Mushroom cultivation

Introduction

�The plant kingdom shows presence of distinct diversity of non-vascular and vascular plant species.

At present about 3,40,000 plant species have been identified and named, but still a large number of plant species are not discovered and identified. ��The plants serve as a source of food, clothing and shelter for mankind from prehistoric period.

A large number of plants are now formed the base of industrial expansion in the era of globalization.

The plants have served as a raw material for production food, fodder, industrial chemicals, antibiotics, vaccines, medicines, enzymes, dairy productions, biofertilizers as well as biopesticides and so on.��A large number of micro-organisms particularly bacteria, blue-green algae (BGA) and fungi are found useful as well as harmful to mankind.

The microbes including fungi are useful for production of single-cell proteins, protein- rich food, fermentation products, enzymes, many medicines etc. beneficial to mankind.

• Mushrooms cultivation

Mushrooms are a group of fungi, included in the plant kingdom.

The mushroom is a fungus that grows saprophytically on dead organic matter.

Some mushrooms may be parasitic, drawing their nutrition from living matter.

Mushrooms are fleshy, macroscopic, umbrella shaped structures with a definite fruiting body. They belongs to Basidiomycetes class of fungi.

They have primary mycelium is short lived and soon produces secondary dikaryotic mycelium.

It later produces hyphae and fruiting body basidiocarp with basid- iospores. In nature we find different sizes and colours of the mushrooms especially in the rainy season at grassy places as well as in humus rich organic soils.

There are more than 1000 species of edible mushrooms have been reported from all over the world.

Purkayastha and Chandra (1976) has listed more than 139 species of the edible mushrooms in India.

Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms:

There are large number of species of the mushrooms growing wild in nature.

Some mushrooms are edible while some forms are highly poisonous. So, before using any mushroom as a food, expert's opinion should be taken.�The edible are Agaricus bisporous, Agaricus campestris, Lepiota procera, Lepiota rhacodes, Pleurotus ervngil, Morchella spp., Tricholoma personated, Volvariella spp., Pleurotus sajor-caju, Marasmium spp., Cortinellus berkelyanus etc. forms are used as food in many parts of the world.�The poisonous mushrooms are Amanita phalloides, Amanita muscaria, Boletus spp., Armillariella mellea, Stropharia aseruginosa, Russula spp., Lactarius spp.etc. The poisoning principle may be toxalbumins, muscarin etc. which can cause brain disorder or even death. Some poisonous mushrooms may cause allergic or toxic reactions.

History of Mushroom Cultivation�The consumption of edible fungi as food and drugs is closely related to the history of mankind. The Aztecs used mushrooms for divination and called them 'God's Flesh’.

The occurrence and utilization of mushrooms are found in classical religious writings of the Babylonians, Greeks and Romans.

In India, Charak Sumhita period dating back 3000 BC, has records of classification of mushrooms into three categories.

In China and Japan, oriental mushrooms Lentinus edodes and Volvariella volvacea have been cultivated for 2000 years.�The authentic records are available only for Agaricus bisporus (button mushroom), whose cultivation was introduced into Paris (France) around AD 700 by an unknown French horticulturist in the open.

Around 1754 mushroom growing as a garden crop and greenhouse cultivation was started in England, Sweden and some other European countries.

Mushroom cultivation was introduced into United States in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Later on due to mechanization in the technology of mushrooms cultivation it has grown up as an industry.

In India, Bose (1921) has successfully cultured Agaricus species on sterilized dung.

Su and Seta (1940) described the procedure for spawn production and cultivation of Volvariella.

In India, scientific work on paddy straw mushroom (Volvariella sp.) was first started at College of Agriculture, Coimbtore, Tamilnadu.

Later on in 1961, commercial growing of the mushrooms was started under the scheme, "Development of Mushroom Cultivation", at Solan in Himachal Pradesh by State Government and Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), New Delhi.

The other mushroom which was succeeded and shown its commercial potential is Pleurotus sajor-caju.

The technology for its cultivation has been developed at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.

• Types Suitable for Cultivation of Mushrooms
• In India, at present 3 mushrooms are cultivated on commercial scale.
• These are 1) The white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), 2)The paddy- straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea) 3)The oyster mushroom (Pleurotus sajor-caju).

Agaricus bisporus is the most popular and eco- nomically sound to grow in cooler climate of Northern India.

In summer, the tropical paddy straw mushroom is suitable for growing in most parts of India.

Oyster mushroom can grow at moderate temperature ranging from 22°C to 28°C.

Therefore, it is suitable for most of the places in India. The year-wise production schedule for mushroom is as follows-��1. Mid November to mid March - Agaricus bisporus.��2. February to mid April - Pleurotus sajor-caju.��3. Mid June to mid September - Volvariella volvacea.

