Micología Aplicada International

ISSN: 1534-2581
[email protected]
Colegio de Postgraduados
México

Kurtzman, Jr., R. H.
Ventilation for mushroom cultivation: the importance of the needs of mushrooms and of the gas laws
Micología Aplicada International, vol. 22, núm. 2, julio, 2010, pp. 63-78
Colegio de Postgraduados
Puebla, México

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 Ventilation
Micologia Aplicada International
and, mushrooms
22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78
63
© 2010, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.
www.micaplint.com

Review

Ventilation for mushroom cultivation: the

importance of the needs of mushrooms and
of the gas laws

R. H. Kurtzman, Jr.

Micologia Aplicada International, 445 Vassar Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94708, U.S.A.

E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted for publication May 28, 2010

ABSTRACT

Ventilation depends on physics, chemistry and especially the biological needs of the
organism that is being provided for. The history of ventilation is about as long as the
history of man. However, unlike many other things that make us more comfortable
and the organisms we husband more productive, its application is often inadequately
considered. Often we believe that others have already considered all factors and we
need only to follow what they have done. Often we have copied more of their mistakes
than of their careful thoughts. Also, most designers of ventilation systems are not
sufficiently proficient in all three of the necessary sciences and associated technologies.
This review is an attempt to look at all of the areas and discover ways in which design
parameters for mushroom growing can be improved. Emphasis is not on how much
air is moved, but on the way nature moves it and how nature can be aided to grow
mushrooms with a minimum of air movement.

Key words: Gas densities, carbon dioxide, water vapor, HVAC, mushroom
metabolism.

Micol. Apl. Int., 22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78

64 R. H. Kurtzman, Jr.

INTRODUCTION the ideas used may or may not be useful for

mushrooms.
For most reviews it is only necessary to cite A review of publications on any subject,
publications on the subject and tell what must, in essence, be a history of the sub-
they found from their research. Sometimes, ject. The first question the author of every
several publications will disagree and then review must answer is, how far back must I
there may be need to give some discus- go? Or even better, what can we learn from
sion on why they disagree. However, heat- things done years ago. Often, we learn that
ing and ventilation are subjects that have many questions were answered long ago
been studied for more than 250 years and and have been ignored by more recent re-
have been practiced from prehistoric peri- searchers. I have decided to look for the
ods. Even primitive air conditioning has a oldest information I can find. However,
long history. Ventilation in general, but es- when possible I looked for others who had
pecially for mushrooms, involves physics, already written about the very old material.
chemistry and biology, but most modern Even while doing that, I have read and in-
physicists, chemists and biologists general- cluded writing of more than 250 years ago.
ly have little interest beyond personal com- While one can wisely doubt the accura-
fort. While the laws of chemistry and phys- cy of things found only on the internet, it
ics do not change, various organisms have is difficult to find references to many top-
different needs and those needs do change ics by searching abstract journals and other
the application and even the relative impor- more reliable sources. Many of those used
tance of some chemical and physical laws. are from institutions that are generally con-
Equally important are the effects of other sidered reliable and to have some particu-
conditions. Ventilation for other purposes lar expertize. In a few cases, the internet
may have much in common, but as we will site is simply the source of a copy of an
see, they also have many contrasting dif- original document or of a transcription of
ferences. Things that make perfect sense such a document.
for the environment of one organism may Ventilation is one of the most impor-
make no sense in ventilating for another. tant parts of the physical environment, but
Mushrooms are neither plants nor animals living things generally want the ventilat-
and their ventilation needs are unlike those ing air to be tempered. Temperature is the
of plants, animals and humans. While one primary attribute that must be regulated.
can find books on ventilation, there is very Ventilating and the process of temper-
little on the needs of mushrooms. Because ing the air is now generally referred to as
of the sparse research and the need to con- HVAC, the initial letters of the functions,
sider mushrooms more adequately, this Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning.
may be more a pedantic review than a typi- Penn State tells us that coal was first used
cal scientific review. for heating in the first century A.D., but did
Although ventilation often seems sim- not become popular for many centuries, or
ple, its many sides suggest that we must about the end of the 17th century21. Its slow
keep the requirements of mushrooms or rise to popularity is undoubtedly one of the
other organisms in mind. At the same time most fortunate facts of history. In a very
it is useful to learn about the ventilation real way, coal is the antithesis of ventila-
used for other organisms and to think why tion. Coal produces more carbon dioxide

