Training On Cultivation Of Tropical Mushrooms Training On .

Training on Cultivation of Tropical MushroomsDAY-3 (Theory)Time-10 AM to 1 PM (3 hours)Importance, climatic conditions, materialrequirements, cultivation procedure andeconomics of Oyster mushroom (Pleurotusspp.)‘Oyster mushroom’ or ‘Dhingri’ as referred inIndia is a basidiomycetes and belongs to the genus‘Pleurotus’. It is lignocellulolytic fungus that growsnaturally in the temperate and tropical forest ondead, decaying wooden logs, sometimes on dryingtrunks of deciduous or coniferous woods. It can alsogrow on decaying organic matter. The fruit bodiesof this mushroom are distinctly shell, fan or spatulashaped with different shades of white, cream, grey,yellow, pink or light brown depending upon thespecies. However, the colour of the sporophoresis extremely variable character influenced by thetemperature, light intensity and nutrients presentin the substrate. The name Pleurotus has its originfrom Greek word, ‘Pleuro’ means formed laterallyor lateral position of the stalk or stem. The oystermushroom is one of the most suitable fungalorganism for producing protein rich food fromvarious agro-wastes without composting.This mushroom is cultivated in about 25countries of far-east Asia, Europe and America.It is the 3rd largest cultivated mushroom in theworld. The major producing countries are China,South Korea, Japan, Italy, Taiwan, Thailand andPhilippines. At present, India produces annually10,000 tones of this mushroom. It is popularlygrown in the states of Odisha, Karnataka,Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh and West Bengal and in the NorthEastern States of Meghalaya, Tripura Manipur,Mizoram and Assam.forest wastes, which contain lignin, cellulose andhemicellulose.2. Choice of species: Among all the cultivatedmushrooms, Pleurotus has maximum number ofcommercially cultivated species suitable for roundthe year cultivation. Moreover, variation in shape,colour, texture, and aroma are also available as perconsumer’s choice.Pleurotus floridaPleutrotus columbinusA. Advantages of growing oyster mushroom1. Variety of substrates: Pleurotus mushroom candegrade and grow on any kind of agricultural or7

Training on Cultivation of Tropical Mushroomsstraw in 45-60 days, while with the same quantityof straw only about 400-500 kg of white buttonmushrooms are obtained in 80-100 days (includingperiod needed for compost preparation). Yieldof this mushroom can further be increased bysupplementing the substrate with suitable nitrogensource viz., soybean and cottonseed meal or byintroducing high yielding cultures/strains.Pleurotud platypusPleurotus eous3. Simple cultivation technology: Pleurotusmycelium can grow on fresh and fermented strawand it does not require composted substrate forgrowth. Substrate preparation for oyster mushroomis very simple. Further this mushroom does notrequire controlled environmental conditions likeA.bisporus as most of the species have very widetemperature, relatively humidity and CO2 tolerance.4. Longer shelf life: Unlike white buttonmushroom, the oyster mushroom fruit bodies canbe easily dried and stored. Dried oyster mushroomscan be instantly used after soaking in hot water for5 to 10 minutes or it can be used in powdered formfor several preparations. Fresh mushrooms have ashelf life of 24-48 h even at room temperature.5. High productivity: The productivity of oystermushroom per unit time is very high as comparedto all other cultivated mushrooms. One can harvestminimum of about 500 to 700 kg of fresh oystermushroom from one ton of dry wheat or paddy8The present day cultivation technology of oystermushroom is a result of various successive stepsevolved throughout the world during 20th century.A very primitive form of growing Pleurotus spp.was adopted by Lumberman in Europe during 19thcentury that involved collection of wood logs andstumps showing fructification in nature and keepingthem in cool and moist places. First successfulexperimental cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus wasachieved in Germany by Falck in 1917. In Indiacultivation of P.flabellatus on paddy straw wasreported by Bano & Srivastava in 1962 at CFTRI,Mysore. Kaul and Janardhanan (1970) cultivateda white form of P. ostreatus on dried Euphorbiaroyleana (Thor) stems. Jandaik and Kapoor in1974 could grow P. sajor-caju on various substratesincluding wheat and banana pseudostems.B. The biology of oyster mushroomVisually the basidiocarps or fruit bodies of anoyster mushroom have three distinct parts - a fleshyshell or spatula shaped cap (pileus), a short or longlateral or central stalk called stipe and long ridgesand furrows underneath the pileus called gills orlamellae. The gills stretch from the edge of the capdown to the stalk and bear the spores. If a fruit

