Application of two-lever baglog pressing machine technology to improve the production of oyster mushroom cultivation

Abstract

The baglog pressing process in the Ngadi Oyster Mushroom Cultivation Community Group in Gunungronggo Village is still done manually, by compressing the media in a plastic bag with a bottle or plastic pipe several times until it is solid. This work requires quite a lot of labor and a long time. The level of success of this process really depends onthe skills and accuracy of the workers. The results of compacting the media in this way are sometimes unsatisfactory, because there are still air spaces in the media, so oyster mushrooms cannot grow. Problems that can be identified in SMEs are the division of labor duties for the printing and steaming processes, as well as the lack of experienced workers who can compact baglog properly. So it is necessary to apply a two-lever baglog pressing machine which aims to increase production capacity. The results of the activity show an increase in baglog production capacity, from 60 baglog/day with 2 workers to 300 baglog/day with a baglog press machine, with a printing process time of 5 hours/day. Production increased 500% compared to before using the tool. This capacity meets the needs for the steaming process, where the steamer capacity owned by SMEs is 215 baglogs/process/day