Micol. Apl. Int., 22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78

 Ventilation and mushrooms 65

than other fuels with the exception of char- by his foot or by rocking while sitting in his
coal and more other poisons per unit of chair11 (Fig. 1). He and Prof. John Hadley
heat than any other fuel5. of Cambridge University experimented
Air conditioning is much more recent. with evaporating diethyl ether until their
According to the Penn State web site, thermometer read –14 C (+7 F)27. In a let-
Willis Carrier built the first one in 190221. ter, written in 1758 Franklin recognized
However, they seem to be referring only to that evaporative cooling had long been
gas compressor units. In the May 16, 1903, used to keep water cool in “Indostan”7.
Scientific American had an article on a de- Another type of air-conditioning has
vice using ice and salt to cool air, it was been used extensively, but in very limited
designed by Willis L. Moore, Chief, U.S. places: Artesian aquifers – water from very
Weather Bureau. The cooled air moved out deep in the ground, is often reliably very
of the bottom of the device.
While Carrier was very early to use a
compressor to air condition, some doubt of
who was first is left by a chronology at the
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating
and Air-Conditioning Engineers
(ASHRAE) web site1. Michael Faraday
invented the gas-compressor refrigeration
principal in 182410. Again, the ASHRAE
seems to disagree. Apparently the term, “air
conditioning” and an invention for cooling
air by water evaporation was the work of
Stuart Cramer of South Carolina in 1906.
Although they cite Cramer for coining the
word, the ASHRAE chronology uses the
term for many earlier installations1,10. The
use of ice to cool air was rather the inven-
tion, in 1842, of John Gorrie, a Florida phy-
sician2,13,25. It has become common to con-
sider cooling based on the evaporation of
water as evaporative coolers, but in fact, al-
most all air conditioning depends on evap-
oration. In compressor systems, a “fixed”
gas is compressed into a liquid, cooled to
about ambient, then when it evaporates it
cools its surroundings26. When it is again
compressed, the heat energy it picked up
while evaporating is concentrated and once Fig. 1. Two working models of Benjamin
again it is dissipated to the surroundings as Franklin’s fan-chair. Just tap your foot and the
it again becomes a liquid. board overhead fans you. These are part of a
Benjamin Franklin was interested in traveling exhibit of the Benjamin Franklin
keeping cool and invented a fan propelled Tercentenary.

Micol. Apl. Int., 22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78

66 R. H. Kurtzman, Jr.

cold. Such water can be pumped through aggerated in the construction of the caba-
heat exchangers with air blown over the nas in Gorongosa National Park in tropi-
exchangers. There is such an aquifer under cal Mozambique (Fig. 2). As the outdoor
the city of Minneapolis. Apparently, one of temperature cools in the evening, the air
the first to use it for air-conditioning was in the upper area is much warmer than the
the State Theater in Minneapolis19. The surrounding air, so it moves out and the
theater was completed in 1921 and had a evening air moves in quickly. Although the
255 meter deep well that provided cold wa- cabanas are also equipped with mechanical
ter. Although not recognized by ASHRAE, air-conditioning, it is generally unneeded.
it would appear to have been the first prac-
tical air conditioning in a public building.
Soon large stores and some office build- Other Industries with Useful
ings drilled their own wells. The practice Histories
continued into the 1950s, but early in the
1960s it was recognized that the practice Apparently the earliest indication of man
was depleting a valuable resource and the making provisions for ventilation were in
practice was ended. mines. Mining has a long history of need
Although the second letter of HVAC, for ventilation, so it is reasonable to look
“V”, stands for “ventilation,” when one there. Even more so, because mushrooms
looks up HVAC history on the internet, one have been cultivated in mines, caves and
finds information on heating and air con- other underground places. We are told that,
ditioning, but hardly a mention of ventila- “between 4000 and 1200 BC, European
tion. When ventilation history is searched, miners... built brushwood fires at the work-
machines for maintaining human breathing ing faces... However, those Neolithic min-
are at the top of the list; few entries deal ers could hardly have failed to observe
with building ventilation and they are scat-
tered towards the end of the list.
Travelers often learn of ancient tech-
nology: “Haeinsa on Mt. Gayasan, where
a collection of more than 80,000 wood-
blocks engraved with Buddhist scriptures
is kept in a naturally cooled and controlled
environment. The building, built in 1488,
was designed with an adjustable ventila-
tion system to prevent deterioration of the
books”4.
One simple way to cool is to use very
heavy construction with very high ceil-
ings and a good opening at the top and an-
other at the bottom. The moist hot air will
gather at the top and as it leaves, pull in Fig. 2. A cabana at Gorangoza National Park,
cooler air at the bottom. Such structures Mozambique. Walls are thick concrete the roof
made with mud and thatch are used by is true thatch and is also the ceiling. Note that the
natives in Africa, but the design was ex- peak is built to allow the hot moist air to escape.