Training on Cultivation of Tropical Mushroomsbody is kept on a paper directly (gills facing thepaper) a dirty white or lilac deposition of powderyspores can be seen. The spore print colour maybe whitish, pinkish, lilac or grey. The spores arehyaline, smooth and cylindrical. The spores areheterothallic and germinate very easily on any kindof mycological media and within 48-96 h whitishthread like colonies could be seen. The myceliumof most Pleurotus sp. is pure white in colour. P.cystidiosus and P. columbinus forms coremia likestalked structures (asexual spores). Basidiosporeson germination forms primary mycelium. Fusionbetween two compatible primary mycelia developsinto secondary mycelium, which is having clampconnections and it is fertile. Primary mycelium isclampless and non fertile.1. Preparation or procurement of spawn.2. Substrate preparation.3. Spawning of substrate4. Crop management.1. Preparation or procurement of spawn:One should have a pure culture of Pleurotusspp. for inoculation on sterilized wheat grain. Ittakes 10-15 days for mycelia growth on grains.It has been reported that Jowar and Bajra grainsC. Varieties of oyster mushroom:All the varieties or species of oyster mushroomare edible except P. olearius and P.nidiformis whichare reported to be poisonous. There are 38 species ofthe genus recorded throughout the world (Singer). Inrecent years 25 species are commercially cultivatedin different parts of the world which are as follows:P. ostreatus, P. flabellatus, P. florida, P.sajor-caju,P. sapidus, P. cystidiosus, P. eryngii, P. fossulatus, P.opuntiae, P. cornucopiae, P.yuccae, P. platypus, P.djamor, P. tuber-regium, P. australis, P. purpureoolivaceus, P. populinus, P. levis, P. columbinus, P.membranaceus etc.are superior over wheat grains. The mycelium ofoyster mushroom grows very fast on wheat grainsand 25-30 days old spawn starts forming fruitbodies in the bottle itself. It is therefore, suggestedthat the schedule for spawn preparation or spawnprocurement should be planned accordingly.Sometimes the mushroom farmers are using activemycelium growing on substrate for spawning freshD. Climatic requirementTemperature- 20-300CRelative humidity- Morethan75%Light- 200luxpH- 6.5-7.0Substrate moisture -65%E. Materials requiredStraw-2kgSpawn-200gPolythene bag-1(80x40cm)Suppliments-200g (boiled wheat,pulse powder, maize mill, wheatbran, rice bran, vermi-compost etcas optional)F. CultivationThe procedure for oyster mushroom cultivationcan be divided into following four steps.new oyster mushroom bags. This method canbe used on a small scale. There are alwayschances of spread of contamination throughinfested straw by active mycelium spawning methodso it is not advisable on large scale commercialcultivation.9

Training on Cultivation of Tropical Mushrooms2. Substrate preparation:a. Substrates for oyster mushroom and theirnutrition quality: A large number of agricultural,forest and agro-industrial by-products includingstraws of wheat, paddy and ragi, stalks and leaves ofmaize, jowar, bajra and cotton, sugarcane bagasse,jute and cotton waste, dehulled corncobs, pea nutshells, dried grasses, sunflower stalks, used tea leafwaste, discarded waste paper, paper mill sludges,coffee byproducts, tobacco waste, apple pomaceand synthetic compost of button mushroom whichare rich in cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose usefulfor growing oyster mushroom. However, yield ofoyster mushroom largely depends on the nutritionand nature of the substrate. The substrate shouldbe fresh, dry, free from mould infestation andproperly stored. Cellulose rich substrates like cottonwaste give better yields as it helps in more enzymeproduction, which is correlated, with higher yield.b. Methods of substrate preparation: The myceliagrowth can take place on a simple water treatedstraw but there are number of other cellulolyticmoulds already present on straw which competewith Pleurotus mycelium during spawn run andalso toxic metabolites secreted by these competitorshampers its growth. There are various methods tokill undesirable microorganism present in the strawto favour the growth of Pleurotus mycelium. Thesubstrate can be prepared by adopting differentmethods like steam pasteurization, hot watertreatment, chemical sterilization technique, steriletechnique and fermentation or composting. Thechoice of method will depend upon the scale ofcultivation envisages and the facilities available.The growers may adopt any one of these methoddepending upon their need. The details of differentmethods are given below:i. Steam pasteurizationIn this method, pre-wetted straw is packed in woodentrays or boxes and then kept in a pasteurizationroom at 58-620C for four hours. Temperature of thepasteurization room is manipulated with the helpof steam through a boiler. Substrate after coolingat room temperature is seeded with spawn. Theentire process takes around 3-5 days. This method10is adopted on a commercial scale in Germany.There are various minor variations of this methodsadopted in Europe. The tunnel prepared forpasteurizing compost/casing of button mushroomcan be used for pasteurizing the straw for oyster.However, adequate boiler facility will be must.ii. Hot water treatmentThe substrate after chopping (5-10 cm) assuch in case of wheat straw is soaked in cold waterovernight. The substrate is taken out and excesswater is drained. Thereafter the straw is soaked inhot water for one hour where the temperature maybe in the range of65 to 700C. It willbeappropriateto check thetemperature andstandardize theconditions as perlocation.Overboiling or overheating may notlead to properresult. Hot watertreatment makesthe hard substratelike maize cobs, stems etc. This method is notsuitable for large-scale commercial cultivation.iii. Chemical sterilization techniqueVarious species of Trichoderma, Gliocladium,Penicillium, Aspergillus and Doratomycs spp. arethe common competitor fungi on the straw duringoyster mushroom cultivation which do not allow thegrowth of mushroom mycelium during mycellialgrowth and resulting in yield loss or complete cropfailure. The technique of chemical sterilisation,which was standardized at DMR, Solan in 1987, isas follows:Ninety litres of water is taken in a rust proofdrum (preferably of galvanized sheet) or G.I.tub of 200 litres capacity. Ten kg of wheat strawis slowly steeped in water. In another plasticbucket, Carbendazim (Bavistin) 7.5 g and 125 mlformaldehyde (37-40%) is dissolved and slowly

