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The Most Easy and Economical Mushroom Cultivation Methodology
By M. Mithal Jiskani
Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam
The higher, fleshy fungi bloom into a visible umbrella
like fruiting body, are called mushrooms. These are
considered as the source of Proteins, Vitamins, Fats,
Carbohydrates, Amino acids and Minerals.
According to Rambelli and Menini !"#$%, on an
average, the &rotein value of the mushrooms is t'ice
as that of As&aragus and &otatoes, four times as that
of tomatoes and carrots, si( times as that of
oranges. The &rotein content determined on the dry
'eight basis a&&ro(imately varies bet'een ) to
))*. The range of amino acids and other similar
nitrogen com&ounds is very large, generally includes
rare. The results sho' that $+ nitrogen com&ounds
are found in single strain of Agaricus bis&orus. The mushrooms contain thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, biotin
and ascorbic acid, all are essential for human health. The most common fats, available in different
mushrooms are &almitic, steric, oleic and linoleic acids. Many mushrooms have high sterol, es&ecially
ergo-sterol content. The carbohydrate content varies from + to .# *, as (ylose, ribose, rhamnose,
glucose, sucrose and mannitol etc. the later sugar seems to be the most abundant. The mineral content is
su&erior to that of meat and fish, nearly t'ice as that of the most commonly used vegetables. Minerals
such as calcium, &hos&horus and &otassium are su&&lied abundantly and there is also a fair /uantity of
iron, &otassium, sodium, magnesium, manganese, chlorine, silicon, sulfur and aluminum, 'hich are also
found in different mushrooms. The energy value of mushrooms also varies according to s&ecies, 'hich is
about e/ual to that of an a&&le. The local 012M314, desert mushroom, Poda(is &istillaris is consumed by
various 'ays, mostly as fresh in breakfast, contains .!.56* crude &rotein, !.7!* ether e(tract, .).!+*
ash and !...+* crude fibber 0han, !"#6%.
The mi(ture of mushrooms has been used for healing &ur&oses for thousands of years. The mushrooms
are mainly recommended to diabetic and anemic &ersons, o'ing to their high folic acid content. 8ome are
demonstrated as an antibiotic activity others are re&uted to be anti-allergic and some are used for soft and
comfortable surgical dressing 'hile some are used for anesthesia. 8ome mushrooms are used as a
&o'der or tincture for s'ollen glands, e&ile&sy and against
various diseases. Mushroom e(tract also inhibits the gro'th of
some viruses like influen9a. Cardioto(ic &roteins are &resent in
different edible mushrooms, 'hich lo'er the blood &ressure,
and are also active against tumor cells and are anti cancer
Cochran, !"7#%. The desert mushroom is used in different 'ay,
for treatment of different food deficiencies, illness and is used
'ith butter for bandage of broken bones :iskani, .55)%.
8ome mushrooms are mycorrhi9al, used for establishment of
forests, to im&rove the soil fertility, for reclamation and for
introduction of e(otic &lant s&ecies, others are &redatory and
are used as bio control agent and others as &esticide. 8ome
mushrooms also kno'n as condiment, cleaning detergent,
tinder, tun bridge 'are, snuff, dyeing, luminescent, &ainting and 'riting material as ink%, ornamental as
sho' &iece% de&ending u&on use. Mushrooms are ob;ects of beauty for Artists. Architects have
constructed minarets, tem&les and cu&ola columns in their sha&es. :e'elers have made e(&ensive &ieces
on mushroom designs :iskani, .55+%.
The mushrooms are sometimes termed as fungus flo'ers, due to their lovely sha&es and colors. These
also commonly kno'n as gilled mushrooms, &ore fungi, tooth fungi, club fungi, smooth fungi, &uff balls,
stink horns, ;elly fungi, cu& fungi, earth stars, bird<s nest fungi, boletus bolets%, morels, truffles and
toadstool. =very mushroom is consists of small root like structure rhi9oids% at the base of long sti&e
stem%, mostly bear &ileus ca&% of different colors. The u&&er surface of ca& is rough or smooth but its
lo'er surface bears the gills &artitions% or &ores, 'hich &roduces microsco&ic s&ores that serve as a
mean of re&roduction and develo& mycelium on germination, 'hich convert in to the fruiting body called
mushrooms, having a form of &lant life, 'ithout green coloring matter.
