What is mushroom ? Mushrooms neither belong to the plants nor to animals.

They belong to a separate group of organisms called fungi. They lack the usual green matter present in plants and grow on dead and decaying organic materials. The mushroom fruiting body may be umbrella like or of various other shapes, size and colour. Commonly it consists of a cap or pileus and a stalk or stipe but others have additional structures like veil or annulus, a cup or volva. Mushrooms are known for their nutritive and medicinal value. A Cultivated Types Agaricus bisporus A.bisporus is one of the most common cultivated mushroom. It grows at a temperature of 14-18 C. Its cultivation is more popular in temperate areas of the world. In India, this mushroom is grown on hills all the year round and in northern plains during winter under seasonal growing conditions. It is grown on compost prepared from wheat paddy straw. Agaricus bitorquis Agaricus bitorquis is a high temperature tolerant white button mushroom. It grows at a temperature 6-80C higher than A.bisporus. It is highly resistant to viruses, tolerant to higher concentration of CO2 in the cropping room and has superior shelf life. Cultivation technique is same as that of A.bisporus.

Pleurotus spp (Oyster Mushroom Cultivation)

The cultivation technology of this type of mushroom is different from button mushroom. In case of oyster mushroom cultivation, there is no need of composting of substrate. It grows directly on various agro-waste by making them free from germs with the help of physical / chemical treatments. Different types of cultivation systems are existing at different places such as : bag cultivation system, cylindrical block system, pressed block system etc. Black ear mushroom(Auricularia spp.) The black year mushroom can be grown on wheat or paddy straw. Fruiting of this mushroor occurs at 25C and 85-95% RH. Average yield of this mushroom is 8001200g fresh mushroom per kg of dry straw. Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) This is a medicinal mushroom being cultivated at large scale in the country like China, Japan etc. NRCM has developed the cultivation technology of Shiitake mushroom. The Centre has achieved success in growing shiitake mushroom on artificial wood log made of saw dust. The technology is in its final stage. Milky mushroom (Calocybe indica) Calocybe indica was reported for the first time from India in 1974. It grows in nature on humus soil under the road side trees or in forests. Its artificial cultivation technique has been perfected and has been adopted by farmers in Tamil Nadu and Karnatka . It can be cultivated on wheat / paddy straw at temperature around 35 C.

Paddy straw mushroom (Volvariella spp.) Paddy straw mushroom grows best on paddy straw. It requires a temperature of 3035C and 85-95% RH for fruiting. The surface of its cap is soft and smooth in texture. The colour of fully grown pileus is grayish white with a reddish tinge. Wild Types Morchella spp This is the most prized mushroom which is presently collected from the wild in high hills of J&K , H.P. and Uttaranchal and sold in the market on premium price. Most of it is exported to european countries. Extensive research is going on to domesticate this mushroom. BOLETUS It has a central stipe with fleshy cap whose lower surface is composed of a vast number of pores and fine tubules & is found in the woods. Some of these can reach a diameter of 2 ft & weigh 3 Kg and have impressive colour and texture. Most of the Boletus spp. are edible. CANTRARELLUS A very popular edible fungus which forms a funnel shaped fruit body with distinct wrinkles or ridges on the under surface. It lacks true gills and is found in damp, mossy woodlands, either in pine or deciduous. TUBER These are found in deciduous woods and have a distinctive aromatic smell and have good commercial value. The siae may vary from the size of a walnut to that of a potato. Most of them are edible. Properties of mushrooms: -Rich in proteins -Contains less fat, less carbohydrate and salts -Rich in fibre and Have high Vitamin B12 and folic acid content uncommon in vegetables -High availability of lysine and tryptophan amino acids usually absent in cereals -Ideal food for patients suffering from hypertension, diabetes and obesity

omparison of mushrooms with some common vegetables per 100g of article Name CaloriesMoistureFat CarbohydrateProtein(dry wt. basis) (%) 4.4 26.9 9.6 12.9 5.5 15.1

Mushroom 16 Beet root 42 Brinjal 24

91.1 87.6 92.7

0.3 0.1 0.2

Cabbage 24 Cauliflower25 Celery 18 Green 35 beans Green 98 peas Lima 128 beans Potato 83 Mushroom Agaricus bisporus

92.4 91.7 93.7 88.9 74.3 66.5 73.8

0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.8 0.1

5.3 4.9 3.7 7.7 17.7 23.5 19.1

18.4 28.8 20.6 21.6 26.1 22.2 7.6

Medicinal property Stimulating digestion, curing hypertension Auricularia polytricha Strengthening health, helping blood circulation Boletus edulis Causing muscles and joints to relax Coriolus versicolor Curing chronic diseases Ganoderma lucidum Rejuvenating effect, neurasthenia Griflola forndosa Strengthening health and resisting diseases Hericium erinaceus Beneficial to heart, kidneys, lungs, liver, spleen Lentinu edodes Strengthening health and resisting diseases Pleurotus ostreatus Causing muscles and joints to relax Tremella fuciformis Strengthening health and resisting diseases Tricholoma mongolicum Beneficial to stomach and intestines Table-II: Nutritive values of Mushrooms compared with various food items (After Chang & Hayes, 1978). Essential Amino Acids 100 Pork, chicken, beef 99 Milk 98 Mushrooms(High) 91 88 86 79 76 72 69 53 44 Amino Acid Score Nutritional Indices 100 Pork 59 Chicken 98 Chicken,Beef 43 Beef 91 Milk 35 Pork 89 Potatoes Kidney Beans 31 Soybean Mushrooms(high) 28 Mushrooms(High) Corn 63 Cabbage amongst vegetables Cucumbers 59 Potatoes 26 Spinach Peanuts 53 Peanuts 25 Milk Spinach, Soybean 50 Corn 21 Kidney Beans Mushrooms(Low),Cabbage46 Kidney Beans 20 Peanuts Turnips 42 Cucumbers 17 Cabbage Carrots 33 Turnips 14 Cucumbers Tomatoes 32 Mushroom (Low)11 Corn 28 Spinach 9 Potatoes

23 Soybean 18 Tomatoes

8 Tomatoes 6 Carrots 5. Mushroom (Low)