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Follow the links below to find material targeted to the unit's elements, performance criteria, required skills and knowledge

Elements and Performance Criteria

  1. Manage casing application
  2. Control environment during casing colonisation growth phase
  3. Initiate fruit body formation and manage pinning and pre-picking growth phases
  4. Assess crop maturity, flush development and quality, and monitor the harvesting process

Range Statement


Performance Evidence

The candidate must be assessed on their ability to integrate and apply the performance requirements of this unit in a workplace setting. Performance must be demonstrated consistently over time and in a suitable range of contexts.

The candidate must provide evidence that they can:

develop work schedules

maintain environment within parameters for production

monitor and manage growing room conditions, watering and flush development of mushroom crops

identify stages of growth and development, and factors impacting on yields and mushroom quality

identify the interdependency of stages of growth and impact of early stages of production cycle on production results


Knowledge Evidence

The candidate must demonstrate knowledge of:

principles and practices of mushroom crop development

available options of additives to irrigation water to promote mushroom quality and the main considerations of their use

basic understanding of air conditioning principles, particularly relative humidity

casing function, application and depth and surface structure requirements

desirable physical, biological and chemical characteristics of casing

farm standards and procedures, including those relating to OHS, food safety, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), quality systems, emergency procedures, organisational structure and workplace communication channels and protocols

goals and sub-stages of Phase II substrate preparation and impact of Phase II on yields and quality

growth phases of a mushroom crop and interactions that occur between the compost, casing, environmental factors (such as temperature, water, relative humidity and carbon dioxide) and growth of the mushroom

how nature of casing and the appearance and quantity of mycelium growth in casing affect the number, distribution and quality of fruit bodies formed

impact of mushroom numbers and size on picking and quality

industry and workplace awards and conditions

management impacts of supplementing at spawning or casing

management requirements of casing - Compost Added at Casing (CAC) and/or Casing Inoculums (CI)

OHS and environmental legislation, industry codes of practice and enterprise procedures

overview of Phase I substrate production and its impact on yields and quality

site quarantine protocols