>aturally, the mushrooms observed on the manure hea&s and dum& &laces like fields, 'oods, forests,
'ater channels, manure hea&s, bunds and on grassy grounds or in the &lains, mountainous and coastal
areas of Pakistan, mostly during the rainy season or round an year, 'hen ever environment is favorable.
The ma;ority of mushrooms are unattractive for eating because of &oor flavor, taste, te(ture or small si9e
or sometimes due to unattractive color and sha&e commonly called inedible%. Many mushrooms are
&oisonous to some &eo&le and harmless to other, but some mushrooms are edible, and a fe' are not only
edible, but delicious too, because &eo&le have eaten them regularly in /uantity 'ith no ill effect, are used
by more than .55 different methods, may be cooked alone as 'ell as 'ith vegetables, meat, fish etc., and
are used for making sou&s, &ies and curries, mushroom ketchu&, sand'iches and sauce 0han and
0hatoon, !"#.%. The &oisonous mushrooms, commonly termed as toadstool are kno'n to be &oisonous
because someone ate them and become ill or died. 1ence, the 'ild mushrooms must not be eaten unless
these are identified by e(&erts com&letely.
The mushrooms absorb o(ygen and e(hales carbon dio(ide, do not need direct sun light and o&en field,
but this does not mean that these gro' only in dark. ?ifferent artificially cultivated mushrooms need
different range of tem&erature, humidity, light and ventilation. The nature has gifted most suitable
environmental conditions from sea level to high mountains, 'here various kinds of mushrooms gro'
naturally, but can not be gro'n year after year 'ith full commercial e(cess, unless &ro&er gro'ing
conditions are &rovided and ade/uate facilities are available. 8im&le, economical and commercial
methodology for cultivation of some kno'n edible mushrooms has been evolved :iskani, !""" and .55!%.
The mushrooms can be cultivated in green houses, gro'th chambers, ditches, caves, huts, hovels,
cottages, cellars, garages, sheds or shelters, bee hive sha&ed huts, thatched or meted roofs, thick tree
groves and gardens, kitchens, bathrooms or other e(tra rooms of a house or any other vacant building.
Model mushroom house must have@ store room, &asteuri9ation room, s&a'n &re&aration and s&a'ning
room, s&a'n running room, cro&&ing room as 'ell as &acking and &reservation room. The si9e of
houseAgro'th room is de&endent on the &ur&ose, i.e. commercial or domestic. The room can be a small
&lastic tent, even on tables or on floorAroof or a large inde&endent building 'ith its o'n environmental
control system.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS !R A MUSHR!!M "R!#TH
Tem&erature@ The heating and cooling system can regulate the tem&erature as &er re/uirement.
1umidity@ >ear about all ty&es of mushrooms gro' 'ell 'ith in range of #5-"$* humidity that could be
arranged 'ith the hel& of desert room cooler and or s&rinkling 'ater near the mushroom beds.
Bight@ Most of the mushrooms gro' 'ell at normal natural light but oyster mushroom needs regular light
that could be arranged through tube lights.
Calls, ceiling, benches and flooring@ Concrete flooring 'ith good drainage 'ould be the best, other'ise,
must be made 'ith such ty&e of a material that can be 'ashed and 'ithstand high humidity.
