The used terminology and some rules of mushroom harvesting

Break
A massive ripening of mushrooms within 3-4 days

Size
The size of mushrooms. A harvesting technologist or a foreman assigns the pickers to harvest mushrooms of specific size. For example, the assignment «harvesting of mushrooms more than 4 cm in size» means that mushrooms with a diameter of 4 and less cm should remain on the beds.
Perhaps at first, the pickers would require formers or dimensional rings.

Formers
Formers and dimensional rings of different diameters are needed in order to learn to determine the size of mushrooms correctly and put them in the right box.

Growth tightness
Or the distance between the mushrooms. Leave the mushrooms on beds so they don’t touch each other. Thinning is carried out in order to insure better mushroom growth.

Ripe mushrooms
These are the mushrooms with stretched veil under their caps which is ready to open and free the spores. They’re softer to the touch than hard and thick mushrooms that are not ripe enough. Ripe mushrooms have to be harvested always, even if you’re not reminded of that. When possible, hard mushrooms have to be left on the bed until they ripen.

Long stipes
Mushrooms with long, thin stipes generally open first. Unripe, hard mushrooms with a thick cap and a long but a thick stipe are left on the beds.

The last harvest (of one of the breaks)
This kind of harvest is usually carried out in the end of a break. Mushrooms with long stipes and with a diameter up to 2 cm (be careful not to touch the bed and damage new pins).

Harvesting before a new break
Here, all mushrooms must be harvested with the exception of the following break’s pins.

Cleaning the bed
Absolutely all mushrooms are harvested including the smallest ones, and also the remains of the stipes and diseased and dead mushrooms.

Single mushrooms
Mushrooms that have to be harvested before the others. These mushrooms appear on the beds before other mushrooms do. They’re often called «precursors».

Standard (standard mushrooms)
Mushrooms of good quality; white, dry, clean, with practically no particles of peat on their caps, and no mechanical damage or any trace of diseases. The quality of mushrooms can worsen because of mechanical damage of caps while the mushrooms are harvested. Damage can happen when the mushrooms are thrown into the boxes, or squeezed tightly, and moreover, traces of long nails might be left on the caps. The boxes mustn’t be shaken or overfilled and mushrooms mustn’t be poured from box to box. Please, harvest the mushrooms carefully. The damages might go unnoticed in the day of harvesting but they’ll show after a while. Pay attention to the condition of mushrooms in the markets.

Small mushrooms (fines)
Mushrooms with the diameter less than 4 cm, fully closed. Small mushrooms are divided into two sizes: 2-3 cm (buttons) and 3-4 cm (buds).

Medium sized mushrooms (caps)
Mushrooms with the diameter of 4-5 cm and 5-6 cm, fully closed. They are laid in boxes their caps up. Mushrooms with stretched veil, but that are still closed are considered among large caps.

Large mushrooms (large caps)
Mushrooms with the diameter of 6 cm and more, fully closed. They are laid in boxes caps up. These mushrooms are divided into two sizes: 6-8 cm and more than 8 cm.

Non-standard mushrooms
Mushrooms with torn veil. They are laid in boxes their caps up. They are divided into three sizes: small, large and giant.