Micol. Apl. Int., 22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78

 Ventilation and mushrooms 67

the currents of air induced by the fire”. As more gutted by fire and a number of other
early as 600 BC, Greek silver mines had at buildings were damaged. A new mill was
least two airways, serving each major area. built to replace it. Washburn’s company
There is evidence that one airway carried eventually became General Mills and they
fresh air from the surface and the other operated the new “A” mill until 1965. The
the exhaust air. Pliny (23-79 AD) told that mill suffered a number of calamities, but
slaves used palm fronds to move the air18. today it is an unusual museum called the
The history of mining ventilation is Mill City Museum. Some of the original
“full of lost discoveries and rediscover- ventilation equipment, including cyclone
ies, excitement and despair, achievement separators used to collect flour dust have
and tragedy”18. The history of ventilation been preserved, but are not used (Fig.
in mushroom houses may be too short to 3). Modern ventilation has reduced the
say the same. Yet, if we look at mushroom number and severity of flour dust explo-
house ventilation as dependent on the les- sions, but they still occur occasionally. The
sons learned in mines, the same statement reduction in those problems was in large
seems to apply. McPherson names dust, part the result of a rare occurrence for 1874
gas emissions, heat, humidity, fire, explo- and even for today; the coroners court used
sions and radiation as the hazards that ven- scientific experiments to determine that the
tilation must address18. The last three have cause was dust and the U.S. Department of
generally not been a consideration in venti- Agriculture soon propagated the informa-
lation for mushroom cultivation. However, tion to other millers6,20. Small flour explo-
fire has occurred, especially in composting, sions have been used to teach the danger
radon can be a problem that ventilation can to flour mill workers and also to entertain
handle in almost any location below grade, museum patrons (Fig. 4).
even a home cellar. We would not expect
explosive gas in mushroom growing, but
it can happen if mines or caves are used
for cultivation. Dust is another fuel for
explosions. It may be difficult to think of
spores as dust, but most domestic and out-
side dust includes spores. It may also be
difficult to think of anything of a biological
nature as being an explosive, but the dust
in flour mills has often exploded. Until late
in the 19th century flour mills were nor-
mally small, but in 1874, C. C. Washburn
built his original “A” mill with a capac-
ity of 3000 barrels of flour per day, four
years later, it exploded killing 18 workers
and scattering debris over several square
miles6,20,23. Fortunately, it happened at 7:20 Fig. 3. A cyclone separator atop Washburn/
PM after most workers had gone home. General Mills, Mill A/Mill City Museum. The
The mill was totally leveled, two neighbor- unit removed dust from the mill ventilating sys-
ing mills were completely destroyed, three tem. An important protection from explosions.

Micol. Apl. Int., 22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78

68 R. H. Kurtzman, Jr.

to regulating gases, ventilation is very im-

portant in regulating temperatures.
Medical history may also shed some
light on the broad subject of ventilation:
“The hospitals of the later Middle Ages
were grand affairs which were specifical-
ly built to be hospitals. The Hotel-Dieu in
Paris had regular nurses (nuns), only 2 peo-
ple per bed, good ventilation (for the time),
and good waste disposal. This was the epit-
ome of the medieval hospital indeed!”17.
When the black-death struck in 1354,
ventilation seemed to have played a part:
“We can take heart in some of the human
caring that was present. The nuns at Hotel-
Fig. 4. A flour dust explosion demonstration.
Dieu stayed with the sick until the staff
The top of the building had been tightly covered
was completely changed several times.
with two layers of newspaper. The actual explo-
The doctors thought a person’s gaze or the
sion blew the paper away and the flames seen
stench of the disease could transmit it, and
here follow immediately, but last only a fraction
so covered themselves with thick clothing
of a second. The building is about 40 cm tall.
and held cloth to their noses. Some wore
elaborate masks shaped like birds’ heads
which had holders for burning incense in
The author is not aware of any explo- the beaks”18.
sions in mushroom houses, but there are We do not know when the Italians first
verbal reports of spores filling growing called the deadly disease, “mal’aria,”
rooms like a heavy fog. Such conditions thinking it was from poisonous vapors,
represent poor management, a waste of but in 1740 Horace Walpole introduced
food, endangering workers’ health, and the word to English and was shortened to
probably a predisposition to explosions. malaria early in the 20th century12. Today
The numerous fires in composting areas, we know it is transmitted by mosquitoes.
have been attributed to self-heating, result- While it is not the air, as such, the mos-
ing in spontaneous combustion. They may
now be less common, because forced ven-
tilation is used in tunnel composting. Yet
we might expect an increase in the fires in
growing buildings. It is now common to
grow mushrooms in compressed blocks of
compost (Fig. 5). The Dutch and Italians
have promoted similar lightly composted
or un-composted blocks for Pleurotus.
Such blocks will self-heat and especially
if the ventilation system fails, they may Fig. 5. Spawned, Agaricus compost blocks
someday spontaneously ignite. In addition ready to be moved to growing shelves.