MUSHR!!M CU$TURE AN% S&A#N
The &ro&agating material used for mushroom cultivation is called s&a'n. 4t is e/uivalent to the seedlings
develo&ed from seeds of higher &lants as in case of vegetables. Actually, the s&ores serve as a mean of
seed% of the mushrooms are so small and could not be seen 'ith necked eye, therefore, the mushroom
gro'er cannot handle them. Technical laboratory &erson could inoculate sterile cereal grains 'ith the
s&ores or &ure mycelial culture of the mushroom and incubate that until a viable &roduct is develo&ed. The
grains become Ds&a'nD and can be so'n like seed. The entire o&eration &re&aration of &ure culture and
s&a'n to s&a'ning% begins in a laboratory under sterileA ase&tic conditions. The best s&a'n can be
&re&ared on sorghum grain but other cereal grains as 'ell as all agricultural and industrial 'astes can also
be used :iskani, !""" and .55!%.
SUBSTRATE'"R!#IN" ME%IUM
?ifferent agricultural and or industrial stra' 'astes can be used for cultivation of mushrooms. Mostly, the
'heat, &addy, barley, oat and gram stra', banana, sugarcane and mai9e leaves, em&ty millet heads and
corn cobs, cotton 'aste, thin sticks and boll locules, sugarcane baggage, banana &seudostems, sa' dust,
logs, stra' &a&ers, manure etc. can be used as substrate medium% for cultivation. The Pakistan is an
agricultural country, therefore a huge /uantity of the cro& 'astes is easily available at lo' cost, 'hich
could be converted in to edible mushrooms, by using se&arately or in combination.
CU$TI(ATI!N ! !)STER MUSHR!!M
The oyster mushroom Pleurotus s&&.% is amongst most im&ortant commercially gro'n mushrooms, no' a
day in com&etition 'ith button mushroom, Agaricus bis&orus Rao, !""!%. This mushroom resembles the
sha&e of shellfish, therefore mostly kno'n as oyster mushroom in =nglish, 8i&i 0humbhi in 8indhi and
8adafnuma 0humbhi in 2rdu, also called as 'ood mushroom, dhingri, henda, kharari, shooto, meat of the
forest etc, 4t is consumed as a fresh as 'ell as dried.
Most of the Pleurotus s&&. are easy to cultivate, need less e(&enses and care than all other artificially
cultivated mushrooms. 3est s&a'n can be &re&ared on sorghum ;o'ar% and other cereal grains. Mostly
the 'heat, &addy, barley, oat and gram stra', banana, sugarcane and mai9e leaves, em&ty millet heads
and corn cobs, cotton 'aste, small and thin sticks and boll locules, sugarcane baggage, banana
&seudostems, sa' dust, logs, 'aste ne's &a&ers, manure etc. are used se&arately or in combination as
substrate medium% for cultivation.
The &addy stra', leaves of different cro&s and em&ty corn cobs needs cho&&ing in to small &ieces of
about +-$ cm. Threshed 'heat stra', cotton 'aste, sa' dust, cotton boll locules and em&ty millet heads
or so, may directly be used. All substrates needs soaking in 'ater for .) hours. After soaking, boil the
same in 'ater for about half an hour, so that substrate become moist and insect &ests and other microbes
&resent in the substrate may be killed. After this, take out the stra' from 'ater and s&read on the inclined
cemented floor, for cooling as 'ell as removing of e(cess 'ater from the substrate. Chen the tem&erature
dro&s do'n to about normal and moisture content becomes about #5*, the s&a'n be mi(ed at !5-.5* of
the substrate dry 'eight 'hich 'ill be !55-.55 g Akg of dry substrate%. The s&a'ned substrate may be
filled in &olythene bags and be &laced in s&a'n running room under controlled tem&erature, humidity and
light. This mushroom re/uires #5 to "$* humidity, !$ to +5EC tem&erature and 'hite florescent light for
gro'th and develo&ment. Chen &inheads initial gro'th of fruiting bodies% of the mushrooms a&&ear, o&en
the mouth of the bags or cut at &lace, to facilitate the gro'th of fruiting bodies. 8ort out the contaminated
bags and destroy them a'ay from the gro'ing s&ace, burning of such bags is safe for remaining cro&.
