HINDUSTAN COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FARAH,MATHURA
(Affiliated by Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University)

SESSION (2019-2020)

Submitted to the partial fulfillment

For the award of degree

“BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY IN

BIOTECHNOLOGY”

“ WHITE BUTTON MUSHROOM PRODUCTION ”

Submitted To

Submitted by

LOVELY SINGH

Dr.ARUN PRASAD CHOPRA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my satisfaction on the completion of this project report submission as a part of my

circuilism for the degree of Bachelor of Technology, Biotechnology.. I express my gratitude
to my supervisor and mentor Dr.ARUN PRASAD CHOPRA for his kind guidance during the
entire period of training. His consistent support and advice has helped to complete this
project successfully.
NAME OF STUDENT
LOVELY SINGH
DECLARATION

I declare that the Project work TITLED “WHITE BUTTON MUSHROOM

PRODUCTION” is for the an authentic record of my own work carried out at Hindustan
College Of Science And Technology, for the award of degree of B.Tech Biotechnology.
Project comprises of my original work pursued under the guidance of Dr .ARUN PRASAD
CHOPRA .The result embodied in the report have not been submitted the report have not
been submitted to any other institute or university for any award.

NAME OF STUDENT
LOVELY SINGH

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the following student of “HINDUSTAN COLLEGEOF SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY”, Department of Biotechnology belonging to VIII semester have
successfully completed the project work titled “..WHITE BUTTON MUSHROOM
PRODUCTION.”during the year 2019 -2020.

NAME OF STUDENT

Lovely Singh (1606454009)

Project Mentor

Dr.ArunPrasadChopra
 CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
DECLARATION
CERTIFICATE
INTRODUCTION
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
GLOBAL SCENARIO
MUSHROOM PRODUCTION IN INDIA
MEDICINAL VALUE
NUTITIONAL VALUE
MATERIAL REQUIRED
METHOD
PRODUCTIVITY
MUSHROOM PEST
MUSHROOM PEST MANAGEMENT
RESULT
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mushroom

A mushroom  or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically

produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source.
The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus
bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi
(Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes) that have a stem (stipe), a cap (pileus), and gills (lamellae,
sing. lamella) on the underside of the cap. "Mushroom" also describes a variety of other
gilled fungi, with or without stems, therefore the term is used to describe the fleshy fruiting
bodies of some Ascomycota. These gills produce microscopic spores that help the fungus
spread across the ground or its occupant surface.
Forms deviating from the standard morphology usually have more specific names, such as
"bolete", "puffball", "stinkhorn", and "morel", and gilled mushrooms themselves are often
called "agarics" in reference to their similarity to Agaricus or their order Agaricales. By
extension, the term "mushroom" can also refer to either the entire fungus when in culture,
the thallus (called a mycelium) of species forming the fruiting bodies called mushrooms, or
the species itself.

Identification

Identifying mushrooms requires a basic understanding of their macroscopic structure. Most

are Basidiomycetes and gilled. Their spores, called basidiospores, are produced on the gills
and fall in a fine rain of powder from under the caps as a result. At the microscopic level, the
basidiospores are shot off basidia and then fall between the gills in the dead air space. As a
result, for most mushrooms, if the cap is cut off and placed gill-side-down overnight, a
powdery impression reflecting the shape of the gills (or pores, or spines, etc.) is formed
(when the fruit body is sporulating). The color of the powdery print, called a spore print, is
used to help classify mushrooms and can help to identify them. Spore print colors include
white (most common), brown, black, purple-brown, pink, yellow, and creamy, but almost
never blue, green, or red.
While modern identification of mushrooms is quickly becoming molecular, the standard
methods for identification are still used by most and have developed into a fine art harking
back to medieval times and the Victorian era, combined with microscopic examination. The
presence of juices upon breaking, bruising reactions, odors, tastes, shades of color, habitat,
habit, and season are all considered by both amateur and professional mycologists. Tasting
and smelling mushrooms carries its own hazards because of poisons and allergens.
Chemical tests are also used for some genera.

In general, identification to genus can often be accomplished in the field using a local

mushroom guide. Identification to species, however, requires more effort; one must
remember that a mushroom develops from a button stage into a mature structure, and only the
latter can provide certain characteristics needed for the identification of the species. However,
over-mature specimens lose features and cease producing spores. Many novices have
mistaken humid water marks on paper for white spore prints, or discolored paper from oozing
liquids on lamella edges for colored spored prints.

Classification

Typical mushrooms are the fruit bodies of members of the order Agaricales, whose type
genus is Agaricus and type species is the field mushroom, Agaricus campestris. However, in
modern molecularly defined classifications, not all members of the order Agaricales produce
mushroom fruit bodies, and many other gilled fungi, collectively called mushrooms, occur in
other orders of the class Agaricomycetes. For example, chanterelles are in the Cantharellales,
false chanterelles such as Gomphus are in the Gomphales, milk-cap mushrooms
(Lactarius, Lactifluus) and russulas (Russula), as well as Lentinellus, are in the Russulales,
while the tough, leathery genera  and Panus are among the Polyporales, but Neolentinus is in
the Gloeophyllales, and the little pin-mushroom genus, Rickenella, along with similar genera,
are in the Hymenochaetales.

Within the main body of mushrooms, in the Agaricales, are common fungi like the
common fairy-ring mushroom, shiitake, enoki, oyster mushrooms, fly agarics and
other Amanitas, magic mushrooms like species of Psilocybe, paddy straw
mushrooms, shaggy manes, etc.

An atypical mushroom is the lobster mushroom, which is a deformed, cooked-lobster-

colored parasitized fruit body of a Russula or Lactarius, colored and deformed by the
mycoparasitic Ascomycete Hypomyces lactifluorum.

Other mushrooms are not gilled, so the term "mushroom" is loosely used, and giving a full
account of their classifications is difficult. Some have pores underneath (and are usually
called boletes), others have spines, such as the hedgehog mushroom and other tooth fungi,
and so on. "Mushroom" has been used for polypores, puffballs, jelly fungi, coral
fungi, bracket fungi, stinkhorns, and cup fungi. Thus, the term is more one of common
application to macroscopic fungal fruiting bodies than one having
precise taxonomic meaning. Approximately 14,000 species of mushrooms are described.

Morphology
A mushroom develops from a nodule, or pinhead, less than two millimetres in diameter,
called a primordium, which is typically found on or near the surface of the substrate. It is
formed within the mycelium, the mass of threadlike hyphae that make up the fungus. The
primordium enlarges into a roundish structure of interwoven hyphae roughly resembling an
egg, called a "button". The button has a cottony roll of mycelium, the universal veil, that
surrounds the developing fruit body. As the egg expands, the universal veil ruptures and may
remain as a cup, or volva, at the base of the stalk, or as warts or volval patches on the cap.
Many mushrooms lack a universal veil, therefore they do not have either a volva or volval
patches. Often, a second layer of tissue, the partial veil, covers the bladelike gills that
bear spores. As the cap expands, the veil breaks, and remnants of the partial veil may remain
as a ring, or annulus, around the middle of the stalk or as fragments hanging from the margin
of the cap. The ring may be skirt-like as in some species of Amanita, collar-like as in many
species of Lepiota, or merely the faint remnants of a cortina (a partial veil composed of
filaments resembling a spiderweb), which is typical of the genus Cortinarius. Mushrooms
lacking partial veils do not form an annulus.