Micol. Apl. Int., 22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78

 Ventilation and mushrooms 69

quitoes need the air to fly from and to their Reid, M.D., wrote those words in 1858 in
victims. Maybe with tongue-in-cheek, we his classic book, Ventilation in American
should call mycophageous flies, “mush- Dwellings. That statement and many oth-
room malaria”. Screens and nets are good ers are as true today as they were in 1858.
control methods for both mosquitoes car- The book is worth reading if only to ap-
rying malaria and flies that eat mushrooms. preciate how far medicine has come since
Recently, Google has “reprinted” Reid, that day and how little ventilation practices
Ventilation in American Dwellings (1858) have improved. In 1858, they had need for
on-line and BiblioLife has published a ventilation that is now of little importance.
paper copy22. Considering that it is 150 Artificial lighting was always supplied by
years old, it expresses a great depth of fire, e.g., gas lamps, candles, etc., so ordi-
understanding and practical suggestions. nary rooms always needed ventilation to
Practical mechanical ventilating equip- remove carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide
ment was not yet available, so Reid de- and other gases produced in combustion.
scribes ways to use fire to ventilate. He is The removal of carbon dioxide from are-
very concerned with the foul air causing as where there is considerable respiration
malaria and the like. Science has allowed is just as important now as it was then.
us to find a little humor in the belief that However, if it will be formed near room
foul smelling air causes diseases, but it temperature, its immediate physical behav-
should not lessen our respect for the out- ior will be quite different from hot carbon
standing contributions to ventilation. dioxide formed by fire.
Reid did acquire considerable acclaim Ventilation needed by farm animals dif-
in his own time, he was commissioned fers somewhat from provisions needed for
to design new ventilation for the British humans and quite greatly from the needs of
Parliament. In support of his commission, mushrooms. Harms8 has written a book de-
a Dr. Birkbeck spoke to a committee of tailing the ventilation needed in buildings
the British Parliament in 1835 and stated, for housing farm animals. Farm animals are
“I have never seen a room ventilated, with often kept in open shelters when outdoor
strict reference to the whole purpose of temperatures are warm. However, in cold
ventilation ...” Then more particularly of weather it is more common to keep them
the Houses of Parliament: “The smother- in closed, unheated buildings. Their own
ing system adopted at present is terrible; I body heat is held in the building, so they
am sure, I for one, would not endure it for are more comfortable. However, without
the service of the public”9. While mush- some provision for ventilation the mois-
rooms have no feelings, their physiology ture from their respiration and evaporation
does react to atmospheric conditions and from the surfaces of their bodies, urine and
they may not endure the atmosphere in manure can easily be a problem. The prob-
some mushroom houses. lems and the solutions are discussed and
“There is another point that requires finally reduced to mathematical formulas.
much attention, and without which no ad- The book is well written with generally
justment for ventilation can be expected to clear descriptions. It seems a good source
give any satisfaction, and that is a reasona- of information to be used for mushroom
ble view of all the ventilation may and may growers, but only by those with a clear
not be expected to accomplish”22. D. B. understanding of the differences between