CU$TI(ATI!N ! STRA# MUSHR!!M
The stra' mushrooms belong to genus Volvariella, gro' best on &addy stra', therefore are called stra'
or &addy stra' mushrooms. Perha&s it 'as first time identified as edible, greatly consumed by Chinese
and its cultivation 'as started in China, therefore is also kno'n as Chinese mushroom, tributary
mushroom or nanhua mushroom. This mushroom stood third &o&ular mushroom, can be consumed as
fresh as 'ell as dried. ?ifferent agricultural and industrial stra' 'aste, recommended for the cultivation of
oyster mushroom, can be used for s&a'n &re&aration and cultivation, but remember that the &addy stra'
&roved the best.
The stra' mushrooms are mostly cultivated on beds, &re&ared by t'o 'ays. The beds from cho&&ed,
soaked and boiled stra' are &re&ared of about s/uire meter si9e, by &lacing the moist stra' in such a 'ay
that first layer be of about ) inches. 4n this case, &lace the s&a'n +-) inches inside the margin of layer at
)-$ inch distance from each other. 8&rinkle small /uantity !A. teas&oon% of gram floor, over the s&a'n.
The second and third layer should be &re&ared and s&a'ned in the same 'ay. The last layer should be
covered 'ith a thin layer and &olythene sheet.
4n case of cultivation on beds of un-cho&&ed &addy stra', banana leaves etc, the bundles should be
&re&ared of the si9e of available stra' or leaves. 4f the bundles are &re&ared from banana leaves than the
soaking may be done for ) hours other'ise for .) hours. The soaked bundles may be arranged on
inclined cement, till the discharge of e(cess 'ater, before &re&aration of beds. The bundles are &laced
length 'ise, close to each other, on cemented floor, in a cross fashion, 'ith the o&&osite but ends on one
side. =ach bed may not be more than five layers. All layers s&a'ned and finally be covered as that of
discussed above. 4n case of cultivation in bags, the same &rocedure is ado&ted as described for cultivation
of oyster mushroom, only tem&erature, 'ater and light re/uirements need change. Chen the &inheads or
small buttons of the mushroom a&&ear, the &olythene bags be chalked 'ith blade and sheets should be
removed, to facilitate the &inheads for further gro'th. The stra' mushroom re/uires #5 to "$* humidity,
+5 to +$EC tem&erature and at least t'o times 'atering.
CU$TI(ATI!N ! BUTT!N MUSHR!!M
The 'hite mushrooms, resembling 'ith the sha&e of button are mostly kno'n as button mushroom, but as
these are naturally gro'n in meado', therefore are called meado' mushrooms, also kno'n as =uro&ean
mushroom, to'n or street mushroom in =uro&e. These are largely gro'n and greatly consumed
throughout the 'orld 'ith almost #5 &ercent share among gro'ing mushrooms Raven and :ohnson,
!"".%.
The button mushroom is difficult to cultivate, need many more e(&enses and long time than other
artificially cultivated mushrooms. Rice husks or 'heat grains found to be the best for s&a'n &re&aration,
but needs different ty&es of com&osts 'ith different com&ositions for cultivation. The &rocess of com&ost
making is termed as com&osting. The biochemical activity of a number of microorganisms for making the
substrate selective for gro'th of mushroom is called com&ost. The term com&osting is also defined as
indefinite microbial degradation of organic 'astes. The 'astes includes vegetable and animal material,
forest litter, remains of stubbles and roots in the soil, sludge, animal manure etc. 1o'ever, this mushroom
can be gro'n successfully in cellars, garages and in any abandoned room. The cultivation in mushroom
gro'ing houses by mean of tray system &roved to be best. Casing is another e(ercise, 'hich is also
com&ulsory during cultivation &rocess. Casing means the covering of com&ost 'ith a thin layer of soil or
soil like com&osted material after the s&a'n has s&read in the com&ost till the com&letion of s&a'n
running%. )-6 air changes or introducing !5 cubic foot fresh air ventilation% &er s/uire foot bed area &er
hour is also necessary for good cro&, but this is the very risky due to o&ening entries of gro'th rooms and
hel&ing insect &ests and &athogen to attack on cro&. Mean'hile, #5 to "$* humidity, !$ to .$EC
tem&erature and time to time 'atering is also its basic re/uirement for normal gro'th and develo&ment.