The stalk (also called the stipe, or stem) may be central and support the cap in the middle, or
it may be off-center and/or lateral, as in species of Pleurotus and Panus. In other mushrooms,
a stalk may be absent, as in the polypores that form shelf-like brackets. Puffballs lack a stalk,
but may have a supporting base. Other mushrooms, such as truffles, jellies, earthstars,
and bird's nests, usually do not have stalks, and a specialized mycological vocabulary exists
to describe their parts
The way the gills attach to the top of the stalk is an important feature of mushroom
morphology. Mushrooms in the genera Agaricus, Amanita, Lepiota and Pluteus, among

others, have free gills that do not extend to the top of the stalk. Others have decurrent gills
that extend down the stalk, as in the genera Omphalotus and Pleurotus. There are a great
number of variations between the extremes of free and decurrent, collectively called attached
gills. Finer distinctions are often made to distinguish the types of attached gills: adnate gills,
which adjoin squarely to the stalk; notched gills, which are notched where they join the top of
the stalk; adnexed gills, which curve upward to meet the stalk, and so on. These distinctions
between attached gills are sometimes difficult to interpret, since gill attachment may change
as the mushroom matures, or with different environmental conditions.

Growth

Many species of mushrooms seemingly appear overnight, growing or expanding rapidly. This
phenomenon is the source of several common expressions in the English language including
"to mushroom" or "mushrooming" (expanding rapidly in size or scope) and "to pop up like a
mushroom" (to appear unexpectedly and quickly). In reality, all species of mushrooms take
several days to form primordial mushroom fruit bodies, though they do expand rapidly by the
absorption of fluid

The cultivated mushroom, as well as the common field mushroom, initially form a

minute fruiting body, referred to as the pin stage because of their small size. Slightly
expanded, they are called buttons, once again because of the relative size and shape. Once
such stages are formed, the mushroom can rapidly pull in water from its mycelium and
expand, mainly by inflating preformed cells that took several days to form in the primordia.
Nutrition

Raw brown mushrooms are 92% water, 4% carbohydrates, 2% protein and less than 1% fat.
In a 100 gram (3.5 ounce) amount, raw mushrooms provide 22 calories and are a rich source
(20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of B vitamins, such
as riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid, selenium (37% DV) and copper (25% DV), and a
moderate source (10-19% DV) of phosphorus, zinc and potassium (table). They have minimal
or no Vitamin C and sodium content.

Vitamin D

The vitamin D content of a mushroom depends on postharvest handling, in particular the

unintended exposure to sunlight. The US Department of Agriculture provided evidence that
UV-exposed mushrooms contain substantial amounts of vitamin D. When exposed
to ultraviolet (UV) light, even after harvesting, ergosterol in mushrooms is converted
to vitamin D2, a process now used intentionally to supply fresh vitamin D mushrooms for
the functional food grocery market. In a comprehensive safety assessment of producing
vitamin D in fresh mushrooms, researchers showed that artificial UV light technologies were
equally effective for vitamin D production as in mushrooms exposed to natural sunlight, and
that UV light has a long record of safe use for production of vitamin D in food.

Nutritional content

Many types of mushroom are edible, and most provide about the same quantities of the same
nutrients per serving, regardless of their shape or size. The table below shows how much of
each nutrient a 96-g cup of whole, raw mushrooms provides. It also shows how much of each
nutrient adults should consume every day, depending on their sex and age.

Amount of
Recommended daily
Nutrient nutrient in 1 cup of
intake
mushrooms

Energy
21.1 1,600–3,200
(calories)

Protein (g) 3.0 46–56

Carbohydrate 3.1, including 1.9 g of
130
(g) sugar

Calcium (mg) 2.9 1,000–1,300

Iron (mg) 0.5 8–18

Magnesium
8.6 310–420
(mg)

Phosphorus
82.6 700–1,250
(mg)

Potassium
305 4,700
(mg)

Sodium (mg) 4.8 2,300

Zinc (mg) 0.5 8–11

Copper (mcg) 305 890–900

Selenium
8.9 55
(mcg)

Vitamin C
2.0 65–90
(mg)

Vitamin D
0.2 15
(mg)

Folate (mcg
16.3 400
DFE)

Choline (mg) 16.6 400–550

Human use

Edible mushrooms

Mushrooms are used extensively in cooking, in

many cuisines (notably Chinese, Korean, European, and Japanese).

Most mushrooms sold in supermarkets have been commercially grown on mushroom farms.

The most popular of these, Agaricus bisporus, is considered safe for most people to eat
because it is grown in controlled, sterilized environments. Several varieties of A. bisporus are
grown commercially, including whites, crimini, and portobello. Other cultivated species
available at many grocers include Hericium erinaceus, shiitake, maitake (hen-of-the-
woods), Pleurotus, and enoki. In recent years, increasing affluence in developing countries
has led to a considerable growth in interest in mushroom cultivation, which is now seen as a
potentially important economic activity for small farmers.

China  is a major edible mushroom producer. The country produces about half of all
cultivated mushrooms, and around 2.7 kilograms (6.0 lb) of mushrooms are consumed per
person per year by 1.4 billion people. In 2014, Poland was the world's largest mushroom
exporter, reporting an estimated 194,000 tonnes (191,000 long tons; 214,000 short tons)
annually.

Separating edible from poisonous species requires meticulous attention to detail; there is no
single trait by which all toxic mushrooms can be identified, nor one by which all edible
mushrooms can be identified. People who collect mushrooms for consumption are known as
mycophagists, and the act of collecting them for such is known as mushroom hunting, or
simply "mushrooming". Even edible mushrooms may produce allergic reactions in
susceptible individuals, from a mild asthmatic response to severe anaphylactic shock. Even
the cultivated A. bisporus contains small amounts of hydrazines, the most abundant of which
is agaritine (a mycotoxin and carcinogen).However, the hydrazines are destroyed by
moderate heat when cooking.
A number of species of mushrooms are poisonous; although some resemble certain edible
species, consuming them could be fatal. Eating mushrooms gathered in the wild is risky and
should only be undertaken by individuals knowledgeable in mushroom identification.
Common best practice is for wild mushroom pickers to focus on collecting a small number of
visually distinctive, edible mushroom species that cannot be easily confused with poisonous
varieties.
Toxic mushrooms

