Mushroom farming-Haryana

Introduction

Mushroom is one of the best diet, which contains protein, minerals, and vitamins like Nutritive material in sufficient quantity. It is having less quantity of fats due to this reason it is the very good diet for heart patients and due to the very fewer carbohydrates mushroom is the most suitable diet for diabetic patients. Mushroom is not required direct sunlight as it is required in case of vegetables which are having green leaves plants, but the beds of the mushroom should be protected from the direct sunlight and rains, so the mushroom is grown either in-house or in hut or any cover and below any cover of the root which is having sufficient aeriation. About one dozen mushroom spaces are commercially grown in the world, but in Haryana mainly two spaces are cultivated which are grown at a commercial level. The description detail is given in the table:-

 

Table: – by the season to popular spaces are cultivated by time and temperature.

For above all mushroom is required maximum humidity above 80% the higher temperature above than optimum temperature is harmful to all mushroom, but due to low temperature, the growth of the spawn germination and the growth of the mushroom slow down.

The method of growing button mushroom:

To grow this mushroom three basic things are required for its cultivation which is compost, spawn (seed of mushroom)and casing mixture. It is necessary for the fact that these three components should have high quality but to have a good yield of mushroom a good quality of compost is must required. The material on which the mushroom is grown is called compost, which is made with the many articles which are mixed in a particular proportion.

The main base of the compost is weed or peddy straw but as per the recommendation of the Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar, which has round the straw of mustard, is also suitable for making compost. There is two method of preparation of compost which is a long or short method of composting. In both the methods, the compost mixture is made in the open on the floor by fermentation but in short method, compost is prepared in a specific room where the mixture is filled for two weeks which are called chamber or tunnel.

The floor of the chamber is of sieve type, and below this, the air is passed through the blower (fan) that maintain the uniform temperature of the compost. With the result of that compost is prepared early and the compost prepared by this method about doubled productivity in comparison to the compost made by the long method.

Most of the farmers in Haryana is not having the facility of the chamber because mostly the farmers are small and they prepared the compost by the long method. This method is explained below in detail.

 

Methods of preparing of Compost:

 

Time Schedule of Compost Preparation:

 

0 + 6 + 10 + 13 + 16 + 19 + 22 + 25 + 28  days

 

The method of preparation of Mushroom Compost:

A wheat straw which should be shiny and not without soaked should be spread on the concrete floor for 48 hours and wet the straw fully. If the pucca floor is not available, then kuccha clean space may be used.

• 0 Day: – Spread the wet straw in 1ft. Layer and put 6 kg. CAN, 2.4 kg. Urea, 3 Kg. SSP, 3 Kg. MOP and 15 kg. wheat bran on it and mixed thoroughly. After that make a heat of 5 ft. Height, 5ft. The width and suitable length. After 48 hours of heat, formation temperature will start rise and reaches to 70-75 degree Celsius. If chicken manure is used, then wet it and mixed. Complete quantity of chemical fertilizer may also be put on zero days.

 

• 6th day ( Ist Turning): – Outer layer of heap get dried because of exposure to air, due to which compost do not decompose. Turning of compost is done to ensure the temperature to every part of the material. It should be kept in mind during turning that no outer part of the heap may go inside and inner part of heap towards outside. Spray the water on the outer dry part. First turning is done on the sixth day. Add 3kg. CAN, 1.2kg. Urea, and 15 kg. bran at the time of this turning. Make the heat as such as heap of zero-day

 

• 10^th Day ( 2^nd Turning): – Cut 1ft. Layer from all five part( four sides + top of the heap) and spray some water, then expose the rest of the part remained after cutting as mentioned above and leave for cooling. It should be kept in mind during turning that outer part should be turned inside, and inner part should be turned towards outside. Add 5 kg. mollassis in 10 liters of water and mix it in the compost before making the heap on this turning.

 

• 13^th Day (3^rd Turning): – Turn the compost like 2^nd turning Spray water on outer dry The moisture content in the compost should be optimum. Add 30 kg. Gypsum in the compost. Compost will not be sticky and greasy with adding the gypsum. Break the heap as like as turning on the 10^th day.

 

• 16^th Day ( 4^th Turning): – As third turning was done likewise repeated 4^th turning if the proper moisture in the compost.

• 19^th Day (5^th Turning): – If the full turning of the heap and then make the heap again. Keep the proper moisture condition in the compost.

 

• 22^nd Day (6^th Turning): –Make the turning of the full heat and again make the heap.