CU$TI(ATI!N ! %ESERT MUSHR!!M
Most of the illiterate &eo&le are of o&inion that desert mushroom is gifted from almighty Allah, rain is a
seed of it. Actually, the dark bro'n to black &o'dery mass, develo&ed in mature mushrooms, is a huge
/uantity of s&ores, 'hich are not seeds, but serve as a mean of seed. Enly Arora !"#6%, claimed that F4
have &ersonally 'orked 'ith this mushroom and have had no &roblemG HI%.
The desert mushroom can also be cultivated artificially, as easily as that of other cultivated mushrooms
'ith a little difference. 4t does not need tissue culture or artificially &re&ared s&a'n, but only matured
mushroom s&ores can directly be used for so'ing &ur&ose. The results sho' that there is no need of
agricultural or industrial 'aste, nor a &rocess of soaking, boiling or sterili9ing of such material is re/uired.
En the other hand, it can be sim&ly cultivated on flat bed of soil. Enly the need is that select sandy to
sandy loam soil in the surrounding of thick grove of trees and or gardens, or ordinary shed be &re&ared,
because direct sun rays are dangerous for this mushroom too. 1o'ever, small )($ feet si9ed beds may be
&re&ared 'ith about " to !. inches layer of soil and than one soaking dose of irrigation 'ater may be
a&&lied. After a day, the mushroom &o'der s&ores of matured mushroom%, not old than one year, may be
broadcasted on the &re&ared bed.
The s&ores may be mi(ed 'ith the hel& of log stick, s&ade or so, on . to + inches u&&er surface of the
bed. 4t must be ke&t in mind that the beds should be under shade of trees or artificially &re&ared thatches
etc.%. The 'ater must be s&rinkledA s&rayed ;ust after mi(ing of the s&ores and t'ice a day on the follo'ing
days, so that the beds remain moist. >ormally the cro& may a&&ear 'ithin +5 days. 4nitially, the root like
threads or 'ell-develo&ed hy&ha% develo& from the s&ores, in orders to search for food, 'hich are
actually microsco&ic, but some times are visible. These threads transmit into mushroom, 'hich initially
a&&ears very small and milky in color, vary in sha&e and si9e but become normal in sha&e and si9e, 'ithin
one or t'o-three days, de&ending u&on the environmental conditions.
HAR(ESTIN"* )IE$% AN% MAR+ETIN" ! MUSHR!!MS
Most of the mushrooms are harvested through &icking by hand. The harvesting of oyster mushroom could
be done 'ith the hel& of shar& knife or blade, at the base of the sti&e. 4f there are many &inheads around
the mushrooms, cut that mushroom very carefully, so that the near by &ins do not be disturbed. Any
mature mushroom harvested or diseased%, their stalks and refuse or solid &ortions left in the bed should
be removed and destroyed, to minimi9e risk of diseases and &ests.
The mushrooms yield the cro& in cycle and subse/uent flushes can be harvested till the conversion of
'aste in to mushroom or u& to contamination or till attack of insect &ests or diseases. A&&ro(imately, the
mushrooms yield e/ual to !55* of substrate dry 'eight.
Enly some ty&es of 'ild edible mushrooms e.g. black morels, desert mushroom and button mushroom are
being collected, gifted, marketed and eaten by the rural &o&ulation. These, as 'ell as other artificially
cultivated mushrooms could be marketed in local and foreign markets. The marketing or im&ort and e(&ort
value of mushrooms could be reali9ed from the re&orts of =(&ort Promotion 3ureau.
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The 'ild mushroom must not be eaten unless it is identified by e(&erts because some mushrooms are
edible 'hile others are &oisonous.