Many mushroom species produce secondary metabolites that can be toxic, mind-altering,

antibiotic, antiviral, or bioluminescent. Although there are only a small number of deadly
species, several others can cause particularly severe and unpleasant symptoms. Toxicity
likely plays a role in protecting the function of the basidiocarp: the mycelium has expended
considerable energy and protoplasmic material to develop a structure to efficiently distribute
its spores. One defense against consumption and premature destruction is the evolution of
chemicals that render the mushroom inedible, either causing the consumer to vomit the meal
or to learn to avoid consumption altogether. In addition, due to the propensity of mushrooms
to absorb heavy metals, including those that are radioactive, European mushrooms may, as
late as 2008, include toxicity from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and continue to be studied.
Psychoactive mushroom
Mushrooms with psychoactive properties have long played a role in various native medicine
traditions in cultures all around the world. They have been used as sacrament in rituals aimed
at mental and physical healing, and to facilitate visionary states. One such ritual is
the velada ceremony. A practitioner of traditional mushroom use is
the shaman or curandera (priest-healer).
Psilocybin mushrooms possess psychedelic properties. Commonly known as "magic
mushrooms" or "shrooms", they are openly available in smart shops in many parts of the
world, or on the black market in those countries that have outlawed their sale. Psilocybin
mushrooms have been reported as facilitating profound and life-changing insights often
described as mystical experiences. Recent scientific work has supported these claims, as well
as the long-lasting effects of such induced spiritual experiences.

Medicinal properties

Some mushrooms are used or studied as possible treatments for diseases, particularly

their extracts,including polysaccharides, glycoproteins and proteoglycans. In some countries,
extracts of polysaccharide-K, schizophyllan, polysaccharide peptide, or lentinan are
government-registered adjuvant cancer therapies,even though clinical evidence of efficacy in
humans has not been confirmed.

Health benefits

Mushrooms contain protein, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. These can have various

health benefits. For example, antioxidants are chemicals that help the body eliminate free
radicals. Free radicals are toxic by products of metabolism and other bodily processes. They
can accumulate in the body, and if too many collect, oxidative stress can result. This can
harm the body’s cells and may lead to various health conditions.

Among the antioxidant agents in mushrooms are:

 selenium

 vitamin C

 choline
Cancer

The antioxidant content in mushrooms may help prevent lung, prostate, breast, and other
types of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. Some sources have suggested that
selenium may help prevent cancer, but a Cochrane review, from 2017, found no evidence to
confirm this. Mushrooms also contain a small amount of vitamin D. There is
some evidence that vitamin D supplementation may help prevent or treat some kinds of
cancer, though according to a 2018 report, the effect may vary from person to person.
Choline is another antioxidant in mushrooms. Some studies have suggested that consuming
choline can reduce the risk of some types of cancer, but at least one other study has indicated
that it may increase the risk of prostate cancer.

Diabetes

Dietary fiber may help manage a number of health conditions, including type 2 diabetes. A
2018 review of meta-analyses concluded that people who eat a lot of fiber may have a lower
risk of developing type 2 diabetes. For those who already have it, fiber may help reduce
blood glucose levels. A cup of sliced, raw mushrooms, weighing 70 grams (g), provides
almost 1 g of fiber. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults
consume 22.4–33.6 g of dietary fiber each day, depending on sex and age. Mushrooms,
beans, some vegetables, brown rice, and whole-grain foods can all contribute to a person’s
daily requirement of fiber.

Heart health

The fiber, potassium, and vitamin C in mushrooms may contribute to cardiovascular health .

Potassium can help regulate blood pressure, and this may decrease the risk
of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association (AHA)
recommend reducing the intake of added salt in the diet and eating more foods that contain
potassium. According to current guidelines, people should consume around 4,700 milligrams
(mg) of potassium each day. Mushrooms appear on the AHA’s list of foods that provide
potassium. A 2016 study concluded that people with a vitamin C deficiency were more likely
to experience cardiovascular disease and suggested that consuming vitamin C may help
prevent this illness. They did not find evidence that vitamin C supplements can reduce the
risk of this type of disease. There is some evidence that consuming a type of fiber called beta-
glucans may lower blood cholesterol levels. Beta-glucans occur in the cell walls of many
types of mushrooms. The stem of the shiitake mushrooms is a good source of beta-glucans.

In pregnancy

Many women take folic acid, or folate, supplements during pregnancy to boost fetal health,
but mushrooms can also provide folate. A cup of whole, raw mushrooms contains 16.3
micrograms (mcg) of folate. Current guidelines recommend that adults consume 400 mcg of
folate each day.

Other benefits

Mushrooms are rich in B vitamins, such as:

 riboflavin, or B-2

 folate, or B-9

 thiamine, or B-1

 pantothenic acid, or B-5

 niacin, or B-3

B vitamins help the body get energy from food and form red blood cells. A number of B
vitamins also appear to be important for a healthy brain. The choline in mushrooms can help
with muscle movement, learning, and memory. Choline assists in maintaining the structure of
cellular membranes and plays a role in the transmission of nerve impulses. Mushrooms are
also the only vegan, nonfortified dietary source of vitamin D.Several other minerals that may
be difficult to obtain from a vegan diet — such as selenium, potassium, copper, iron, and
phosphorus — are available in mushrooms.

Other uses
Mushrooms can be used for  dyeing  wool and other natural fibers.
The chromophores of mushroom dyes are organic compounds and produce strong and vivid
colors, and all colors of the spectrum can be achieved with mushroom dyes. Before the
invention of synthetic dyes, mushrooms were the source of many textile dyes.
Some fungi, types of polypores loosely called mushrooms, have been used as fire starters
(known as tinder fungi).
Mushrooms and other fungi play a role in the development of new biological remediation
techniques (e.g., using mycorrhizae to spur plant growth) and filtration technologies (e.g.
using fungi to lower bacterial levels in contaminated water).

Agaricus bisporus 

Agaricus bisporus  is an edible basidiomycete mushroom native

to grasslands in Europe and North America. It has two color states while immature – white
and brown – both of which have various names, with additional names for the mature state.
A. bisporus is cultivated in more than seventy countries, and is one of the most commonly
and widely consumed mushrooms in the world .When immature and white, this mushroom
may be known as common mushroom, white mushroom, button mushroom, cultivated
mushroom, table mushroom, and champignon mushroom. When immature and brown, it
may be known variously as Swiss brown mushroom, Roman brown mushroom, Italian
brown mushroom, cremini/crimini mushroom, chestnut mushroom, and baby bella.
When marketed in its mature state, the mushroom is brown with a cap measuring 4–6 inches
(10–15 cm). This form is commonly sold under the names portobello
mushroom, portabella mushroom, and portobello mushroom, but the etymology is
disputed.

 
Button Mushroom (Agaricus spp.) is the most popular mushroom variety grown and
consumed the world over. In India, its production earlier was limited to the winter season, but
with technology development, these are produced almost throughout the year in small,
medium and large farms, adopting different levels of technology. The species being grown in
most farms is the white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) belonging to Class
Basidiomycetes and Family Agaricaceae.
The cultivation of edible mushrooms is a biotechnological intervention for the conversion of
various lignocellosic agro-wastes into proteins. The commercial mushroom cultivation is an
appropriate agribusiness, suiting the agro-climatic conditions of Jammu and Kashmir State.
Its cultivation involves low-cost eco-friendly technology wherein locally available farm
wastes are utilized as raw material. The temperate climate conditions prevailing in Kashmir
valley are quite conducive for mushroom cultivation almost throughout the year. Added
advantage is that the venture is least dependent on electricity. Being a labour intensive indoor
activity, mushroom cultivation generates sufficient employment for unemployed youth and
provides support to women folk and other weaker section of the society.