4. September to November - Pleurotus sajor-caju.

Pleurotus species locally known as 'dhingri' are easy to grow in tropical and sub-tropical climate.

Pleurotus species are characterised by rapidly developing mycelium and having ability to directly breakdown cellulose and lignin bearing materials without fermentation. There are following well-known species used for cultivation of Pleurotus,

1. Pleurotus ostreatus - A well known species in which fructification in nature takes place in autumn and winter below temperature 16°C.��2. Pleurotus florida - It was isolated in Florida, USA by Block et. al (1958). It grows at relatively high temperatures.��3. Pleurotus eryngii- It naturally occurs in Europe, Central Asia and North Africa. Its pleasent aroma and culinary qualities make it the most desirable species for cultivation and utilization.��4. Pleurotus cystidiosus - This is the summer Oyster in Taiwan, cultivated during summer season. It has strong flavour. 5. Pleurotus flabellatus - It has yellow colour and in nature it grows on woods of Quercus, Ulmus, Fagus and other trees.��6. Pleurotus Sajor-caju In India, this species was collected from nature by Jandik and Kapoor (1976). It was brought in pure culture and it is recognised as an excellent mushroom for cultivation due to its flavour and texture. It is commercially cultivated in many countries of South-East Asia.

Morphology of Pleurotus sajor-caju (Oyster Mushrooms)��This mushroom is soft and white in hot condition and greyish in cold weather.

The stipe is usually short and pileus is fan like. The gills are long, medium, short. It produces four basidiospores at the tip of the basidium.��This mushroom produces large number of spores which are dispersed by wind.

They germinate on suitable substrate to produce 1 nucleated pri- mary mycelium.

It is dikaryotic in nature. The secondary mycelium de- velops rapidly to produce full grown fruiting body

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Nutritional and Environmental Requirements of Pleurotus sajor- caju

�Pleurotus sajor-caju grows on lignin-cellulosic material like straw, corn cobs, paper, saw dust, vegetable wastes etc.

The mycelium growth can be stimulated by adding protein-rich matter, soya flour, wheat or rice barn and sodium or calcium nitrate.��The optimum temperature for mycelium growth is 25°C and for fruiting body development is 22-26°C.

High concentration of CO2 stimulates fast mycelium growth.

The optimum pH of the substrate should be in between 5.5 to 6.5.

Light is essential for fruiting body development.

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Cultivation Practices for Pleurotus sajor-caju��Pleurotus sajor-caju mushroom is grown indoors, in available room basement, garage or even an abandoned shed with adequate light and proper ventilation.

The cultivation practices involves following steps. These steps should be followed with great care to ensure good quality yield.��

Pleurotus sajor-caju

Dhingri Mushroom

1. Spawn Production: The propogating material used by the mushroom growers for planting beds is called spawn. The spawn is merely mycelium of selected strain. It can be obtained from a Recognised Laboratory or Research Institutes.��For Pleurotus Sajor-caju mushroom spawn is prepared usually on wheat or jowar grains.

The grains are soaked in water overnight and boiled them to become soft.

The soft grains are spread over cheese cloth and 2% calcium carbonate is mixed in these soft grains.

These grains are filled in empty milk bottles or heat resistant polypropylene bags.

They are properly plugged with cotton plug and opening is covered with plug of paper piece tied in rubber band.��These bags are sterilized in autoclave at 121°C.

Then spawn obtained from laboratory is inoculated under aseptic conditions.

The bags or bottles are incubated in a room at 25°C temperature.

The mycelium penetrates the grains within 10-12 days to produce proper spawn mass.

It should be readily used for inoculation.

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2. Substrate/Compost :

The substrate on which mushrom grow is called compost.

The substrate/compost includes farm waste like cereal, straw corn-cobs, bagasse, banana leaves, leaf-litter of various kinds, waste paper, cotton-waste etc.

Paddy straw chopped into smaller pieces is the most commonly used material for this mushroom.

The paddy straw is soaked in boiling water for 2 hours gives best results.

In this compost or substrate many organic as well as inorganic fertilizers are also added.

All the ingredients of compost are mixed well on a pucca or cement platform to ensure good quality mushroom compost.

Composting may be done in open space or inside a room.

Compost is prepared by long-term or short-term method, to prepare well decomposed heap.

This is done by giving turning with frequent watering. The standard formula for compost is as follows.

