OYSTER MUSHROOM

• Pleurotus ostreatus, the oyster mushroom, oyster

fungus, hiratake, or pearl oyster mushroom is a common 
edible mushroom. It is one of the more commonly sought wild
mushrooms, though it can also be cultivated on straw and other
media.
P. OSTREATUS IS A CARNIVOROUS FUNGUS,
PREYING ON NEMATODES BY USING A 
CALCIUM-DEPENDENT TOXIN THAT
PARALYZES THE PREY WITHIN MINUTES OF
CONTACT, CAUSING NECROSIS AND
FORMATION OF A SLURRY TO FACILITATE
INGESTION AS A PROTEIN-RICH FOOD
SOURCE.
MUSHROOM SPECIES

• According to an estimate, there are about 15 lakhs fungi in the world

• However, we have not been able to study all and scientists have studied
only 1.1 lakh fungi out of which 14000 are considered as mushrooms
(Actual number of mushrooms in nature may be 10 times of this)
• Out of these, only 3000 have been considered to be truly edible.
• Despite all the efforts we succeeded to cultivate only about 200 species
experimentally out of which 60-70 are cultivated commercially and
about 10 are cultivated on industrial scale.
OYSTER MUSHROOM IS MORE SUITABLE
FOR OUR COUNTRY AS:

• • It can be grown on wide range of agricultural, horticultural and forest wastes.

• • There is no need of compositing, its cultivation technique is easy and it can be
grown on small scale in huts.
• • It can be grown in tropical part of our country as there are number of
varieties that can grow between 20-30°C. Moreover, there are also varieties that
can grow below 20 °C. These species also vary in colour.
• • It has a short life cycle and mushrooms can be easily sun-dried.
• • It is a nutritious mushroom with medicinal benefits (like presence of
cholesterol lowering compound –lovastatin).
BASIC STEPS OF MUSHROOM FORMATION

1. The first step before starting cultivation is to procure or produce spawn of good quality
2. Second step is to prepare the substrate of good quality.
• Spawning rate of different mushroom
• Button mushroom = 0.5-1%
• Oyster mushroom = 2.5%
• Milky mushroom = 5%
• 3. The third step is cropping. After spawn run, that is allowing the fungus to spread
throughout the substrate, we take steps to induce formation of mushrooms.