Mushrooms not only contribute in meeting the human food requirement but also have
enormous medicinal and pharmaceutical value. Mushrooms are well-suited to supplement
diets which lack proteins and in sense they are rightly called “vegetable meat”. Carbohydrate
and fat contents of edible mushrooms are quite low. Owing to these attributes, these serve as
low-caloric diet recommended to heart patients. The absence of starch in mushroom makes it
an ideal food for diabetic patients and owing to its cholesterol-reducing property, mushrooms
are ideal for the persons worried about their fattiness. The polysaccharides present in
mushrooms have anti-tumour and immunological properties. The vitamin contents in
mushrooms are comparable with most vegetables. Mineral contents in mushrooms are higher
than fruits and vegetables.

In advanced countries like USA, Japan and China a large number of medicines (mushroom
neutriceuticals) are prepared from mushrooms in the form of tablets, capsules and extracts
which fetch revenue worth billions of dollars. This second potential use of mushroom
industry is expected to become a dominant segment as the trend to use mushrooms for
medicinal use is on rise with wider consumer satisfactions and acceptability. These two
segments of mushroom industry will not compete but will compliment each other.
Taxonomy

The common mushroom has a complicated taxonomic history. It was first described by

English botanist Mordecai Cubitt Cooke in his 1871 Handbook of British Fungi, as
a variety (var. hortensis) of Agaricus campestris. Danish mycologist Jakob Emanuel
Lange later reviewed a cultivar specimen, and dubbed it Psalliota hortensis var. bispora in
1926. In 1938, it was promoted to species status and renamed Psalliota bispora. Emil Imbach
(1897–1970) imparted the current scientific name of the species, Agaricus bisporus, after the
genus Psalliota was renamed to Agaricus in 1946. The specific epithet bispora distinguishes
the two-spored basidia from four-spored varieties.

Description

The  pileus or cap of the original wild species is a pale grey-brown in color, with broad, flat
scales on a paler background and fading toward the margins. It is first hemispherical in shape
before flattening out with maturity, and 5–10 centimetres (2–4 inches) in diameter. The
narrow, crowded gills are free and initially, pink, then red-brown and finally a dark brown
with a whitish edge from the cheilocystidia. The cylindrical stipe is up to 6 cm (2 1⁄3 in) tall
by 1–2 cm wide and bears a thick and narrow ring, which may be streaked on the upper side.
The firm flesh is white, although stains a pale pinkish-red on bruising. The spore print is dark
brown. The spores are oval to round and measure approximately 4.5–5.5 μm × 5–7.5 μm, and
the basidia usually two-spored, although two-tetrasporic varieties have been described from
the Mojave Desert and the Mediterranean, with
predominantly heterothallic and homothallic lifestyles, respectively.

This mushroom is commonly found worldwide in fields and grassy areas following rain, from
late spring through to autumn, especially in association with manure. In many parts of the
world it is widely collected and eaten; however, resemblance to deadly or poisonous
lookalikes .

Cultivation history

The earliest scientific description of the commercial cultivation of A. bisporus was made by
French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in 1707. French agriculturist Olivier de
Serres noted that transplanting mushroom mycelia would lead to the propagation of more
mushrooms.

Originally, cultivation was unreliable as mushroom growers would watch for good flushes of
mushrooms in fields before digging up the mycelium and replanting them in beds of
composted manure or inoculating 'bricks' of compressed litter, loam, and manure. Spawn
collected this way contained pathogens and crops commonly would be infected or not grow at
all. In 1893, sterilized, or pure culture, spawn was discovered and produced by the Pasteur
Institute in Paris, for cultivation on composted horse manure.

Today’s commercial variety of the common mushroom originally was a light brown color.
The white mushroom was discovered one morning in 1925 growing among a bed of brown
mushrooms at the Keystone Mushroom Farm in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. Louis Ferdinand
Lambert, the farm's owner and a mycologist by training, brought the white mushroom back to
his laboratory. As with the reception of white bread, it was seen as a more attractive food
item and became very popular. Similar to the commercial development history of the navel
orange and Red Delicious apple, cultures were grown from the mutant individuals, and most
of the cream-colored store mushrooms marketed today are products of this 1925 chance
natural mutation A.bisporous  is now cultivated in at least seventy countries throughout the
world. Global production in the early 1990s was reported to be more than 1.5 million short
tons (1.4 billion kilograms), worth more than US$2 billion. In the U.S., the white button form
of A. bisporus alone accounts for about 90% of mushrooms sold The first mushroom ”
Auricularia auricula” was cultivated about 600 A.D. Later, around 800900A. D. “Flammulina
velutipes” cultivated in China .In India, commercial mushroom farming started recently,
Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh is a major mushroom producing state. Mushroom Cultivation in India There
are two types of mushroom growers in India, seasonal farmers produce in small scale.

While commercial mushroom framer takes production continue entire year in large scale.
Mostly both develop white button mushroom to your domestic market and export. The
seasonal button mushroom growers are restricted to temperate regions like Himachal Pradesh,
Jammu, and Kashmir, hilly areas of Uttar Pradesh, hilly areas in Tamil Nadu and North
Eastern areas where farmers take 2-3 plants of button mushrooms at a year .To commercial
mushroom farming, required heavy expenditure on the building infrastructure, purchase of
machinery and equipment, raw materials, labor, and energy. It is very important for a
mushroom grower to undergo a practically oriented training programme. In India there are
various government & NGO organization provide, provide mushroom cultivation training.
NRCMis pioneer institute provides training. Also, our Indian government promoting
mushroom cultivation hence they give subsidy under a different scheme like national
horticulture board,Ministry of food processing,APEDA.Before making to start mushroom
farming decision following Factors have to be Considered to become successful in
commercial mushroom production business :

The mushroom farm should be closer to the house of the farmer for successful Participation
and monitoring purpose
1. Availability of lots of water in the farm
2. Easy accessibility to raw materials at competitive prices in the region
3. Simple access to labor at more affordable prices.
4. Availability of power at competitive prices, as electricity is a significant input in
mushroom cultivation
5. The farm should be from industrial pollutants such as chemical fumes,
6. There should be provision for sewage disposal
7. There should be provision for future growth in the farm.

Nutritional profile

In a 100-gram serving, raw white mushrooms provide 93 kilojoules (22 kilocalories) of food
energy and are an excellent source (> 19% of the Daily Value, DV) of the B
vitamins, riboflavin, niacin, and pantothenic acid . Fresh mushrooms are also a good source
(10–19% DV) of the dietary mineral phosphorus .
While fresh A. bisporus only contains 0.2 micrograms (8 IU) of vitamin
D as ergocalciferol (vitamin D2), the ergocalciferol content increases substantially after
exposure to UV light.
• Protein - Most mushrooms have a high protein content, usually around 2030% by dry weight.

