TRAINING REPORT

MUSHROOM
CULTIVATION

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Department of Pargat Singh
Agriculture Bsc.Agri.(Hons)Sem-7th
1512273
(15101221)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank Head of the Department Dr, Randeep

Kaur Bal and other professors of our college who
organized `Mushroom Training` for us.
I would also like to express my gratitude to S.Subedar
Sewa Singh who shared his practical experience with us
and also inspired us to go for such diverse agricultural
practices to earn higher profits.
 INDEX
1. Description of farm

2. Introduction

3. Process of mushroom cultivation

4. Diseases and control measures

5. Marketing

6. Future prospectus
 DESCRIPTION

Location: Mushroom Cultivation Farm

Vill.-Dehriwal,Dist.-Amritsar

Farm Owner: Subedar S. Sewa Singh

Type of Enterprise: Private (Individual)
Type of Production: Commercial
Type of Operation: Manual
Type of Mushroom cultivated: Button Mushroom
Production technique used: Long time method
Nearest Market: Amritsar
Marketing Type: B2C
(Business to consumer)
 First mushroom cultivation farm of Punjab

 Technique of temporary sheds mushroom

cultivation was firstly started here

 Farm owner ,S. Sewa Singh is recipient of

many international and national awards

 Mushroom cultivation training is also

provided to interested people free of cost

 Research studies by many national and

international research workers have been
conducted on the farm

 S. Sewa Singh have also been certified in

poultry farming ,apiculture ,aquaculture
 INTRODUCTION
Mushroom, the edible fungi are gaining
importance as super food status as they are loaded
with some of the most potent nutrients on the
planet. Thus mushroom have become a choice
both for nutritional diet uptake and also for leisure
consumption.
Edible mushroom’s various species
are cultivated from the regime of Romans and
they were regarded as the special and mysterious
and often used in age old rituals.
The Mushrooms have not been
food only for the particular age group, it is consumed
by people of all walks of life due to its various
properties like building immunity in the body, supply
of sufficient amount of trace minerals, also no fat
build up food by health sensitive people. The nutrient
status of the mushroom is given in the below table:
 Nutritional value per 100g
Energy 94Kj
Carbohydrates 4.3 g
Fat 0.1g
Protein 2.5g
Vitamins
Thiamine(B1) 0.1mg
Riboflavin 0.5 mg
Niacin 3.8 mg
Vitamin C 0 mg
Trace minerals
Calcium 18 mg
Phosphorus 120 mg
Potassium 448 mg
Sodium 6 mg
Zinc 1.1 mg

 On comparative basis, mushroom carries more

Nutritional value than Paneer and Fish
  As fat content is negligible, hence it is also
consumed as fat free nutritious food

Mushroom cultivation:
There are few species of the fungi which are
classified as the group of edible fungi, most popularly
known as “mushrooms”. Among these edible group , there
are five main type of the mushroom which are most
commonly grown in Punjab which are best suited to
climatic norms and have demand in the market depending
upon the taste and preference of the consumer.
The five type of
mushroom cultivated in Punjab are described as below.
1. Button mushroom
2. Dhingri
3. Shiitake
4. Paddy mushroom
5. Milky mushroom
The mushroom is cultivated in two seasons in Punjab.
Button, dhingri and Shiitake are cultivated in winter and
Paddy and Milky in summer.
Button mushroom:It is also known as White or European
mushroom.It is most common type of mushroom cultivated
in Punjab.It is type of winter mushroom which can be
cultivated from September to March to get two crops.
Dhingri mushroom: It is also known as Oyester
mushroom. It is most valuable of all mushrooms
cultivated. In Punjab it is cultivated from October to March
in order to get three crops of it.
Shiitake mushroom: It is one of the winter type
mushroom cultivated in Punjab from October to mid-
February. In this case only one crop can be taken.
Paddy mushroom: It is also known as paddy or Chinese
mushroom. It is cultivated in summer season from April to
August and four crops of this variety can be taken.
Milky mushroom: It is type of the summer mushroom
which is cultivated from April to September. Three crops
of this variety can be taken.

Most cultivated variety: Button mushroom

Most valuable variety : Dhingri
 Process of Mushroom
cultivation
The process of mushroom cultivation involve the
following steps.
Compost preparation

Filling of Compost

Sowing/ sprinkling of mushroom spawn

Process of casing

Harvesting of crop
 Compost preparation
The first step in the mushroom cultivation is preparation of
the compost. Compost is the substrate in which the
mushroom mycelium grows and produce the fruiting
bodies. Compost is the fermented product of various bio
chemical reactions. The quality of the compost influence
the yield of the mushroom. The compost for the mushroom
cultivation can be prepared by the two methods as
described below:
1. Long time method
2. Short time method

Long time method: It is one of the most commonly

used method for preparation of the compost for the
mushroom cultivation. In this method ,composting is
done in the open and stream pasteurization is not
followed. It is the one of the cheap but time consuming
method, in which the compost is prepared within the
time span of 3- 4 weeks.

