to discard the black seed which I had removed. When I finally emptied the seed, only several days later, I noticed a big patch of Cobweb sitting on top of those pesky black seeds. So my theory is that those black seeds in WBS mix may be prone to harbor contams such as Dactylium Mildew.
SOLUTIONS!!! Now that we know a little more about what Cobweb mold is and where it comes from, we can now dive into some solutions that I will credit to helping me over-come this situation.
1. Identify Cobweb as soon as possible. This includes keeping a keep eye for whispy cobweb looking shit anywhere on your casing layer (if you choose to case your montubs, ect) - also keep in mind it may try to live on the actual caps on your pins, resulting in slower/stunted growth.
2. Increase Fresh Air Exchange Immediately. Dactylium does not appreciate air flow. It likes stale-air. However, note that if you increase airflow in your fruiting set-up, you will need to consider misting a little more often to assure your sub doesn't dry out.
3. Find and Remove the Possible Source of the Mold. In my case, this was that bucket of seeds which was harboring the source of the contam. Sometimes we forget about little things like that that may be the source of the problem. I would imagine that the problem would have consisted more if I did not remove the source.
4. Wipe that film/frosting/cobweb off the caps of any pins or uncolonized substrate. Finally, you will probably need to sit down and remove anything that looks like cobweb from your tub. If you catch it early enough, this hopefully will not be much. To clean the frosting off the caps, I recommend spraying some water on a paper towel and just wiping them off. This may take some time, but it will be certainly worth it in the end to ensure your precious babies have the best chance of a happy, healthy life while they are fruiting. [I spent about 20 minutes on each of my tubs to make sure there was no trace on the cobweb]
Final Note - Alot of information I read recommended using hydrogen peroxide, I will confirm that I have tried this technique before and did NOT find it to be very successful. You're more than welcome to try it, but I do not think that is by any means a quick fix to this problem. If you're experiencing cobweb- you should take a good look at your fruiting conditions and try to figure out what i s causing it before resorting to spraying a foriegn ingredient in your fruiting area. That's just my opinion.
Nobody has lost a project to cobweb mold who has made searches here to find the cure.
RR
I hope this article will help someone who may be feeling frustrated by cobweb.
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