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Mushroom Cultivation
Mushroom is a fleshy fruiting body of some fungi arising from a group of mycelium buried in
substratum. Most of the mushrooms belong to the Sub- Division: Basidiomycotina and a few
belong to Ascomycotina of Kingdom-Fungi.
Mushroom city of India: Solan (HP)
Classification of Mushrooms
1. Paddy straw mushroom- Volvariella spp.
2. Oyster mushroom- Pleurotusspp.
3. Button mushroom-Agaricus spp.
4. Milky mushroom- Calocybe spp.
5. Shiitake mushroom - Lentinulla spp.
6. Jew's ear mushroom - Auricularia sp.
Button Mushroom
&Cap: 3-16cm
*Commonly found growing in soil enriched with cow dung, horse dung or forest litters in
temperate climate.
Most widely cultivated mushroom in the world.
Contributes 85% of the total mushroom production in India.
Nutritional Value:
Button mushrooms contain 90-92 % water and only 8-9% dry matter.
Also contains 3.92 % protein, 1.09 % erude fibre, 1.25 % ash, 0.19 % fat and S6 mg
niacin / 100 g weight.
Spawn production
The Master culture and spawn are produced on wheat or rye grains buffered with Calcium
carbonate and Calcium sulphate.
Cultivation:
White button mushroom requires 20-28° C(Average 24 t2) for vegetative growth
(spawn run) and 12-18° C (Average - 16 to 18°c) for reproductive growth.
Relative humidity: 80-90% and enough ventilation during cropping
Season: Winter
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Average crops can be taken in a year: 5-6
Cultivation Technology
1. Spawn production
2. Compost preparation
3. Spawning
4. Spawn running
5. Casing
6. Fruiting
Spawn:
I n dictionary term" spawn" actually refers to the fingerlings of fish, but here spawn means the
vegetative mycelial network of a mushroom developed after the germination of one or
more than one fungal spore (s) grown on a convenient medium.
I t comprises of the mycelial network along with a supporting medium which provides nutrition
to the fungus for its growth and development.
Compost Preparation
The substrate on which button mushroom grows is mainly prepared from a mixture of plant
wastes (cerealstraw/ sugarcane bagasse etc.), salts (urea, superphosphate/ gypsum
etc), supplements (rice bran/ wheat bran) and water.
I n order to produce 1 [Link] mushroom, 220 g. of dry substrate materials are required.
I t is recommended that each ton of compost should contain 6.6 kg. nitrogen, 2.0 kg.
phosphate and 5.0 kg. of potassium (N:P:K-33: 10:25).
The ratio of C: N in a good substrate should be 25-30: 1 at the time of staking and 16-17: 1
in the case of final compost.
Spawning:
The process of mixing spawn with compost is called spawning.
Spawn Running:
The fungal bodies grow out from the spawn and take about two weeks (12-14 days) to
colonise.
The temperature maintained in cropping room is 23 2°C.
Higher temperature is detrimental for growth of the spawn and any temperature below than
that specified for the purpose would result in slower spawn run.
*The relative humidity should be around 90% and a higher than normal Cco2 concentration
would be beneficial. (5,000 to 10,000 ppm)
Casing:
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The compost beds after complete spawn run should be covered with a layer of soil (casing)
about 3-4 cm. thick to induce fruiting.
The casing material should be having high porosity, water holding capacity and the pH
should range between 7-7.5.
Peat moss which is considered to be the best casing material is not available in India, as
such the mixtures like garden loam soil and sand (4:1); decomposed cowdung and loam soil
(1:1) and spent compost (2-3 years old); sand and lime are commonly used.
The casing soil before application should be either pasteurized (at 66-700C for 7-8 hours),
treated with formaldehyde 26), formaldehyde (2%) and bavistin (75 ppm.) or steam
sterilized.
The treatment needs to be done at least 15 days before the material is used for casing. After
casing is done the temperature of the room is again maintained at 23-28°C and relative
humidity of 85-90% for another 8-10 days.
Low CO2 concentration is favourable for reproductive growth at this stage.
Fruiting:
Induced bylowering the temperature to 17+ 1 °C along with moisture, humidity (85-90%),
proper ventilation and CO2 concentration (0.08-0.15%).
Pest &Diseases:
The insect pests mostly observed are nematodes, Sciarids, phorids, mites and springtails.
The crop is suspect to several diseases like Dry Bubble (brown spot), Wet Bubble (White
Mould), Cobweb, Green Mould, False truffle (Truffle disease), Olive green mould, Brown
plaster mould and Bacterial blotch.
Harvesting and Yield:
*Harvesting is done at button stage and caps measuring 2.5 to 4 cm. across and closed are
ideal for the purpose.
The first crop appears about three weeks after casing.
About 10-14 kg. fresh mushrooms per 100 kg. fresh compost can be obtained in two months
crop.
*Short method used for preparation of compost under natural conditions gives more yield
(15-20 kg. per 100 kg. compost).
*Canning is the most popular method of preserving the white button mushrooms for long
duration.
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B. Pleurotus spp.: The Oyster mushroom
Cap diameter: 50-150 mm
*whitish to grey to blue grey in colour
C. Volvariella spp.: The Paddy straw mushroom
Cap 5-15 cm broad, egg shaped and expands to campanulate or convex with slight umbo.
Mushroom Poisoning
1. Gastric disorder
2. Nervous disorder
3. Muscular disorder
4. Haemolytic disorder
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