Short method: It is new and advanced method of the

compost preparation in which the open composting
step is followed by stream pasteurization. It provides
the good quality compost for the mushroom
production. However, it is one of the expensive
method and can not be used for small scale compost
preparation due to cost constrains. Time needed for
compost preparation is 12-15 days.
Various differences between two
methods of compost preparation are as follow.

Parameter Long time Short time

Days required 3 to 4 weeks 12-18 days
Selectivity Partial Complete
Average yield per 10-15 Kg 18-25Kg
100 Kg
N% 1.75-2 2-2.2
Total cost Low High
Quality Poor Good
Yield Variable High

At Dehriwal Mushroom Cultivation Farm, the long

method of compost preparation is adopted due to its
low cost, convenience in use, and better familiarity
with the technology used for its preparation.
Material required for Compost Preparation

Component Quantity needed

Straw 300 kg
Chokar 15 kg
SSP 3 kg
CAN 9 kg
Gypsum 30 kg
Molasses 5 kg
MOP 3 kg
Urea 3 kg
Gamma BHC 60 ml
Furadan 150 gm
Formalin 1 ltr

If SSP is not available the try to use DSP or TSP.

If none of the above is available with us , then use
DAP as the resource of Phosphorous in the
compost preparation.
 Steps in compost preparation

The various steps involved in the compost preparation

are as follow:

1. Put the straw on pucca floor and mix it with water and
allow it for 48 hrs to stand while covering with gunny
bags.
2. Soak the chokar and fertilisers for 24 hrs and cover it
with gunny bags.
3. On third day, mix straw and chokar complex and make
them air tight.
4. Open after 4 days and add molasses to it.
5. Again open after 4 days and add required water to it.
6. Again open after 4 days and add gypsum to it.
7. Then open it after 3 days and add required water to it.
8. Open it after 3 days and add furadan to the
compost.Open it after 3 days and BHC to the compost

After 24 days if the colour of the prepared compost is

brown, properly decomposed, ammonia free, moisture
level is 60-70% then compost is considered to be good
quality.

Compost filling
Compost filled in compost containers which are
especially designed for this purpose. Compost
containers may be made up of wood or polythene these
bags which is placed on some sort of base.
Sterilization of the equipments used is necessary in
order to avoid the contamination of the compost thus
prepared. How much compost to be filled in the given
container depends upon the method of preferred i.e.
whether one layer, two layer or mixing of the spawn
with the compost uniformly.

Sowing of the spawn

There are three methods of sowing the spawn in the

compost which are described as follow :
1. Single layer
2. Double layer
3. Spawn is mixed with the compost

Single layer: In this method, a single layer of 6 inch

thickness is made with compost and then spawn is
sprinkled over that layer. This method is used when
we have large area to spread compost. This method
is less practised due to area constrain.

Double layer: In this method, two layers of 3 inch

each of compost are prepared and spawn is sprinkled
over each of them. This method leads to better
utilization of the given area over which the compost
is sprinkled.

Mixing of the spawn with the compost:In this to

mix the spawn well the compost.This method is not
pactised mainly because non-uniform distribution of
the spawn leads to the less productivity.
method, the spawns are sprinkled all over the
compost with constant turning of the compost in
order
Procees of casing

When the sown spawn begin to grow and when they

become of .. days or .. length , the process of casing
is carried out. In this process, a layer of moist
material either organic or inorganic or combination
of two is placed upon the compost substrate, prior to
fruiting with the aim of following objectives:
To aid with moisture retention with in the substrate.
Contain biological components,which are helpful in
fruit body formation
To provide the mechanical support to the growing
mushrooms which will bear the fruiting bodies.
Various different –different types of casing material
can be prepared depending upon requirements and
availability of raw material for the process of casing.
At Dehriwal Mushroom Farm, material used is ash
as per availability. Most common used casing
material is combination of sand and FYM in the ratio
of 4:1 respectively. Also Formalin fungicide is added
at this stage in order to protect the mushroom from
the fungal attack.
Usually casing of 1-1.5 inch depth is
applied over the compost carrying the growing
spawns.
This should also be noted that casing is not
beneficial for all of the mushroom cultivated in
most of the cases it is found to be have positive
impact on the growth and development of fruiting
body.
 Ideal/ Necessary growth conditions

1. PH of compost: Should in range of 6.5 -8.2

depending upon type of mushroom cultivated
2. N content: This should be noted that minimum
content for successful cultivation of the mushroom
is maintained at 2% always.
3. Ammonia content: The aim should be to remove
the ammonia from the compost as it act as growth
retardant.
4. Temperature: Ideal growth range is from 220 c to
260 c. When the temperature exceeds 300 c, the
growth of the mycelium is completely stopped.
5. Moisture: The moisture content of 65-70 is ideal
for the growth of mycelium, both higher or lower
than this range affect the growth and quality of the
mushroom.
 6. Humidity : High humidity of 95% or above is
needed for the proper growth of the mycelium.
7. Ventilation: The focus should be to make the
growing space air tight except when there is need
to maintain CO2 level.