• Fiber - Helps lower cholesterol and is important for the digestive system.

 Vitamin D - Essential for the absorption of calcium.

• Copper - Aids in helping the body absorb oxygen and create red blood cells

• Selenium - An antioxidant that helps neutralize free radicals, thus preventing cell damage and reducing the risk of cancer and other diseases. Mushrooms
contain more selenium than any other form of produce

• Potassium- An extremely important mineral that regulates blood pressure and keeps cells functioning properly

• Other important minerals - Such as phosphorous, zinc, and magnesium.

Types of Mushrooms

There is various type of edible mushroom available in the world but in India mostly four type
mushroom cultivated.

1. White Button Mushroom

2. Portobello Mushroom
3. Dhingri (Oyster) Mushroom
4. Paddy Straw Mushroom

Among all above White Button mushroom has high demand the most popular hence most
farmer select this variety for commercially mushroom farming.

Average price for white button mushroom is in between 50-100 rs per kg this depends upon
market demand. White Button mushroom is mostly consumed mostly hotels and metro cities.
OBJECTIVE
The main objective of the exercise is to present a small scale viable bankable model
production unit through adoption of appropriate technology, utilization of resources and
suitable market strategy.     

 BACKGROUND
 
Origin
 
Cultivation of button mushrooms (A.bisporous) started in the sixteenth century. However, on
a commercial scale, the cultivation was initiated in Europe around 17 th Century. Many farms
for production of button mushrooms were established and this variety still dominates the
world production and consumption. India, with its diverse agro climate conditions and
abundance of agricultural wastes, has been producing mushrooms, mainly for the domestic
market, for more than four decades.  Commercial production picked up in the nineties and
several hi-tech export oriented farms were set up with foreign technology collaborations. But
major share of mushroom production is still on small farms.
 
  Botanical Description
 
The vegetative mycelium is composed of many inter-woven sepatate hyphae. The
reproductive phase is initiated by the formation of small knob like swellings at different
points of interwoven mycelial strands. These swellings increase in size and break through the
surface of the substratum as small balls constituting the button stage. A matured basidiocarp
(fruit body) is whitish in colour and consists of thick short stipe with an annulus. The stipe
supports the pileus which appears as a hat like expansion. On the underside of the pileus, a
number of radiating gills or lamella are present which are pink when young but purple-brown
when mature.
 
   Production Status
 
Large scale white button mushroom production is centred in Europe (mainly western part),
North America (USA, Canada) and S.E. Asia (China, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan and
India).  The national annual production of mushrooms is estimated to be around 50,000
tonnes with 85 percent of this production being of button mushrooms.
 
 Economic Importance
 

Mushrooms are highly proteinaceous and are used as food. The white button mushroom is
sold as fresh mushroom or is canned and made into soups, sauces and other food
products.  Protein in mushrooms have 60-70 % digestibility and contains all the essential
amino acids. It has medicinal properties also. A high amount of retene is present in the button
mushroom which is supposed to have an antagonistic effect on some forms of tumours.

MATERIALS AND METHODS OF WHITE BUTTON MUSHROOM PRODUCTION

  Basic Requirement:
Substrate
Substrate is any material used to support growth of crops instead of soil.  Mushroom can be
classified as:

–          Primary decomposers of organic matter (like wood, leaves and straw in nature) e.g.
shitake and oyster mushroom,

–          Secondary decomposers-matter degraded by bacteria or other fungi e.g. button

mushroom

Examples of Agricultural waste substrate materials include:

Wheat straw, banana leaves, banana pseudo stems, barley straw, bean pods/straw, coconut
fibre, coffee parchment, coffee pulp, coffee sawdust, corn fibre, corn cobs, corn stovers,
cotton straw, cotton husks, grass, groundnuts shells, legume straws, paper pulp, potato
foliage, rice straw, saw dust, sorghum stover, sugarcane bagasse, sunflower stypes, tea
leaves, water hyacinth, wood shavings.

Factors to consider in substrate selection

 High yielding substrate
 Ease of use
 Cost of substrate
 Availability
 Storage
 Cost of transport
 Clean (without moulds/coloration)
 If possible from the previous harvest
 Mushroom Housing
Materials used include: –

 Steel structure tubing covered with tarpaulin

 Bamboo woven matting insulated inside with polythene sheets.
 Grass thatched houses or with shade cloth thatching
 Green houses clad with insulation (glass wool) and roof vents
 Mud walled house
Housing conditions: –
i) Temperature

 Incubation 20 -27o C
 Fruiting/pin formation 10-18o C
ii) Humidity

 Substrate moisture – 60-70%

 Fruiting body 80-95% humidity
iii) Light- Mycelia growth (Incubation) can take place without light

– Fruiting body (mushroom growth process) requires light

iv) Ventilation -Fungi are aerobic therefore need fresh air especially during the reproduction
stage.

The Process of Mushroom Growing:

Substrate preparation

 Sterilization/pasteurization (decontamination) of substrate

 Inoculation (spawning)-This is introduction of seeds to substrate
 Fruiting (growth processes of mushroom)
 Harvesting, post-harvest handling
 Marketing

 Mushroom production
The key generic steps in mushroom production –
1) a cycle that takes between one to three months from start to finish depending on species –
are:
2) identifying and cleaning a dedicated room or building in which temperature, moisture and
3) sanitary conditions can be controlled to grow mushrooms in choosing a growing medium
and storing the raw ingredients in a clean place under cover and protected from rain.
4)pasteurizing or sterilizing the medium and bags in which, or tables on which, mushrooms
will be grown
5)seeding the beds with spawn (spores from mature mushrooms grown on sterile media);
6)maintaining optimal temperature, moisture, hygiene and other conditions for mycelium
growth and fruiting, which is the most challenging step; adding water to the substrate to raise
the moisture content since it helps ensure efficient sterilization;
7)harvesting and eating, or processing, packaging and selling the mushrooms;
8)cleaning the facility and beginning again.

Short Method of composting

• During the first phase of compost preparation, paddy straw is placed in layers and sufficient
water is added to the stack along with fertilizers, wheat bran, molasses etc. The whole thing is
mixed thoroughly with the straw and made into a stack (almost 5feet high,5 feet wide and of
any length can be made with the help of wooden boards). The stack is turned and again
watered on the second day. On the fourth day the stack is again turned for the second time by
adding gypsum and watered. The third and final turning is given on the twelveth day when
the colour of the compost changes into dark brown and it starts emitting a strong smell of
ammonia. The second phase is the pasteurization phase .The compost prepared as a result of
microbe mediated fermentation process needs to be pasteurized in order to kill undesirable
microbes and competitors and to convert ammonia into microbial protein .

The whole process is carried out inside a steaming room where an air temperature of 600 C is
maintained for 4 hours. The compost finally obtained should be granular in structure with
70%
moisture content and pH 7.5. It should have a dark brown colour, sweet unobnoxious smell
and free from ammonia, insects and nematodes. After the process is complete, the substrate
is cooled down to 250 C.
 