Micol. Apl. Int., 22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78

70 R. H. Kurtzman, Jr.

animals and mushrooms and only with a must be removed, and sooner is better. In
clear understanding of the needs of mush- his defense, if one uses sufficient ventila-
rooms. Although it contains much useful tion to take care of the problems of waste
information, both growing conditions and and moisture, carbon dioxide will be taken
the needs of mushrooms are very differ- care of.
ent. Animals produce considerable heat, Carbon dioxide is of the greatest im-
so the carbon dioxide that they produce is portance in ventilating mushroom houses.
warmer than the general temperature of the While high humidity is needed for mush-
building. As a result, the warm carbon di- rooms, it is very undesirable for animals.
oxide is close to the density of the ambient In order to maintain a constant high hu-
air. Furthermore, animals forcefully expel midity, the temperature must be closely
their respiratory carbon dioxide, causing controlled for mushrooms, but animals
turbulence, which immediately mixes it have a relatively wide comfort range. With
into ambient air. Their heat and action is the many differences, knowledge of good
unlike the passive emission of carbon di- ventilation for animals is still of value for
oxide by mushrooms. The combination mushrooms, but only for the general prin-
of breathing, body heat, the movement of cipals and equipment for moving and to a
bodies, tails and wings all provide for mix- lesser degree, controlling air temperature.
ing of the gasses. No similar mixing occurs That would include, fans, ducts (“poly-
in mushroom houses. As we will see, there tubes”), controls, heating and cooling.
are also other important differences. While Unfortunately, while he does suggest that
growing mushrooms do produce some his information is being out-dated by mod-
metabolic heat, it is generally, although ern electronics, Harms treatment of con-
not necessarily, negligible compared to the trols is at best confusing.
heat produced by farm animals. Civil and agricultural engineers like to
Apparently Harms misunderstands farm talk about slug-flow and ventilation by
animal metabolism and treats carbon di- dilution or mixing. However, physicists
oxide as of little importance in ventilating generally speak of streamline or laminar
animals. It is true that hydrogen sulfide, flow and turbulent flow. Slug-flow is the
ammonia and some other gasses from concept that a fluid (liquid or gas) can be
feces and urine are very unpleasant and moved as a coherent mass, through a pipe
can even be poisonous. Also, condensing or from one side of a room to the other. It
water can be uncomfortable and cause the assumes that conditions are such that there
building to rot. However, if those were the is no turbulence and it neglects friction. On
only needs, as he suggests, a good system the other hand, streamline or laminar flow
to remove solid and liquid wastes and con- assumes that there will be friction at the
trolled condensation with the water form- walls or other parallel stationary objects
ing on a bare metal section of roof that and that the fluid closest to the wall will
drained away from the animals would be move more slowly and that furthest from
wiser than forced ventilation during cold the stationary objects will move at the
weather. Mechanically powered methods fastest speed. It also assumes that fluid at
for removing animal wastes in dairy barns any given spot will continue to move at the
have existed for about 70 years and Harms same speed as long as the force on the fluid
describes a method for pigs. Those wastes and the resistance to flow remains constant.

Micol. Apl. Int., 22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78

 Ventilation and mushrooms 71

Turbulent, dilution and mixing are really be supplemental heating or cooling, in ad-
just different aspects of the same concept. dition to body heat. The additional heat
It is reasonable to expect a fluid to pass will generally keep the temperature above
down a smooth pipe as laminar flow and the dew point, so less condensation will
laminar flow may approach slug flow in occur. Yet it is not unusual for condensa-
large pipes or other smooth conduits with tion to occur on windows, cold walls and
little friction or other resistance. If we could ceilings. The problems of condensation in
send an even flow of air through a simple, animal barns are well handled by Harms
empty room, we might also get laminar and most apply, at least in part, to mush-
flow however, the reason we want to move room houses and buildings occupied by
the air through our room is to ventilate humans as well as those occupied by farm
the organisms occupying the room. No animals. However, unlike buildings for hu-
matter what organisms, they, their food or mans and animals, high relative humidity
substrate, objects used to hold them in place is required for mushrooms. Condensation
and possibly structural supports for the in mushroom houses, in addition to damag-
building, will cause turbulence, so laminar ing the building, may occur directly on, or
flow is not possible. Even the breath of drip on mushrooms and result in damage.
animals will cause turbulence. However, Generally it will result in a decrease in rel-
mushrooms do not move about and they ative humidity and except for condensate
do not breath forcefully. The result is that that lands on the mushrooms, it may cause
little turbulence is caused by mushrooms drying of mushrooms. Both condensed liq-
compared to animals. uid water on the mushrooms and drying
Mushroom houses have stationary ob- can be detrimental to the mushrooms. That
jects that cause turbulence. Since moving means we must have greater control over
objects, including various maintenance humidity and therefore, over temperature
and picking activities, will occupy a small in mushroom houses.
percentage of the total growing-ventilation Nature must provide ventilation for
time, turbulent mixing will be primarily in naturally occurring organisms. We are all
the immediate area of objects and particu- familiar with breathing by mammals, and
larly where they terminate, for example, most mammals need ventilation for con-
the edges of shelves and around bags. The trolling temperature, humidity and other
result of all of this is that while air turbu- aspects of comfort in addition to breathing.
lence occurs in mushroom houses, the tur- Furthermore, many organisms do not have
bulence is not generally adequate to mix the ability to move air. Mushrooms have
the air well enough to result in air that is considerable need for ventilation; yet the
the same in all parts of the room. The gas ventilation provided by nature is not im-
laws, the locations of substrate, air ingress mediately obvious to the casual observer.
and air egress all have a strong influence
on the composition of the air. However,
a few houses may have recirculating fans Mushrooms and the Factors
that make the air nearly homogeneous. of Importance to them
Assemblies of humans can cause envi-
ronments to be similar to those with farm The information above is about general
animals, however, in most cases there will ventilation, heating and cooling methods.

