Spawn

Oyster mushrooms are grown from mycelium (threadlike filaments that become interwoven) propagated on a base of steam-sterilized cereal grain (usually rye or millet). This cereal grain/mycelium mixture is called spawn and is used to seed mushroom substrate. Most spawn is made with mycelium from a stored culture, rather than mycelium whose parent was a spore. This is because spores are likely to yield a new strain and performance would be unpredictable. Spawn-making is a rather complex task and not feasible for the common mushroom grower. Spawn of various oyster mushroom species may be purchased from commercial spawn makers who usually provide instructions for its use. Spawn frequently is shipped from the manufacturer to growers in the same aseptic containers used for spawn production. Inoculum for spawn production is frequently produced in polyethylene bags containing a microporous breather strip for gas exchange. Most commercial spawn production companies produce spawn only from inoculum that has met strict quality control standards. These standards include verification of inoculum production performance before it is used to produce spawn and insurance of the spawn’s biological purity and vigor.

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