Harvesting of mushroom
The harvesting of the mushroom should be done when the
fruiting bodies are fully developed and are proper in
shape. The mushrooms are harvested by turning the
mushroom from the base along with the fruiting body.
The harvesting of the mushroom should
be done at the appropriate stage and time because shelf life
of the harvested mushroom is very less.The harvesting of
the mushroom should be followed by application of the
nutrients as per recommendation to the compost bed in
order to to raise the next crop from the same spawn.
While harvesting it should be kept in the
mind that the rooting bed should not be
disturbed. Also the moisture content in the bed at the
time of harvesting is one of the important
determinant of the shelf life of the mushroom.
So it should be in proper in amount at the time of
harvesting of the mushroom crop.
 Diseases and control measures
1) Dry bubble
 Muddy brown, sunken spots in the cap of mushroom
 Mushroom becomes dry and leathery
 High humidity, poor ventilation, temperature above
250 c promotes the growth
 For control, destroy the infected mushrooms, lower the
temperature to 140c

2) False Truffle

 Cottony weft of mycelium on be surface

 Peculiar disagreeable odour from bed
 Comes from soil to compost bed
 Good sanitation and proper pasteurization of casing
material is needed for its control
 3)NH3 Toxicity
 Occurs when the NH3 is not completely
eliminated from the compost while preparation
 It interfere with the growth of the mycelium
 Proper turning of the compost while preparing is
essential.
4)Plaster Mould
 This disease occurs due to higher amount of the
moisture in the compost
 Accounts for the 25 % yield loss in case it got
severe
 Mushroom become hard and are non palatable in
nature
 No permanent control but regulation of the
moisture content is necessary in order to keep it in
the economic threshold range.
 Marketing

There are no separate/specific market for selling

the mushroom thus produced. they are generally
sold in the open commodity market like others but
most of growers tend to engage in contact with
hotel owners, food restaurants etc for the sale of
their produce without any problem.
In case of the open market, there seems to
be high fluctuation of the price on the daily basis
based upon the supply of the mushroom to the
market on the given day. Hence growers want to
play it safe by entering into contract with the food
stuff places.
Price range
During peak period
For button mushroom- rs 80-200 per kg
For dhingri – rs 400 -800 per kg

As the Dehriwal Farm is located between two big

cities of the Punjab namely Amritsar and
Jalandhar, hence there are many buyers who are
interested in buying the produce, hence there is
adequate demand available for the product. Also
the as the mushroom cultivation in the state begin
to expand, there are various different- different
product which are being prepared by various
mushroom growers in the state.
High price variation in case of the mushroom can
be attributed to the non regulated market of
mushroom and due to perishable nature of
mushroom itself where it is required to sell the
produce of the mushroom within the 24-36 hrs aftr
thae harvesting of the mushroom.Also not not
proper storage facilities available for the storage of
the mushroom crop thus produced ,hence there is
need to sell out the produce t the prevailing price
in order to prevent it from degrading.
Benefit cost ratio:
A decade back when the mushroom cultivation is
not as famous as today, due to less production,
benefit cost ratio stands above 2 but now due to
more mushroom cultivation farms are coming up
the state by the various farmers hence price tend to
be decrease as compared to earlier period but the
benefit cost ratio stills in range of 1.5 -2
 Future prospectus

The mushroom cultivation can prove o be very

affective domain in case of the process of the
diversification of the state agriculture sector which
is the need of the hour due to tradition crop
rotation of rice wheat not yielding sustainable
returns for the farmers. Also as the large portion of
the farmers in the state belong to group of small
and marginal farmers, hence it tend to provide a
good ways to increase their livelihood by getting a
extra source of income at the less cost as
mushroom cultivation is not an capital intensive
enterprise.
Also the most of the raw material used in the
mushroom cultivation came is easily available and
can be obtained from the agriculture sector itself
hence the grower need not to bother about the
availability of the raw material in the agriculture
intensive states of Punjab and Haryana. It is one of
the big pro for the mushroom growers in the state
as the availability of the raw material is pre-
requisite for setting up any enterprise.
Alongside earning the
extra income by taking up the mushroom
cultivation, grower could also able to meet up the
need of the of the well balanced diet for his family.
The discarded compost from the mushroom
cultivation process after the process of mushroom
cultivation is over act as nutrient rich manure for
the soil hence helps in the maintainance of the soil
health leading to less consumption of the
fertilisers.
The occupation of the
mushroom cultivation can go a long way in the
state stating that the state have the adequate
resources of up taking this profession either as
main occupation or as the subsidiary. The
government aid in form of the trainings, research
work, incentive can also help a lot in mushroom
cultivation a success for a large group of the
farmers who actually need the some extra source
of their income alongside the main stream
agriculture.