PROJECT ON MUSHROOM

CULTIVATION
 INDEX
SUBJECT PAGE NO.
 INTRODUCTION 2
 TYPES OF MUSHROOMS 6
A. BUTTON MUSHROOM 7
B. SHIITAKE MUSHROOM 8
C. OYSTER MUSHROOM 9
D. PADDY STRAW MUSHROOM 10
E. ENOKI MUSHROOM 11
 CULTIVATION PROCEDURE 12
COMPOST PREPERATION 13
SPAWNING 14
CASTING 15
HARVESTING 16
DISCUSSION 17
CONCLUSION 18
 INTRODUCTION
• WHAT ARE MUSHROOMS?
Mushrooms are one of the most loved food not only for its exotic
taste but also for the benefits with which it comes. It can be
consumed in various forms like fresh, pickled, dried, powdered,
canned etc. Its farming has picked up a fast pace among
contemporary entrepreneurs owing to its nutritional and
Mushrooms growing on
medicinal benefits and low cost input with high output.
nature
Mushrooms are a fleshy fungi (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes)
having a stem, cap and gills underneath the cap . They can be
edible, wild and some of them can be toxic too . It contains more
than 90% water and less than 1% fat, loaded with Vitamin B,
copper and selenium and low in sodium . Usually vegetables, milk
and other food products are fortified with Vitamin D by irradiation
or direct addition but mushrooms are unique in this sense because
they are naturally a rich source of Vitamin D which otherwise is
procured from animals or poultry . The reason being that it
contains copious amount of plant sterol “Ergosterol”. It is a
precursor of Vitamin D which when stimulated by sunlight or
artificial lightening source converts to Vitamin D . Evolution of five
kingdom of organism
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 WHY TO GROW MUSHROOMS?
One crop that has emerged as a
popular choice for urban farms
is mushrooms. Not only are
mushrooms highly nutritious,
but they are also a sustainable
food source that can be grown
using waste products and
Mushroom cultivation
require minimal resources.
process

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 • WHY TO EAT MUSHROOM ?

Mushrooms are a low-calorie food and

pack a nutritional punch. Loaded with
many health-boosting vitamins,
minerals, and antioxidants, they've
long been recognized as an important
part of any diet. Mushrooms exposed
to ultraviolet light are a good source of
vitamin D, an important component
for bone and immune health.

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NUTRITIONAL VALUES OF MUSHROOM

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 TYPES OF MUSHROOMS
• Mushrooms are easily cultivable in hilly
regions due to abundant moisture but can also
be grown in artificial environment with proper
temperature and humidity control.
• Varieties must be identified thoroughly as
some of them might cause food poisoning or
allergy upon consumption.

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1. Button Mushroom
• Button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus)
belongs to Class Basidiomycetes and
Family Agaricaceae and is native to
Europe and North America. It is of
two types white and brown, out of
which white button mushroom is
commonly grown in India . According
to ICAR Directorate of Mushroom
Research, this variety contributes
more than 85% to mushroom
production . It is the most relished
variety used in eateries and
households.

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2. SHIITAKE MUSHROOM
Shiitake Mushrooms are native to East
Asia and are
highly consumed in Asian countries.
They readily grow
on wood of deciduous and hard wood
trees such as
Oak, Chestnut, and Maple etc. and
require moist and
warm climate. In rare cases they may
cause allergic
reaction like itching but can be
eliminated by thorough
cooking. These are used in Asian
cuisines and
traditional medicines

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3. OYESTER MUSHROOM
Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus)
belongs to Pleurotus species. It is known as
“Dhingri” in India and has fan or oyster
shaped cap . They grow easily on decaying
wood or straw. The oyster mushroom is
widespread in many temperate and
subtropical forests throughout the world,
although it is absent from the Pacific
Northwest of North America, being replaced
by P. pulmonarius and P. populinus. It is
a saprotroph that acts as a primary
decomposer of wood, especially deciduous
trees, and beech trees in particular. It is
a white-rot wood-decay fungus . The standard
oyster mushroom can grow in many places,
but some other related species, such as the
branched oyster mushroom, grow only on
trees. They may be found all year round in the
UK.

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4. PADDY STRAW MUSHROOM
Volvariella volvacea
belongs to division
Basidiomycota. It is
usually grown on Rice
straw bed and is used
extensively in Asian
Cuisines .