Training on Cultivation of Tropical Mushroomspoured on the already soaked wheat straw. Straw ispressed and covered with a polythene sheet. After15 to 18 hour the straw is taken out and excess waterdrained.iv. Sterile techniqueThe chopped substrate after soaking in coldwater is put in heat resistant polypropylene bagsand sterilize in an autoclave at 22 lb. pressure for1-2 hours (depending upon the size of the bags)followed by spawning under aseptic conditions.This method is more suitable for research workrather than on large-scale commercial production.v. FermentationpasteurisationorcompostingwithoutThis method is a modification of compostingtechnique used for white button mushroom. Itis most suitable for hard substrates like cottonstalks, maize stalks and leguminous stubbles, etc.Composting should be done on a covered area orshed. Chop the substrate into 5-6 cm long pieces.Add ammonium sulphate or urea (0.5-1%) and lime(1%) on dry weight basis of the ingredients. Horsemanure or chicken manure (10% dry weight basis)can also be used instead of nitrogenous fertilizers.Addition of lime improves the physical structureand pH of the compost. After wetting of straw,other ingredients are mixed to make a pile. Preparea heap 75-90 cm high, about one meter wide. After2 days of fermentation, turning of pile is doneand 1% superphosphate and 0.5% lime is added.The compost will be ready after 6 days with threeturnings.vi Fermentation or composting with steampasteurizationStraw is pre-wetted and made into pile asdescribed above. One per cent lime is added toadjust the pH at the time of stacking. After twoturning at two days interval, the substrate is filledin the tunnel and steam pasteurized as described inthe steam pasteurization section above.c. Substrate supplementation: The nitrogencontent in most of the substrates ranges between0.5 to 0.8% and hence addition of organic nitrogenin the straw helps in getting higher yields. Some ofthe common supplements are wheat bran, rice bran,cottonseed meal, soybean cake, etc. Wheat bran andrice bran should be used at the rate of 10% whilecottonseed meal, soybean cake and groundnut cakeshould be used at the rate of 3-6% on dry weightbasis of the substrate. The supplements shouldbe treated with 25 ppm carbendazim (250 mg in10 litre water) 500 ppm of formaldehyde for 48hour. Supplements are thoroughly mixed with strawwhile spawning. Addition of supplements increasessubstrate temperature by 2-30C or even more andhence supplementation during summer seasonis not advisable. However, during winter monthsthough increased temperature is observed, whichhelps in quick spawn run. Excess nitrogen canattract mould infestation, which should be takencare of. In many cases, addition of supplements iscounterproductive due to the diseases. The betterresults of supplementation can be obtained in steriletechniques.3. Spawning of substrate:Freshly prepared (20-30 days old) grain spawnis best for spawning. The spawning should bedone in a pre-fumigated room (48 h with 2%formaldehyde). The spawn should be mixed @2 to 3% of the wet weight of the substrate. Onespawn bottle of 200 g is sufficient for 8 kg of wetsubstrate or 2 kg dry substrate. Spawn can be mixedthoroughly or mixed in layers. Spawned substratescan be filled in polythene bags (80 x 40 cm) of 125150 gauze thickness. Ten to 15 small holes (0.51.0 cm dia) should be made on all sides especiallytwo to four holes in the bottom for draining excesswater. Perforated bags give higher and early crop(4-6 days) than non-perforated bags. One can alsouse empty fruit packing cartons or boxes for fillingsubstrate. We can also make a block of the substrateby using compression machine. Polythene sheets of200-300 gauze thickness of 1.25 x 1.25 m are spreadin rectangular wooden or metal box. Spawnedsubstrate is filled and the polythene sheet is foldedfrom all the four sides and compressed to make a11