3. Growing Site: Pleurotus spp. are usually grown indoors and any ventilated room. In humid climate the houses made up of bamboos, thatch and mud-plaster are recommonded. The floor of such house should be of cement. The roof is made up of thatch layer with essential false ceiling. Ventilation shafts are made in the room. Inside the room shelves are provided with 3 tiers with sufficient space from walls.��4. Pasteurization: The compost is pasteurized at 45°C for 24 hours and trays are filled uniformly. While filling trays with compost, spawn is mixed layer by layer. The temperature is maintained at 22-28°C. The mycelium starts growing within 6-7 days and impregnates entire compost in 15-21 days. Now the trays are ready for casing.��5. Spawning: The spawn (selected mycelium) obtained from laboratory or produced is mixed with the prepared substrate or compost @ 2-5% of the wet substrate weight. The spawn spreading should be done carefully under aseptic conditions to ensure good yield.

6. Filling: We can cultivate mushroom in trays or polythene bags. The trays and bags should be perforated by cutting holes to permit ventilation within the substrate. The bags as well as trays are stacked in shelves.�Similarly, another popular method of making blocks of convenient size by using mould is recommonded. During this process a care should be taken that temperature inside should not exceed 30°C.

7. The Crop: The packed bags or blocks are incubated in a well ventilated room. The temperature of 25°C is constantly maintained in the room. The humidity of spawn should be about 80-85%. The mycelium penetrates the substrate completely within 12-14 days; forming a compact block of substrate. The covering is removed and blocks are arranged on shelves. The humidity is maintained by sprinkling water on the floor and walls. The spawn-non blocks of substrate can be covered by gunny-cloth. Light is essential for fruiting initation. The smaller pin-head mushrooms will appear within 2 weeks. Later on full bodies are developed. It is the first crop. Later on 2 and 3 crop yield can be obtained at the gap of 7-10 days and 20-25 days respectively.��8. Harvesting: The harvesting is done when cap is fold having diameter of 8-10 cm. The picking is done carefully by twisting the mushroom gently. The base of stipe is cut by using a sharp knief. Now, the mushrooms are ready to sale in market.�

• Thus, the cultivate Pleurotus sajor-caju mushroom by using limited resources and can earn good money.��Advantages of Growing Pleurotus sajor-caju

1. It can be grown on most of the cellulose farm wastes readily available to lay man.��2. The softening of substrate is sufficient for cultivation of this mushroom.��3. Unlike other mushrooms, casing is not required.��4. The cultivation can be done on variety of materials like polythene bags, nylon nets, trays, baskets, shelves etc.��5. In this species spawn runs fast and crop can be harvested within 2 weeks period.��6. We can obtain higher yields within a wide range of temperatures of 22-28°C.

• Value added Products��1. The species of Pleurotus (Oyster mushrooms) are rich in proteins (21-30% proteins on dry weight) than any other pulses-cereals or vegetables.��2. They provides sufficient quantities of minerals like Calcium, Potassium, Phosphorus and Sodium to human diets..��3. They serve as good source of iron and folic acid. They also contains vitamins B, C, D and K along with riboflavin, biotin and thaimine. 4. The dried forms are powdered and used for mushroom soups. This soup increases apetite.��5. The frozen mushrooms are used in a variety of food-stuff articles in Western Countries including India.��6. Mushrooms like Pleurotus can breakdown straw and make it valuable upgraded, quality feed for animals.��7. Delicious and crunchy mushroom biscuits are prepared by using mushroom powder and other ingredients like maida, sugar, ghee, backing soda, milk powder and ammonium bicarbonates.��8. Mushroom ketchup and mushroom candy are also prepared by using fresh and blenched mushrooms.

9. Mushroom preserve (Muramba) and mushroom pickles are prepared by using standardized formations of Tamilnadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbtore, Tamilnadu.��10. Snacks, fingerballs like mouth-watering products are also prepared from fresh as well as dried mushrooms.

Commercial Importance��The commercial or economic importance of the mushroom can be listed as below.��1. Food value: All edible mushroom species are the richest source of proteins. They are also rich in minerals, vitamins. Hence, they are considered as meat for diabetic patients due to low carbohydrates.��2. Medicinal use: Some mushrooms show antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties. Hence, they are used as a medicine especially to treat eye diseases. Species like Flammulina velutipes are used to reduce growth of tumour cells and to control high blood pressure.��3. Source of dyes: Polyporous sulphurus yields yellow colour while Fomes ignarius is used to prepare blackish brown colour��4. Ornamental value: Many mushrooms have fabulous shapes and sizes. These are used as decorative materials.

5. Increase in soil fertility: In nature, mushrooms bring about decomposition of dead matter. Thus, humus contents of the soil get increased and soil becomes fertile.��6. Recycle of Nutrients: In nature, as mushrooms bring about decomposition of dead matter, recycling of nutrients takes place.

7. Job Potential: Mushrooms are sold at high prices. So, unemployed youth, housewives, retired persons etc. can take mushroom cultivation as a source of earning. It will be a good industry to supply nutritious food.