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5. ENOKI MUSHROOM
Basidiocarps are agaricoid and grow in
clusters. Individual fruit bodies are up
to 50 millimetres (2 inches) tall, the cap
convex at first, becoming flat when
expanded, up to 45 mm (1+3⁄4 in)
across. The cap surface is smooth,
viscid when damp, ochraceous yellow
to yellow-brown. The lamellae (gills)
are cream to yellowish white.
The stipe (stem) is smooth, pale yellow
at the apex, yellow-brown to dark
brown towards the base, and lacking a
ring. The spore print is white, the
spores (under a microscope)
smooth, inamyloid, ellipsoid to
cylindrical, c. 5 to 7 by 3 to 3.5μm.

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 CULTIVATION
The basic requirements for mushroom cultivation
are manure/compost, spawns, right temperature and
humidity. Favorable growing conditions involve 80%-
90% of relative humidity, ample ventilation, a
temperature range of 20-280 C during spawn run and
12-180 C for reproductive growth. Initially for a week
temperature must be maintained at 23 ± 20 C and then
it can be reduced to 16 ± 20 C for subsequent weeks.
The CO2 concentration should be 0.08-0.15 %. If
the above stated conditions are maintained
appropriately the pin heads start to appear within few
days and progressively mature into button stage. Apart
from these insecticides, nutritional supplements like
nitrogen, vermiculite, water are also required for a
healthy harvest. The following steps are to be followed
for mushroom cultivation:

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 Compost Preparation
The compost (synthetic or natural) used for
mushroom growth usually comprises of wheat straws,
horse manure, poultry manure, rice bran, gypsum etc .
Utmost care is taken to protect the raw
compost against rain or external moisture, as it might
introduce undesirable microbes. The chopped wheat
straws or rice bran are mixed with horse dung,
sprinkled with water and are heaped in a pile to allow
fermentation. The fermentation process along with heat
development breaks down the chemical compounds in
small components. Frequent turnings and watering is
done at a specific interval so as to avoid the drying up
of compost. Gypsum is sometimes added to the
compost to reduce greasiness and allow more aeration
[16]. Within 15 to 20 days the compost gets all set to be
used as bed, it is then spread onto wooden trays and
sowed with spawns [14-16].mushroom growth usually comprises of
wheat and straws, horse manure, poultry manure, rice bran, gypsum
etc.

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 SPAWNING
Spawns refers to the mycelium carefully propagated
on agars or grains. Spawning is a process of sowing or
mixing spawns in compost. Although mushroom
produces spores which acts as a seed for further
propagation but are not used generally due to uncertain
germination and growth . The spawns are
thoroughly mixed with the compost, are covered with
newspaper and is watered sufficiently to maintain the
moisture. Throughout the cultivation period humidity is
kept high to avoid loss of moisture. Gradually they grow
into white cottony mycelium growth

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 CASING
Casing is a kind of sterilized soil or dressing
containing cow manure which is spread onto the spawn
mixed compost. It is applied when the mycelium growth
commences on the compost surface. After 15 to 20
days of its application mushroom head or pins start
becoming visible on the surface. They are allowed to
mature for a specific time period and are harvested
before opening of the cap. Mushrooms with opened
cap (looks like an umbrella after opening of cap) are
undesirable and are considered of menial quality.

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 HARVESTING
Harvesting is done by plucking them from soil
using hands or the heads are chopped off
using knife. The harvested mushrooms are
then subjected to primary processing.

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 DISCUSSION
Mushrooms are adaptable fungi which yields lots of nutritional
and health benefits. It can be grown on decomposed matter
easily with good yield. They are natural source of vitamin D. There
are lots of varieties including edible as well as wild. The
commonly consumed varieties are Button mushroom (Agaricus
bisporus), Shiitake mushroom, Oyster mushroom and Paddy Straw
mushroom. Mushroom cultivation require 80-90% relative
humidity and temperature range of 16°C - 23° C . The cultivation
starts with compost preparation followed by spawning, casing,
harvesting and processing. Mushroom being fragile and
perishable commodity requires processing after harvesting. The
processing can be accomplished in various ways such as drying,
dehydration, freeze drying, pickling, freezing, canning,
sterilization, direct packaging etc.

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 CONCLUSION
Mushrooms are one of the most popular and
versatile gift of nature. It can be mixed into any food
preparations or can be processed to give a new
product. A lot of mushroom products are currently
available in market such as mushroom pickle,
seasonings, beverages, extracts, dried and canned
mushrooms, mushroom supplements, cosmetics etc.
Apart from the mushroom food products many
innovative products are emerging in other industries as
well such as mushroom based building materials,
medicines, mycelium based platforms, biodegradable
packaging, mycelium based leather etc. Mushrooms
are easy to cultivate, have quick growth and nil carbon
emission and waste generation. The fungi is a good
source of income generation for the growers and also
provides additional benefits through its processing.
Hence mushrooms holds a bright future in every aspect
owing to its diverse properties.

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THANK YOU