Training on Cultivation of Tropical Mushroomscompact rectangular block. It is taken out of the boxand tied with a nylon rope. The block is incubatedas such and after mycelium growth polythene sheetis removed.4. Crop management:The spawned bags or blocks are kept inincubation room for mycelial growth at desirabletemperature. Some of the Pleurotus species fruit atlow temperature around 150C whereas other speciesfruit between 20-300C. However, the incubationtemperature is around 250C for most of the species.a. Incubation: Spawn bags can be kept on a raisedplatform or shelves or can be hanged in croppingroom for mycelial colonization of the substrate.Higher temperature (more than 300C) in theexcept in case of P. membranaceus and P. djamorevar.roseus which forms fruit bodies within 10 dayseven in closed bags from small holes. Casing is notrequired in oyster mushroom cultivation. All thebundles, cubes or blocks are arranged on woodenplatforms or shelves with a minimum distance of15-20 cm between each bag in the tier. They can alsobe hanged. Various cultural conditions required forfruiting are as follows.cropping room will inhibit the growth and killthe mycelium. Mycelium can tolerate very highCO2 concentration of 1.5-2.0%. During mycelialgrowth the bags are not opened and no ventilationis needed. Moreover, there is no need for any highrelative humidity, so no water should be sprayed.However, some chemicals for control of flies can besprayed on the walls. Similarly, water can be sprayedin the room or on the wall in case the environmentaltemperature is more than required.b. Fruit body induction: Once the myceliumhas fully colonized the substrate, it forms a thickmycelial mat and is ready for fruiting. Contaminatedbags with mould infestation should be discardedwhile bags with patchy mycelial growth may be leftfor few more days to complete the spawn run. Inno case bags should be opened before 16-18 days12i. TemperatureDepending upon the temperature requirementof a species they can be categorized into twogroups-winter or low temperature requiring species(10-20 C) and summer or moderate temperaturerequiring species (16-30 C). Summer varieties canfruit at low temperature but the winter varietieswill not fruit at higher temperature. They needa low temperature shock for inducing fruit bodyformation.Commercial varieties which can be cultivatedduring summer are P. flabellatus, P. sapidus, P.citrinopileatus, P. sajor-caju and P. eous. Lowtemperature requiring species are P. ostreatus, P.florida, P. eryngii, P. fossulatus and P. cornucopiae.The growing temperature not only affects the yieldbut also the quality of produce. The pileus or capcolour of P. florida is light brown when cultivated

Training on Cultivation of Tropical Mushroomsat low temperature (10-15 C) but changes to whitepale to yellowish at 20-25 C. Similarly fruit bodycolour of P.sajor-caju when cultivated at 15-19 Cis white to dull white with high dry matter contentwhile at 25-30 C it is grayish brown.ii. Relative humidityAll the Pleurotus species require high relativehumidity (70-80%) during fruiting. To maintainrelative humidity, water spraying is to be done inthe cropping rooms. During hot and dry weatherconditions, daily 2-3 spray are recommendedwhile in hot and humid conditions (monsoon) onelight spray will be sufficient. The requirement ofwater spray can be judged by touching the surfaceof the substrate. Spraying should be done with afine nozzle to create a mist or fog in the croppingroom. It is desirable that mushrooms are harvestedbefore water spray. Ventilators and exhausts fansshould be operated for air circulation so that theexcess moisture from the cap surface evaporates.Sometimes fruit bodies give offensive smell due tothe growth of saprophytic bacteria on the wet capsurface; under such conditions 0.05% bleachingpowder spray at weekly interval is recommended.iii. Oxygen and carbon dioxide requirementsThe oyster mushroom mycelium can toleratehigh carbon dioxide concentration during spawnrun (up to 20,000 ppm or 2%) while it should be lessthan 600 ppm or 0.06% during cropping. Thereforesufficient ventilation sho

and poisonous mushroom Constraints: 1. Non availability of suitable raw materials at the door step of th e farmers such as quality substrate, spawn and organic supplements. 2. Dissemination of mushroom production technology is at a slower rate. 3. Mushroom spawn production is highly scientific and require more investment. 4.