Increasing population has led to decrease in arable land necessitating to have alternative food sources for sustainable nutrition. Mushrooms are a good alternative.
Mushrooms are nutritious vegetables and can make a valuable contribution to human nutrition especially where the pre dominantly vegetarian population suffers malnutrition. The mushroom seed is the backbone of the mushroom industry and mushroom production can be made at different scales ie home and on commercial level. Oyster mushrooms are the mushrooms with least production technology and grown on a wide range of substrate ie grass straw, wheat straw, ground nut shells, soybean straw, sugarcane waste, sun flower seed husks and others.
Substrate preparation
Chop the straw and soak it in clean water for 3 to 4 hours. Drain out excess water after soaking and fill the straw in gunny bags. Pasteur in hot water at 80 to 90 degree celsius for 2 hours. Remove excess water from the substrate and fill the substrate with the spawns in the polythene bags simultaneously.
Close the mouth of the bags with using 1.5 inch pvc ring and non absorbent cotton. The spawns are kept in the spawn room for for 20 to 25 days for colonisation to take place. After colonisation, bags are opened for air exchange and then shifted to the cropping room.
Mushroom harvesting
The first flash appears 4 to 6 days after making the holes of fruiting while maturation to harvest may take 2 to 3 days. Total cropping cycle from seeding to harvest may take 25 to 45 days depending on the variety. You can add value to your harvested mushrooms by making a variety of products.
Precautions
Moisture content in the bag affects the yield of the crop.
Do not make holes for fruiting in the bags initially as this increases chances of contamination.
Proper temperature should be maintained and no direct on the mushrooms but maintaining humidity by hanging wet gunny bags or spreading sand on the floor and keeping it wet.