Micol. Apl. Int., 22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78

72 R. H. Kurtzman, Jr.

Although there are hints that mushrooms mentioned water and substrate would seem
have different needs and that methods to be less.
used by others may not be appropriate Kurtzman14 has described a number of
for mushrooms, no specific information observations. He noticed that mushrooms
is given. In order to be of value, specific seem to defy their natural needs. Fig. 6
information is required. shows mushrooms growing on slopes. Fig.
The careful observation of nature can 7 shows mushrooms growing above the
tell us many things about the needs of ground on wood substrates. Fig. 8 shows
mushrooms, as well as the needs of other them in depressions in a windy area. All
wild organisms. Such observations have of those conditions have some problems
been made and reported. Like most living in collecting and keeping water. Slopes
things all mushroom mycelia requires three have difficulty holding much substrate. All
things: water, oxygen and substrate (food). places shown in the figures, would have
For parasitic and mycorrhizal species, the plenty of oxygen. However, while water,
substrate may be a living host. It may also oxygen and substrate are required, most
be a dead tree or other large piece of wood mushrooms also must have an atmosphere
for many species. However, for many that is low in carbon dioxide. Like water
other species the substrate will be leaves, and particulate debris, carbon dioxide also
animal manure or other debris. Rain will accumulates in depressions. The gas laws
carry such debris to a depression or other tell us that carbon dioxide is denser than
low point, normally the debris will remain other common atmospheric gases. In part
and the water will seep into the earth or it states that one formula weight of gas oc-
evaporate, but the depression will remain cupies 22.4 liters at standard temperature
moist for longer than its surroundings. It and pressure. The formula weight of ni-
would seem then, that the logical place to trogen is 28, of oxygen, 32, while carbon
find mushrooms would be in depressions. dioxide is 44. Thus, carbon dioxide is 57%
Yet, mushrooms that do well on small de- more dense than nitrogen and 37.5% more
bris, parasitic and mycorrhizal species are dense than oxygen. While the gas laws are
more generally found on slopes, including based on standard temperature and pres-
hillsides and even road cuts. Such loca- sure, mushroom houses will rarely have
tions are not very conducive to substrate those conditions. At other temperatures
accumulation and will not accumulate wa- and pressures those densities are inaccu-
ter, but they may be a place where seeping rate, but since both the temperature and
water surfaces. pressure of all the gasses will be nearly
The location of wild mushrooms is of homogeneous in a given house at a given
importance to both mycologist and amateur time the relative densities will be as the gas
mushroom hunters. Knowledge of natural laws predict. Another property of gases is
habitats can usually be used by mushroom that they dissolve one another. However,
growers and mushroom cultivation scien- sugar dissolves in water (coffee, tea, etc.),
tists to optimize their growing conditions. but when sugar is put into water it settles
So, we can ask, what does their location in to the bottom; if it is not stirred, some will
nature tell us about their need for ventila- dissolve, but even most of the dissolved
tion? Certainly the quantity of oxygen var- sugar (syrup) remains in the bottom. When
ies little from depression to slope and as we drink to the bottom of our unstirred cof-

Micol. Apl. Int., 22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78

 Ventilation and mushrooms 73

Fig. 6. Mushrooms on slopes. The slope allows the carbon dioxide to flow away14.

fee cup the sugar and maybe syrup is still have the same needs as the internal cells.
there. The same is true of CO2 added to air; The internal cells are surrounded by other
it also settles to the bottom. cells containing considerable water. The
Another observation is that when the only thing we can do to provide moisture to
air is dry, mushrooms dry out more quick- the surface cells is to provide high humid-
ly than most other terrestrial organisms. ity in the air. A formal description of high
Microscopic examination tells us that un- humidity is high water vapor pressure.
like those organisms that dry more slowly, Water is a strange substance. In general
mushrooms have neither skin nor cuticle. its behavior is different from that predicted
Excluding the basidia and spores, the sur- by its chemical formula, H2O. However,
face cells are essentially the same as the in- water vapor does behave essentially as
ternal cells. If we did not know that mush- predicted. That is, the formula weight of
rooms dried easily, the microscopic exami- water is 18, so water vapor has the low-
nation would suggest that the surface cells est density of any of the common gasses in

Micol. Apl. Int., 22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78

74 R. H. Kurtzman, Jr.

Fig. 7. Mushrooms on wood in nature, the wood holds the mushrooms above the ground and allows
carbon dioxide to flow away14.

air. Nitrogen is 56% more dense than wa- hold less water vapor than warm air. Our
ter vapor and carbon dioxide is 144% more perception depends more on the ability of
dense than water vapor. Thus, water vapor the air to hold the moisture (the relative hu-
will tend to concentrate near the ceiling midity) than on the total amount of water
of our mushroom house. That fact seems vapor in the air (absolute humidity). In ad-
contrary to our observation. But we must dition, evaporation is more likely to be oc-
remember that while we see water and ice, curring from the earth, and the water vapor
we do not see water vapor. We perceive becomes diluted as it rises in dryer air.
that the air in places near the earth and es- So we want to remove the carbon diox-
pecially those below the earth are generally ide and keep the water vapor. That is at
more humid than those well above ground. once more difficult and easier than many
However, places near or below the earth understand. Unless considerable effort is
are generally cooler and cool air is able to made to stir the air, in order to remove the