 

• 25^th Day (7^th Turning): – These days ammonia gas and moisture are examined in + 28^th Day (8^th Turning): –compost if there is no smell of ammonia from the compost and the compost has proper moisture condition then the compost is ready for sowing. Before sowing the spawn, the heap should be opened so that the temperature of the compost cool down. In specific circumstances, if there is a smell of ammonia then every third day turning should be done. In the case of poultry manure, there are great chances of remaining of ammonia. However, no ammonia gas should be left in the compost otherwise it is very harmful for the spawn germination. The optimum moisture condition can be judged by the simple method in which the small quantity of compost is taken in hand and hand full quantity of manure and apply the pressure on the finger on the compost. If the water comes out as a drop between the fingers, then it shows the optimum condition in the compost in case water is coming as a stream then it shows that there is excess moisture present in the compost. In such cases, compost is open and dry till it contained optimum moisture condition before spawning.

 

Spawning:

For cultivation of mushroom, the seed which is used is called spawn. To have good production of the mushroom, it is the basic requirement that the seed should be true to the type and of a good variety of high quality. In a spawn, there should not be any stickiness or any smell and any foul smell.

 

Seed Rate:

The seed of the mushroom is prepared in the empty glucose bottles or the poly prolene bags. 500 gms. Spawn is required for 100 kg. Prepared compost. The seed booking should be done at least one month before of the spawning.

 

The method of Spawning:

1.  Mixed the spawn in whole compost.
2. Surface spawning.

Spawn is mixed in the compost, and this mixture is filled either in polythene bags or spreads on the racks. If the spawning is done by the surface method, then Ist spread 2” thickness compost and spawning should be done. After that again put 2” thickness compost and then spawning should be done. Likewise, make the thickness about 2” of compost and spread the spawn on the upper side and after that this compost bed should be covered with 2% soaked pharmalin newspaper or cover with a polythene sheet. The room temperature should be maintained 24-25 degree celsius and RH should be maintained from 80-90%. As per the requirement above the newspaper and in the room morning and evening water spray should be given by the spray pump.

 

Cassing Mixture:

When the mycilium of a spawn can be spread on the compost completely then a cover of soil and ash of rice husk or any other mixture 1-1.5 “ thickness should be spread this covering is called cassing.

 

Why Cassing is required:

 Cassing is helped to convert vegetative growth into a mushroom. If the casing is not done, then there is no formation of mushroom. If there is some growth of mushroom, then it is very less. Cassing also helped to maintain proper moisture condition in the compost.

 

Cassing Mixture:

Research conducted by Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar and it is concluded that the ash of the rice husk + soil 1:1 ratio ( by the weight) is found better casing than other mixture. To sterilize the compost with 5% formalin solution and fully wet the compost and covered the compost with the polythene sheet for 3-4 days. After that, the polythene sheet should be removed, and compost turning should be done so that the smell of the formalin should be removed.

 

How to spread Cassing Mixture:

Before casing removes the newspaper sheet or polythene sheet, in general, the thickness of casing 1-1.5”. Cassing should be done after sowing of 15-20 days when the mushroom mycilium is spread completely. After cassing the water should be sprinkled immediately.

 

Cassing and environment:

After casing the temperature should be maintained for one week for 23-25” degree Celsius. After that, the temperature should become down 17-18 degree centigrade. This temperature should be maintained till the growth of the mushroom. By the last week of December and in the month of January the temperature bit comes down with the result of that there is a reduction in the development of mushroom. The temperature should not be increased through the burning of the smoky material. If the mushroom room temperature comes down below 12 degree Celsius then the steam should increase the temperature.

The optimum moisture condition is necessary for the mushroom house. After casing the RH should be maintained about 80%when, there is a production of mushroom then the RH should be maintained 80-90%. It is the general observation that the mushroom growers sprinkle the water on the compost to maintain the optimum moisture condition. It is necessary to maintain proper condition to put the wet gunny bags on doors and windows. The outside dry air is very harmful to the growth of the mushroom.

 

Air Circulation:

After the spread of the mycillum of the mushroom, it is necessary once or twice to give fresh air to the room. The Co2 percentage should not exceed more than 2%. However, for the formation of pin hold the Co2 % age should not exceed 0.3%. At the time of production of mushroom, the CO2 should not exceed 0.08- 0.1. It clearly shows that at the time of pin head formation there should be a good aeriation in the compost.

 

Source-

MLA

“MUSHROOMS – hortharyana.gov.in.”Horticulture Department Haryana. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May. 2017 <http://www.hortharyana.gov.in/documents/docs/MUSHROOM.pdf>.

APA

MUSHROOMS – hortharyana.gov.in. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hortharyana.gov.in/documents/docs/

• Horticulture Department, Haryana.