Long Method of composting
• The long method of composting is usually practiced in areas where facilities for steam
pasteurization is not available. In this method, the first turning is given about six days after
preparation of the substrate for composting. The second turning is given on the tenth day
followed by third one on the thirteenth day when gypsum is added. The fourth, fifth and sixth
turnings are given on the sixteenth, nineteenth and twenty-second day. On the twenty-fifth
day the seventh turning is given by adding 10% BHC (125 g.) And the eighth turning is given
on the twenty-eighth day after which it is checked whether there is any smell of ammonia
present in the compost. The compost is ready for spawning only if it doesn’t have any smell
of ammonia; otherwise a few more turnings are given at an interval of three days till there is
no smell of ammonia. 

Phase I: Making Mushroom compost

Compost Preparation
 
The substrate on which button mushroom grows is mainly prepared from a mixture of plant
wastes (cereal straw/ sugarcane bagasse etc.), salts (urea , superphosphate / gypsum etc),
supplements (rice bran/ wheat bran) and water. In order to produce 1 kg.of mushroom, 220 g.
of dry substrate materials are required. It is recommended that each ton of compost should
contain 6.6 kg. nitrogen, 2.0 kg. phosphate and 5.0 kg. of potassium (N:P:K- 33: 10:25)
which would get converted into 1.98% N, 0.62% P and 1.5% K on a dry weight basis. The
ratio of C: N in a good substrate should be 25-30 : 1 at the time of staking and 16-17 : 1 in the
case of final compost.
Compositing is initiated by mixing and wetting the ingredients as they are stacked in a
rectangular pile with tight sides and a loose center. Normally, the bulk ingredients are put
through a compost turner. Water is sprayed onto the horse manure or synthetic compost as
these materials move through the turner. Nitrogen supplements and gypsum are spread over
the top of the bulk ingredients and are thoroughly mixed by the turner. Once the pile is
wetted and formed, aerobic fermentation (composting) commences as a result of the growth
and reproduction of microorganisms, which occur naturally in the bulk ingredients.
Heat, ammonia, and carbon dioxide are released as by-products during this process.

Phase II: Finishing the Compost

• There are two major purposes to Phase II composting. Pasteurization is necessary to kill
any insects, nematodes, pest fungi, or other pests that may be present in the compost. And
second, it is necessary to condition the compost and remove the ammonia that formed during
Phase I composting . Ammonia at the end of Phase II in a concentration higher than 0.07
percent is often inhibitory to mushroom spawn growth, thus it must be removed; generally, a
person can smell ammonia when the concentration is above 0.10 percent.
Phase III and Phase IV compost
 Phase III compost is Phase II compost spawn run in bulk in a tunnel, and ready for
casing when removed from the tunnel and delivered to the grower. The Phase III
compost then is cased and the spawn allowed to colonize the casing layer before
sending to the growing unit or delivering to growers, it is called Phase IV compost.
The successes of both Phase III and Phase IV compost depend, to a large extent, on
the quality of Phase I and Phase II composts. Use of Phase III compost may also
improve mushroom quality, as fragmentation of the colonized compost tends to
 improve initial color and mushroom shelf life. The use of bulk Phase III compost
has increased in popularity because it allows an increase in the number of crops a
grower can expect from his production rooms.

Spawning

 mushroom matures, it produces millions of microscopic spores on mushroom gills

lining the underside of a mushroom cap. These spores function roughly similar to the
seeds of a higher plant. The growers do not use mushroom spores to 'seed'

mushroom compost because they germinate unpredictably and therefore, are not
reliable. Mycelium can be propagated vegetatively from germinated spores,
allowing spawn makers to multiply the culture for spawn production. • Specialized
facilities are required to propagate mycelium, so the mushroom mycelium remains
pure. Mycelium propagated vegetatively on various grains or agars is known as
spawn, and commercial mushroom farmers purchase spawn from companies
specializing in its manufacture.
  
     Spawn Production
 
 Spawn is produced from fruiting culture / stocks of selected strains of mushrooms
under sterile conditions. Stock culture may be produced in the lab or may be obtained
from other reputed sources. Fruiting culture is mainly imported from various places
including foreign sources which give higher yield than Indian strains and the spawn
is produced in the lab. The spawn should be of good quality in terms of flavour,
texture and size apart from having potential for high yield and longer shelf life.
  The process of mixing spawn with compost is called spawning. The different
methods followed for spawning are given below:

 
(i)                 Spot Spawning: Lumps of spawn are planted in 5 cm. deep holes made
in the compost at a distance of 20-25 cm. The holes are later covered with
compost.
(ii)               Surface Spawning: The spawn is evenly spread in the top layer of the
compost and then mixed to a depth of 3-5 cm. The top portion is covered with
a thin layer of compost.
(iii)             Layer Spawning: About 3-4 layers of spawn mixed with compost are
prepared which is again covered with a thin layer of compost like in surface
spawning.

 
 The spawn is mixed through the whole mass of compost at the rate of 7.5 ml./ kg.
compost or 500 to 750 g./ 100 kg. compost (0.5 to 0.75%).        

 
5.4.4        Spawn Running

 
 After the spawning process is over, the compost is filled in polythene bags(90x90 cm.,
150 gauge thick having a capacity of 20-25 kg. per bag)/ trays(mostly wooden trays
1x1/2 m. accommodating 20-30 kg. compost) / shelves which are either covered with
a  newspaper sheet or polythene. The fungal bodies grow out from the spawn and take
about two weeks (12-14 days) to colonise. The temperature maintained in cropping
room is 23 ± 20 C. Higher temperature is detrimental for growth of the spawn and any
temperature below than that specified for the purpose would result in slower spawn
run. The relative humidity should be around 90% and a higher than normal
CO2 concentration would be beneficial.

Casing
• Casing is a top-dressing applied to the spawn-run compost on which the mushrooms
eventually form. A mixture of peat moss with ground limestone can be used as
casing. Casing does not need nutrients since casing acts as a water reservoir and a
place where rhizomorphs form. Rhizomorphs look like thick strings and form when
the very fine mycelium fuses together. Mushroom initials, primordia, or pins form on
the rhizomorphs, so without rhizomorphs there will be no mushrooms. Casing should
be able to hold moisture since moisture is essential for the development of a firm
mushroom. The most important functions of the casing layer are supplying water to
the mycelium for growth and development .Protecting the compost from drying,
providing support for the developing mushrooms and resisting structural breakdown
following repeated watering. The compost beds after complete spawn run should be
covered with a layer of soil (casing) about 3-4 cm. thick to induce fruiting. The casing
material should be having high porosity, water holding capacity and the pH should
range between 7-7.5. Peat moss which is considered to be the best casing material is
not available in India, as such the mixtures like garden loam soil and sand (4:1);
decomposed cowdung and loam soil (1:1) and spent compost (2-3 years old); sand and
lime are commonly used. The casing soil before application should be either
pasteurized (at 66-700 C for 7-8 hours), treated with formaldehyde (2%),
formaldehyde (2%) and bavistin (75 ppm.) or steam sterilized. The treatment needs to
be done at least 15 days before the material is used for casing. After casing is done the
temperature of the room is again maintained at 23-280 C and relative humidity of 85-
90% for another 8-10 days. Low CO2 concentration is favourable for reproductive
growth at this stage.

