Farmers in Japan are using hammers to increase their yield of mushrooms. – Picture via Facebook
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 8 – Mushroom farmers in Japan are turning to hammers in a bid to increase production.
The method of using a hammer is spreading among growers of shiitake mushrooms at Oita Prefecture in Japan’s southwest island of Kyushu, Sora News 24 reported.
Shiitake will not grow on the ground but instead needs a tree trunk to form.
To increase yield, farmers spray logs with water about two weeks before mushrooms start to fruit and use a hammer to knock on the log.
The method of using a hammer to increase yields has been confirmed by the Oita Prefectural Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Guidance Centre.
The centre had in January conducted an experiment to compare the effects of hitting a log with a hammer and found that wood that had been hammered produced more than double shiitake.
It recommends farmers to strike the log five times on each side, adding that the most effective striking spot is on the bark of the log, away from its flat-cut edges.
Researchers are not sure why violence is the answer, except that subjecting the wood to vibrations somehow enhances shiitake formation on the log, and that hammering applies necessary reverberations.
The centre hopes that greater adoption of the technique will lead to greater productivity for existing shiitake farmers and encourage newcomers to the profession.