Micol. Apl. Int., 22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78

 Ventilation and mushrooms 75

in mushroom yield on the lower shelves

(Fig. 9). If gravity is the only force avail-
able, there must be an exit at floor level.
In order to keep moisture in the room, it
is wise to keep the floor wet at all times.
Unfortunately, that means that the primary
source of water will be very near where
A the air is leaving the room. With gravity
ventilation, the loss of water vapor will
be relatively small because the air will not
move fast. However, with fans, the air with
water vapor from the floor will leave more
quickly, but water vapor can be added to
incoming air and it will be easier to control
the temperature. Controlled temperature is
the most important factor in controlling the
water vapor in the air.
B Yet there is a great danger in over gener-
alizing. Condensation of water is bad in al-
most any building and for all mushrooms,
but the optimal humidity varies some with
species. Once again, nature gives us good
hints. Members of the genus Agaricus in
the wild are generally found in open plac-
es. They must be able to stand some direct
sun and dry winds. Most other cultivated
C mushroom genera, e.g., Pleurotus and
Lentinula, in nature, are generally found in
Fig. 8. A: The Kayrakkum reservoir, east of forests. The forest provides considerable
Khujand, Tajikistan. B-C: Coprinus growing in protection from both wind and sun, so we
a ditch on the north edge of the reservoir. The can expect them to have a greater need for
moist wind from the reservoir blows carbon di- high humidity. Also, Agaricus is generally
oxide away, and provides the needed humidity. cultivated on a horizontal bed of compost
Pleurotus was also found, but was desiccated14. with casing, while most other mushrooms
are cultivated on vertical surfaces of fresh
substrate, often through holes cut in plas-
dense (heavy) carbon dioxide, the air must tic. Barber has pointed out that the micro-
leave the room below the lowest growing environment is very important and com-
area. With a ventilation system that uses plex in Agaricus cultivation3. He discusses
fans only to blow air into the room, the the gradients of water vapor, CO2 and heat.
exit plenum must be near the floor. The im- In general, limited heat is created by the
portance of the location of the air exit can mushrooms, but that heat added to the heat
be seen in rooms where the air is removed from the compost raises the overall tem-
far above the floor with a resulting loss perature which increases the metabolism

Micol. Apl. Int., 22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78

76 R. H. Kurtzman, Jr.

ing condensation. Increasing the temper-

ature will result is greater evaporation.
With Agaricus, moderately dry air reduces
yield, but increases quality. The problems
of heating and condensation on the mush-
rooms is less with mushrooms growing on
fresh substrate, but self-heating can cause
the mycelium in the substrate to be killed.
Water vapor from the substrate is greatly
reduced in mushrooms grown from plastic
bags. In general, the mushrooms are grow-
ing from holes that are small compared to
the mushrooms. In addition warm water
vapor is more likely to move upward away
from the mushrooms and dilute in cooler
ambient air, before it passes any mush-
rooms. The carbon dioxide, unless well
heated, will tend to fall off a bag and also
be less of a problem. It should be empha-
sized that like most mushroom diseases,
Pseudomonas blotch is spread by poor
sanitation; moisture is necessary, but only
Fig. 9. Looking down on Agaricus pins in a a contributing factor.
room with the ventilating exit air duct about Specific specifications for directing air
half-way between the floor and ceiling. Notice from a poly tube plenum have been de-
more pins are visible on the upper shelves and scribed15. It was claimed that the air must
the number decrease in lower shelves. be shot from a central plenum through jets
towards the wall at such a velocity that it
reaches the wall, but does not bounce off of
of all organisms in the area, which increas- it. It was also indicated that no air should
es the heat, which in turn increases the me- leave from the bottom of the plenum. No
tabolism so it can “spiral” out of control other configuration is discussed except a
until the heat damages the organisms, and few words about using small holes with
at worst, causes a fire. flaps attached rather than jets. The primary
When the moist substrate is hotter than reason given for no openings on the bot-
the mushrooms, the warm water vapor from tom of the plenum is that it will keep warm
the hot substrate condenses on the mush- air from rising. Yet there is no reason given
rooms and puts them at high risk to blotch for wishing that the warm air will rise and
caused by Pseudomonas tolaasii. The so- no indication of how stale air should leave
lution is to increase the velocity of air and the room. Although nothing is said in the
to reduce the humidity. Any change in air text, arrows in a drawing show that with
temperature can compound the problem. the air forced to the walls from the plenum,
Cooling the air will cool the mushrooms it will tend to return across the beds and
faster than the substrate, thus encourag- any air added from the bottom of the ple-