Pinning
 • Mushroom initials develop after rhizomorphs have formed in the casing. The initials

are extremely small but can be seen as outgrowths on a rhizomorph. Once an initial
quadruples in size, the structure is a pin. Pins continue to expand and grow larger
through the button stage, and ultimately a button enlarges to a mushroom .
Harvestable mushrooms appear 18 to 21 days after casing. Pins develop when the
carbon dioxide content of room air is lowered to 0.08 percentor lower, depending on
the cultivar, by introducing fresh air into the growing room. Outside air has a carbon
dioxide content of about 0.04 percent.

Cropping
The terms flush, break, or bloom are names given to the repeating 3- to 5-day harvest periods
during the cropping cycle. These are followed by a few days when no mushrooms are
available to harvest. This cycle repeats itself in a rhythmic fashion, and harvesting can go on
as long as mushrooms continue to mature. Most mushroom farmers harvest for 35 to 42 days,
although some harvest a crop for 60 days, and harvest can go on for as long as 150 days.

Fruiting
 
Under favourable environmental conditions viz. temperature (initially 23 ± 20 C for about a
week and then 16 ± 20 C ), moisture (2-3 light sprays per day for moistening the casing
layer), humidity( above 85%), proper ventilation and CO 2 concentration (0.08-0.15 %) the
fruit body initials which appear in the form of pin heads start growing and gradually develop
into button stage.

Mushroom Cultivation Requirement

• Spawn
• Paddy straw/saw dust of rubber
• Polythene bag
• Polythene sheet
• Pottasium permanganate/spirit
Spawn Production
To start growing mushrooms you need to buy the spores. The spores have been grown on a
corn cob. One “bottle” of spore can be used for 2 sacks. The spores on the right have been
broken into 8 pieces.
Cultivation
Step 1: Preparing the straw
• Sterilize the straw . Sterilized straw will ensure all other fungi spores are killed. To sterilize
straw, boil it in water for half an hour. Squeeze water out of the straw The straw has to be
60% moist i.e. when you squeeze the straw, no water should be wrung out. The straw is ready
to use. Chopping of paddy straw Soaking of paddy straw
Step 2: Preparing the bag
• Start packing the straw into the plastic bag of approximate dimensions 12*24 inches. Fill in
two inches of straw. Crumble one chunk of the the spore on top of the straw along the edges.
Spores grow out from the sides of the bag, so it is important to distribute the spores along the
edges. Spores in the middle will not germinate
Step 3: Layering Pack in four inches of straw.
Repeat the process three more times. After the last layer of spore, pack in two inches of
straw.
Step 4: Closing, twist the open end and tie the bag tightly .
Step 5: Making air holes
• Make 12 – 20 holes using a sharp stick all over the bag. This will promote air circulation.
The mushrooms will grow out through these holes.
Step 6: Germination
• Your mushroom bag is now ready. Set in a cool dark place to promote mycelium growth
You can also get the cool dark effect by hanging a wet jute sack around the grow bag. Make
sure that the sack is at least one foot

 MARKET ANALYSIS AND STRATEGY

 
Demand and Supply Patterns
 
White button mushrooms are grown all over the world and account for 35-45 % of the total
mushroom production. In India, large units with production capacities between 2000 – 3000
tonnes / annum, have been set up mainly as export oriented units in the southern, western and
northern regions. A large number of small units without climatic control equipment exist
throughout India and function during the autumn and winter months only.
 
A big gap exists between the demand and supply position of white button mushrooms in the
United States and European market. India exports the highest quantity of the mushroom
produced in the country to USA. Netherlands and China account for 60% of the export of
mushrooms. Germany is the largest importer and France and UK are large producers as well
as consumers.
 
The demand for fresh mushroom is increasing in the international market while that of
preserved or canned mushrooms is decreasing.  The trend in export of mushrooms (fresh and
dried/preserved form) from India during the period 1999-2000 to 2001-2002 is depicted in
the graphs below.
 

 
 
 
The possibilities of exporting fresh mushrooms to the markets in Middle East, Europe and
USA need to be explored. Europe is a very large producer of fresh button mushrooms as such
only some exotic varieties of mushrooms which are high priced can be exported to these
countries. However, some inhibiting factors are high cost of transportation and absence of
proper pre-cooling techniques and storage facilities.
 
Marketing problem is experienced in the winter months (December- February) when more
than 75% of the annual production comes in market for sale in limited duration and market
area. Farmers face the consequences of over-saturated market and are forced to sell their
produce at a cheaper price. The commercial units need to establish mushroom processing unit
so that during peak periods when there is glut of mushrooms in the market, the growers can
resort to preservation of mushroom and as such fluctuation in prices will not affect the project
economy.
 
The price of fresh mushrooms during May-June in different markets viz. Chandigarh, Delhi
and Mumbai varies between Rs.50 and Rs.100 /kg. Any mushroom unit located in and around
the main markets should be able to make sufficient profit as they can save on transportation
of produce.
 
     Analysis and Future Strategy

 
Marketing of mushrooms in India is not yet organized. It is the simple system of producers
selling directly to retailer or even to the consumer.  Wholesale distributor is mostly missing.
However, trade in the processed (canned and dried) is sizeable and organized. In other
countries 10% of the total cost is earmarked for marketing.

 
Production of mushrooms, especially of the white button mushrooms, in India has gone up
during recent years creating marketing problems. The market for processed foods has yet to
develop in the country and basically fresh fruits and vegetables are preferred. Per capita
consumption of mushrooms in India is hardly 5 g. as against over a kg. in developed
countries. There has not been any serious effort to promote the product and to strengthen and
expand the market in order to increase consumption. The marginal increase in demand is for
fresh mushrooms instead of dried/preserved mushrooms. Fresh mushrooms have very short
shelf-life and therefore cannot be transported to long distances without refrigerated transport
facility. They are sold in the markets in and around the production areas.

 
The cultivation of white button mushrooms throughout the year under controlled condition is
restricted to a few commercial units and much of the production is under natural conditions
during the winters. Majority of the growers in India do not have pasteurization facility and
other sophisticated machinery/infrastructure for round the year production of white button
mushroom. As such, button mushroom is cultivated seasonally when climatic conditions are
favourable and production expenses are minimum. Many growers in Haryana, especially in
Sonepat, Ambala and Hisar have revolutionized the cultivation of white button mushroom by
adopting very simple and cheap technology of construction of mushroom houses (mud houses
with thathched roofs). Seasonal growing of white button mushroom in Haryana and Punjab
has many advantages like nearness to market, easy and cheap availability of raw material
coupled with utilization of family labour. The growers in HP do not use compost prepared by
long method because pasteurized compost is readily available from mushroom projects
located at Solan and Palampur.
 
