OYSTER MUSHROOMS

CULTIVATION WORKSHOP

Prepared by Rise Enterprises

Outline [1/2]
●Introduction
●Mushrooms in general
●Types of Mushrooms
●Benefits of mushrooms
●Mushrooms Cultivation Process
◇Where to start ?- Check list
◇Flow of a farm (Farm design)
◇Fruiting room options
◇Production supplies and methods
◇Grow room Management
◇Output/Yield Maximization
Outline [2/2]

● Economics of mushrooms (Breakdown costs)

● How to run a sustainable mushrooms farm?
● Questions & answers
Introduction
• In this Workshop we will be covering in depth mushrooms production,
specifically Edible (Oyster) Mushrooms. Mushrooms have been gaining
popularity in the world, Africa and our country in the past 20 years. Even
though this has been an opportunity for farmers, there are still challenges
that are stopping farmers from meeting and exceeding the market
demands. In naming a few, one may include lack of technical knowledge
and support, lack of funds and difficulty in maintaining consistent
production for those in production. In trying to tackle the mentioned
problems, farmers had to come together to address the issues and find
solutions. This workshop is one of the ways to provide knowledge and
technical support to farmers as well as strengthening farmers relations.
Mushrooms in general
• A mushroom is the reproductive structure produced by some fungi.
• It is somewhat like the fruit of a plant, except that the “seeds” it produces
are in fact millions of microscopic spores that form in the gills or pores
underneath the mushroom’s cap.
• The spores blow away into the wind, or are spread by other means, such
as animal feeding. If they land on a suitable substrate (such as wood or
soil) spores will germinate to form a network of microscopic rooting
threads (mycelium) which penetrate into their new food source.
• Unlike the mushroom, which pops up then passes away quickly, the
mycelium persists, often for many years, extracting nutrients and sending
up its annual crop of mushrooms.

• SPORES >>MYCELIUM >>MUSHROOM FRUITING BODY

Types of Mushrooms
• Edible Mushrooms
✓ Oysters, buttons, Lions mane, Shitake
• Medicinal Mushrooms
✓ Reishi – Garnodem Lucidum, Turkey tail
• Poisonous Mushrooms
✓ Amanita species - Dead cap, Snow morel
Benefits of mushrooms

● Heart health
● Immune boost
● Anti-oxidants
● Anti-Cancer
● Blood sugar regulations
● Good for the brain
●
Where to start? – Checklist
Mushrooms Cultivation Checklist
• Farm design
• Grow room
• Incubation space(Own/rent)
• Get Production supplies ready
• Start Production (Substrate preparation and Inoculation)
• Incubation Period (2-3Weeks)
• Take to Fruiting house (Start Fruiting)
• Harvesting
• Cook or Sell
Mushrooms Cultivation Process
[1/8]
• Flow of a farm

Prepare &
Incubate Fruit
Inoculate
Fruiting room options (Small scale)
[2/8]
Fruiting rooms options
(Medium&Large scale) [3/8]
Production Supplies [4/8]
• Substrate
✓ Grass straw, sawdust, cobs, Stover’s, baggase, etc
• Supplements
✓Wheat bran
• Spawn
✓quality grain or sawdust spawn
• Plastics/containers
✓ bottles, buckets, plastic bags >50microns
• Other consumables
✓ Jik, cotton, wool, marker
Start Production [5/8]
• Steam Sterilisation
✓ Use hot Steam for 4-5 hours at 15 psi
✓ Kills all, If not most microbes in the substrate

• Pasteurisation
✓Cold – Lime bath, Jik, detergent (12- 18 hrs)
✓Hot - emerse In water/ Steam (1,5 – 2 hrs)
✓ Kills most of contaminants, leave some microbes
Grow room management [6/8]
There are 5 elements to consider when managing a grow room.
• Temperature
• Humidity
• Light
• Air exchange/ airflow
• Density/ spacing between bags
Temperature and humidity
Requirements [7/8]
• Temperature & Humidity range
Species Temperature Temperature Humidity Humidity
Fruiting Growing Fruiting Growing

Oyster Mushrooms 14 - 21 °C 15 – 30 °C 90 - 95% 80 – 95%

Buttons 13 -20 °C 13 – 26 °C 90 – 97% 90 – 97%

Lions mane 13- 21 °C 15 – 24 °C 85 – 95% 85 – 95%

Output/Yield Maximization [8/8]
• Yield Equation (Y=GEM)
• GENETIC = choosing the right strain at the right time of the year.
• ENVIRONMENT = maintaining right grow room conditions for optimal
growth.
• MANAGEMENT = making the right decisions /actions in time. It includes
doing the above two right.
• Other important things to be done under management will be harvesting
on time and deciding on the right recipe for making bags (spawn:
substrate ratio).
Economics of mushrooms
• Breakdown costs/kg of Inputs cost/kg percent

Fresh mushrooms 1.Grain spawn

2.Chopped grass straw

5

2.83
37

21

3.2kg plastic bags 0.69 5

4.Heating 2.81 21

TOTAL MATERIALS 11.34

5. Electricity 1.12 8

6.Water 0.16 1

7. Cleaning consumables 0.78 6

TOTAL PRODUCTION 13.40 100

8.Packaging materials 1.42

9.Transportation 12

TOTAL MARKETING 13.42

10.Labour(1)- 2000 25

11.Rent (1000) 15

TOTAL OVERHEADS 40

TOTAL COSTS 66.81

Pests and Diseases [1/2]
• Common pests
✓Sciarid flies, phorid flies, cecids, springtails, mites and
Nematodes

• Management
✓ Hygiene and sanitation.
✓ Proper sterilisation
✓ Use insect trapping lights
✓ Use access barriers
✓ Use Bio- neem oil
✓ Proper waste/ used bags removal
Pests and Diseases [2/2]
• Common diseases
✓Verticillium spot, green mold
• Management
✓Good sanitation practices
✓ cultural control methods;
✓casing should be kept clean and sanitized;
✓all tools and equipment should be cleaned and sanitized between use
✓ Use Jik (anti bacterial and viral solutions)
How can you run a sustainable
mushrooms farm ?
● Single or multiple streams of income?

Key points to consider

● Proper market research with market confirmations
● Proper Financial management, statements with strategic plans
● Proper Technical and Business Management training
● Proper Record keeping
● Staff Training and Development
Questions & Answer session

• It is Time for Questions!

THANK YOU!.......THE END!