Micol. Apl. Int., 22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78

 Ventilation and mushrooms 77

num would tend to counter that flow across and the total yield per unit of substrate may
the beds. Since he wanted the warm air to be compromised.
go up and he describes no exit for the air, While dictionary definitions of ventila-
we must assume that he plans to remove tion vary, it is common to think of it as those
the stale air in the center of the ceiling. early miners. Reid22 and Harms8 thought
That suggests that the CO2 will gather in ventilation is a process done to remove stale
the lower part of the room. or dangerous air. Yet, the author has been
A prime purpose of ventilation, for most unable to find a single paper on ventilation,
living things, is the removal of CO2 so it for mushroom cultivation, which discusses
seems quite sensible to use measurements the mean of removal or route of stale air
of CO2 to control ventilation. Apparently, from mushroom houses. Most buildings
that was first done in 197424. Sampling leak air, so that if air is simply added, the
ports were placed on the bottom of trays excess will escape, somehow. The designs
and one infrared spectrophotometer used discussed by Reid are the only designs
for many sampling ports. Pneumatically found that consider both the way air will
operated servo dampers were used to con- enter and leave the room (Fig. 10). In all
trol air flow. The placement of the sam- cases when we ventilate a building, we as-
pling ports suggests that they wanted to sume the air in the building is not fresh and
only know the minimum CO2 concentra- the point where fresh air enters has a differ-
tion in the immediate growing area. In ent composition than much of the air in the
modern time with greater emphasis on building. The fresh air entering is every bit
conservation of energy, a multi-speed fan as likely to leak out as is the stale air, albeit
or several independently controlled fans, there may be more stale air and therefore
as suggested by Harms8, would seem more more adjacent surface for it to leak. There
appropriate than the dampers. is no point in blowing fresh air into the
An interesting experiment arranged
mushroom growing trays in a manner that
amounted to growing mushrooms in ven-
tilation plenums16. There were six “ple-
nums,” each five trays long. The production
of each tray was measured separately, but
there was no significant difference. Single
point measurements showed that the CO2
declined and the bed temperature increased
shortly before harvest. It appeared that the
mushroom caps were so crowded that they
held the CO2 and heat in the substrate. It
seems reasonable, although we could wish
for more data, to conclude that bed temper-
ature and not CO2 is the most useful guide
to ventilation requirements. It might also
suggest that higher mushroom yield per Fig. 10. A drawing from Reid, Ventilation in
unit of surface area is not the wisest goal. American dwellings. Note that he prescribed
If good ventilation is not possible, quality both the air ingress and the egress.

Micol. Apl. Int., 22(2), 2010, pp. 63-78

78 R. H. Kurtzman, Jr.

building, if the air exiting the building has 9. Harris, E. 1858. An introductory outline on the progress
of improvement in Ventilation. http://books.
the same composition. Rather we want the google.com [BiblioLife 2009, 236 pp. ISBN-
exiting air to have a composition very simi- 13: 9781103038237].
lar to the most stale air in the room or better 10. High Performance HVAC. www high-performance-
contain more of the “staling” ingredients. hvac.com
11. Important Millennium Archives. Hero history, Ben
Thus it would seem that any useful experi- Franklin. http://www.imahero.com
ments on ventilation for mushrooms must 12. Kakkilaya, B. S. 2006. http://www.malariasite.com
discuss the exit of the stale air. 13. Know Southern History. http://www.knowsouthernhis-
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14. Kurtzman, R. 2009. Mushrooms and the gas laws.
has found no discussion of how air leaves Botany & Mycology 2009 Abstracts.
mushroom growing rooms, most if not Snowbird, Utah, U.S.A.
all articles discussing tunnel compost- 15. Lomax, K. M. 2001. Air duct design for mushroom
production. Mushroom News 49(1): 4-9.
ing show air being blown in from under 16. Lomax, K. M., D. Beyer and T. Rhodes 1996. Air
the compost and exiting near the ceiling. flow effects on mushroom production. Pp.
It should be noted that all phases of com- 233-240. Ed. D. J. Royse. Proceedings of
posting are very different from mushroom the Second International Conference on
Mushroom Biology & Mushroom Products,
growing and this review is not intended to University Park, Pennsylvania.
consider composting. 17. Mayeaux, Jr., E. J. A history of western medicine and
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greater focus on what Reid told us 150 18. McPherson, M. J. 1993. A brief history of mine venti-
lation. http://web.mst.edu
years ago: “that is a reasonable view of all 19. Minnesota Historical Society. http://www.mnhs.org
the ventilation may and may not be expect- 20. Pennefeather, S. M. 2003. Mill City, a Visual History
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