There are five kinds most important cultivated mushrooms are :
1.
Shutake mushroom (Lentinus edodes)
2.
Winter mushroom (Flammillina velutipes)
3.
White button mushroom {Agaricus bisporus)
4.
Paddy straw mushroom (Volvariella volvaceae)
5.
Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus-sajol-caju)
In
India three types of mushrooms are found. They are white button
mushroom and paddy straw mushroom and oyster mushroom In north India,
the climate conditions prevailing, different seasons can be exploited
for growing mushrooms Mushroom is fleshy fungus belonging to the kingdom Fungi. They first appear as white tiny balls consisting of a short and stem and a cap which opens like an umbrella later. They cannot prepare their food themselves due to lack of chlorophyll. There is a large number of mushroom species some growing wild, and some are edible species.
throughout the year as follows :Mid- November to mid- March :
White button mushrooms
February to mid-November : Paddy straw mushrooms
September to November : Oyster mushrooms
Importance of Mushrooms
1.
They are good source of high quality proteins and are rich in vitamins and minerals. Mushroom contains 20-33% proteins. They contain good amount of vitamin C and B complex and minerals like potassium and phosphorus and sodium.
2.
They have medicinal properties in mashrooms For example-mushroom extracts have a high amount of retene that has an antagonistic effect on some forms of tumours.
3.
Mushroom-cultivation
is a woman-friendly operation the Women in farming system contribute a
high percentage of the labour in the field especially in developed
countries. It is one of the agricultural activity in which women can
play an important role without sacrificing their household
responsibilities.
4.
Mushroom grows independent of sunlight without fertile land.
5.
Mushrooms have a huge export potential.
6.
Mushrooms
are capable of agrowaste degradation. Mushroom is grown on organic
substances either raw or composted. They are mostly waste materials from
farms, plantations or factories. Useless by-products can be recycled as
a medium to grow mushroom for human consumption. This also helps to
reduce environmental pollution.
Steps to be followed in the Cultivation of Mushrooms
The use of mushrooms as human food dates back to time immemorial. Today with the best development of better technologies and greater realisation of their nutritive value, mushrooms have come to occupy an important place in the diet of people in several parts of the world including India. It is therefore necessary to have knowledge of growing mushrooms.
Since the white-button mushroom (Agaricus bisporous) is popular mushroom, its method of cultivation is discussed here.
Requirement for its cultivation
The optimum temperature for vegetative growth i.e. spread of the mycelium is 22° to 25°C and for the reproductive stage is 14° to 18°C. The following steps are required to be followed:
(a) Composting
(c) Spawning
(b) Casting
(d) Cropping and harvesting
(e) Preservation
(a)
Composting
Compost is prepared by mixing wheat or paddy straw chicken manure with a number of organic and inorganic fertilizers in fixed proportions. The compost is kept at a high temperature (Approximately 50°C) for one week and then mushrooms are cultivated on it.
(b)
Casing
Casing means that covering the compost by a thin layer of the soil or soil-like material after the spawn has spread in the compost. It gives support to the mushroom,
pnwides humidity, prevents quick drying of the spawned compost and thus help - "cr.er growth of the spawn. Casing also helps to regulate the temperature.
Cropping and harvesting
The arrangement is made for maintaining circulation of fresh air around the beds. Temperatures have to be kept low to prevent growth of pests and diseases and regular spraying of insecticides is also required to be done for the same purpose, k generally takes 7 to 8 days to come to the button stage from the first appearance of the formation of a pinhead.
Preservation
-hrooms, like fruits and vegetables are perishable and require a great deal of ."ention during storage, marketing and processing at the post harvest stage. Discolouration, weight, flavour are loss are some of the problems.
(c)
Spawning
This is the process of introducing the spawn, which is the "mushroom seed", into the compost. Spawn is merely the vegetative mycelium from a selected mushroom species grown in a convenient medium. The success of the mushroom cultivation and its yield depends to a large extent on the purity and quality of the spawn used. The amount of spawn used should be sufficient to help rapid and vigorous coverage of the beds with the organism.
These are the following methods are used to increase their shelf life:
(i)Vacuum cooling
(ii) we need to keep them in a controlled atmosphere consisting of 9 percent oxygen and 25 percent carbon dioxide.
(iii) giving gamma radiation and storing at 15°C
(iv)
we need to freeze and dry in a solution of brine, citric acid and ascorbic acid and dehydration.
(v)
Canning