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| Mushroom cultivation |
Mushrooms are also called as 'white vegetables' or 'boneless vegatarian meat'. Agarius bisporus, pleurotus ostreatus, P. Sajor-caju, Lentinus edodes Volvariella vocacea etc. are common edible mushrooms.
Pleurotus ostreatus, the oyster mushroom (Dingari) is tropical edible mushroom belongs to basidiomycetes. The systematic approach of Dhingri cultivation was undertaken by Dr. Janbaie in 1974. The oyster mushroom is considered a medicinal mushroom, since it contains statins such as. The oyster mushroom is one of the more commonly sought wild mushrooms, through it can also be cultivated on straw and other media.
The mushroom has a broad, fan or oyster-shaped cap spanning 5-25 cm growing laterally. The flesh is white, firm, wavy and varies in thickness due to stipe arrangement. The gills are white to cream, and descend on the stalk.
Procedure for Mushroom cultivation:
1) Preparation of pure culture of pleurotus:
Requirements:
Inoculum is fruiting body of pleurotus.
Glasswares:
petri plates, test tubes, conical flasks, glass rod.
Other requirements:
Non absorbent cotton, Aluminium foil, Autoclave, laminar fresh air flow cabinate.
Chemicals:
Glucose, Agar-Agar powder, Distilled water alcohol etc.
Procedure:
1) Petri-plate glass rods and other glass wares are sterilized at 15lb pressure for 20 minutes at 120°C in autoclave.
2) Pleurotus ostreatus is taken as an inoculum.
Preparation of PDA (Potato Dextrose Agar) :
Composition of PDA:
1) Boil 250 gms of peeled potato till they become soft.
2) Filter through muslin cloth and the filtrate is taken.
3) To this filtrate 20 gms of dextrose sugar is added and mixed well.
4) Above mixture is taken in conical flask and flask is sterilize at 15lb pressure for 20 minutes after pluging the mouth of conical flask with cotton and aluminium foil.
5) After autoclaving the medium is passed in previously sterilized petri plates.
6) The petri plates are inoculated with innoculum pieces of fruiting body under aseptic condition i.e. in laminar fresh air flow cabinate.
2) Spawn preparation:
A pure culture of pleurotus sp. is needed for inoculation on sterilized substrate. It takes 10-15 days for mycelial growth on grains. It has been reported that jowar and bajra grains are superior over wheat grains.
Procedure:
1) Grains are boiled with equal volume of water. Due to boiling grains become soft.
2) The grains are spread on blotting so as to remove excess water.
3) 2%CaCO3 powder is added to the grains and mixed the easily CaCO3, helps to maintain the pH and also absorb excess water.
4) The mixture is the filled in a wild mouth bottle or polythene bag and plug highly it is then sterilized in the autoclave at 15 lb pressure for 20 minutes.
5) After sterilization the bottle is allowed to cool down completely and then bottle or bag was inoculated with the pure culture in lamina fresh air flow cabinate.
6) After 15 days the grains get covered with white mycelium and then it is termed as spawn. Spawn is generally supply in glass bottle or polythene bag.
3) Substrate preparation:
Oyster mushroom can be cultivated on a large number of agro-wastes rich in cellulose anf lignin correlated with more yield. These include straw of paddy, wheat and ragu, stalk and leaves of maize, millets and cotton, used citronella leaf, sugarcane bagasse, saw dust, jute and cotton waste, dehulled corncobs, pea nut shells, dried grasses, sunflower stalks, used tea leaf waste, discarded waste paper etc.
Method of cultivation:
1) A polythene bag of 45×30 cm is taken.
2) The cut straw of about 2 kg was so placed in water for 12 hours. The straw is then drained off for about 30 min to 1 hour and is dipped in hot water for about 30 min.
3) The straw is taken out from the hot water and it is kept for cooling.
4) Straw is filled in polythene bag approximately 1 kg in each bag.
5) The spawn of pleurotus is mixed in between and it is spread properly.
6) The mouth of polythene bag is tied with help thread and polythene bag kept at room temperature for the development at about 20°C ro 30°C.
7) After 15 to 20 days the entire straw gets covered by mycelium of pleurotus which appear pure cottony white.
8) The polythene bags then are cut along the side without disturbing the mycelium water and sprinkled on the bed twice a day. To maintain humidity after 10 to 15 days fruiting bodies start appearing and about 500 gms to 2 kgs yield was collected from one bed.
Crop Management
a) Incubation:
Spawned bags, trays or boxes are arranged in a dark cropping room on raised platforms or shelves for mycelium colonization on the substrate. Although mycelium can grow from 10 to 33°C, but the optimum temperature for spawn running lies between 22 to 26°C.
b) Fruiting:
When the mycelium has fully colonized the substrate, the fungus is ready for fruiting. Frequent spraying of water is required in the cropping room depending upon the atmospheric humidity. Fruit body produced under humid conditions (85-90%) is bigger with less dry matter while those developed at 65-70% relative humidity are small with high dry matter.
c) Harvesting and Yield:
The right shape for picking can be judged by the shape and size of the fruit body. The fruit bodies should be harvested before spore release, by twisting so that the strubs are not left on the beds (straw).
So, this are the 6 steps of Mushroom cultivation in easy ways.
1) Pleurotus ostreatus is rich in vitamin C and B complex and the protein content varies between 20 to 35%. It has most of the mineral salts required by the human body.
2) The niacin content is about ten times higher than any other vegetables.
3) The folic acid present in oyster mushrooms helps to cure anemia. It is suitable for people with hyper-tension, obesity and diabetes due to it's low sodium : potassium ratio, starch, fat and calorific value.
4) Alkaline ash and high fibre content makes them suitable for consumption for those having hyperacidity and constipation.
5) It contains lovastatin which works to reduce chlolesterol. A polycyclic aromatic compound pleurotin has been isolated from P. griseus which possess antibiotic properties.
Flowchart for mushroom cultivation
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| Flowchart for mushroom cultivation |
Food value of Pleurotus:
1) Pleurotus ostreatus is rich in vitamin C and B complex and the protein content varies between 20 to 35%. It has most of the mineral salts required by the human body.
2) The niacin content is about ten times higher than any other vegetables.
3) The folic acid present in oyster mushrooms helps to cure anemia. It is suitable for people with hyper-tension, obesity and diabetes due to it's low sodium : potassium ratio, starch, fat and calorific value.
4) Alkaline ash and high fibre content makes them suitable for consumption for those having hyperacidity and constipation.
5) It contains lovastatin which works to reduce chlolesterol. A polycyclic aromatic compound pleurotin has been isolated from P. griseus which possess antibiotic properties.