  

  
     PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY
 
     Agro-climatic Requirements
 
In India, button mushrooms are grown seasonally and in environment controlled cropping
houses. White button mushroom requires 20-280 C for vegetative growth (spawn run) and 12-
180 C for reproductive growth. Besides that it requires relative humidity of 80-90% and
enough ventilation during cropping.  Seasonally, it is grown during the winter months in the
north-west plains of India and for 8-10 months in a year on the hills. However, with the
advent of modern cultivation technology it is now possible to cultivate this mushroom
anywhere in India.
 
The growers can take on an average 3-4 crops of white button mushrooms in a year
depending upon the type and varieties cultivated. Factors affecting the yield of the crop both
in terms of quality and quantity are incidence of pests/pathogens and non-availability of pure
quality of spawn.

    Growing and Potential Belts

 
The major producing states are Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana,
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
 
  Varieties / Strains
 
Ooty 1 and Ooty (BM) 2 (released in 2002) are the two strains of button mushrooms released
for commercial cultivation by the scientists of Horticulture Research Station of the Tamil
Nadu Agricultural University at Vijayanagaram, Ooty. The strains which are mostly
cultivated in India are S-11, TM-79 and Horst H3..
 
Cultivation Technology
 
The whole process of mushroom production can be divided into the following steps:
 
(i)                  Spawn production
(ii)                Compost preparation
(iii)               Spawning
(iv)              Spawn running
(v)                Casing
(vi)              Fruiting
 
 
    Pest & Diseases
 
The insect pests mostly observed are nematodes, mites and springtails. 
 
The crop is suspect to several diseases like Dry Bubble (brown spot), Wet Bubble (White
Mould), Cobweb, Green Mould, False truffle (Truffle disease), Olive green mould, Brown
plaster mould and Bacterial blotch.
 
Professional help and extension advice will have to sought by the entrepreneur to adopt
appropriate and timely control measures against pests & diseases.
  
      Harvesting and Yield
 

Harvesting is done at button stage and caps measuring 2.5 to 4 cm. across and closed are
ideal for the purpose. The first crop appears about three weeks after casing. Mushrooms need
to be harvested by light twisting without disturbing the casing soil. Once the   harvesting is
complete, the gaps in the beds should be filled with fresh sterilized casing material and then
watered.
 

About 10-14 kg. fresh mushrooms per 100 kg. fresh compost can be obtained in two months
crop. Short method used for preparation of compost under natural conditions gives more yield
(15-20 kg. per 100 kg. compost)
  POST HARVEST MANAGEMENT

Packing and Storage

 (A)    Short Term Storage

 

Button mushrooms are highly perishable. Harvested mushrooms are cut at the soil line and
washed in a solution of 5g. KMS in 10L. of water for removing the soil particles as well as to
induce whiteness. After removing excess water these are packed in perforated poly bags each
containing around 250-500 g. of mushrooms. They can be stored in polythene bags at 4-5 0 C
for a short period of 3-4 days.
 

The mushrooms are usually packed in unlabelled simple polythene or polypropylene for retail
sale. Bulk packaging does not exist. In developed countries, modified atmosphere packaging
(MAP) and controlled atmosphere packaging (CAP) are in vogue.
 
(B)              Long Term Storage
 

White button mushrooms are not usually dried by common procedures used in case of oyster,
paddy and shitake mushrooms. Canning is the most popular method of preserving the white
button mushrooms and sizeable quantity of canned produce are exported to international
markets. Besides that, freeze drying, IQF and pickling are also practiced by some units.
Common diseases and pests of mushroom and their management

Like other agricultural crops, mushrooms are also subject to many biotic and abiotic stresses
which hinder its profitable cultivation. Among the various biotic agents inflicting
considerable damage to mushrooms include fungi, bacteria, nematodes, insects and mites.
Abiotic factor such as temperature, relative humidity and high or low moisture content in
compost and casing may exhibit adverse effects on mushroom growth and development and
render the crop vulnerable to diseases and pests.

MUSHROOM DISEASES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT

Many deleterious fungi are encountered in compost and casing materials during the
cultivation of white button mushroom. Some of them act as competitor moulds and the
influence spawn-run whereas others attack fruiting bodies at various stages of growth.
Depending upon the stage and severity of infection, quality of compost and the prevailing
environmental conditions, these moulds often cause complete crop failure. In Kashmir valley
piles are raised in open on un-cemented floor during mushroom cultivation. Pasteurization of
compost and casing is not done properly. Spawn-run and mushroom production is done in the
same room. These rooms are generally ill-ventilated and possess ill-hygienic standards. The
crop is subjected to the vagaries of temperature fluctuation as no proper insulating material is
used. The growers are untrained, a situation inviting a number of weed fungi, parasitic
moulds and abnormalities. The most common diseases and abnormalities are as under:

Weed fungi or competitors

Green mould (Trichoderma viride)

This mould disease appears as thick cushioned white patch with greenish fungal growth on
spawned and cased bags which gradually change to bluish green in colour. If this fungus
attacks the spawned trays, the spawn-run is affected. If it appears on casing soil, the pin-head
formation of mushrooms is retarded. The green mould fungus is a vigorous colonizer of
organic material and dead mushroom tissue. Improper phaseII composting and high humidity
are also responsible for the spread of this disease. The spores of this fungus are carried away
by air, water and careless handling.

False truffle disease (Pseudobalsamia microspora or Diehliomyces microspora)

This disease is more prevalent in summer. The fruiting body of this fungus appears in
mushroom beds as a round, cream-coloured, wrinkled and convoluted surface depicting
brain-like appearance. The mushrooms in bed and top of casing soil are characteristically
small (resembling fused pinheads). These bodies on maturity turn reddish brown and release
spores. Lack of ventilation and high humidity are the main factors favouring the appearance
of this disease. The only control measures are to minimize temperature fluctuations and
provide adequate ventilation. The spawn run temperature and cropping bed temperature
should not exceed 22°C. High humidity in mushroom houses should be avoided.

Brown plaster mould (Populaspora byssina)

The disease appears as large roughly circular patches of white mould on the surface of casing
material. These patches later on turn brown and form powdery granules which can be easily
recognized under a hand lens. The fungus also colonizes compost. The presence of fungus
has been associated with wet compost. This disease is commonly found in mushroom farms
of the valley and if uncontrolled it cause drastic reduction in mushroom production. For
disease control prepare compost properly. Also, provide proper watering and maintain
suitable temperature during spawn-run and cropping.

Inky caps (Coprinus spp.)

The fungi with long slender stalks and thin cap appear either on compost heap or in compost
bags before casing in production room. The fungus develops rapidly and decays in a black
liquid. The mycelium of this fungus is grey and in-distinguishable from mushroom
mycelium. Inky cap appearance is considered as an indication of under-composting and
presence of excessive ammonia or high nitrogen in compost. These fungi deplete food
material from compost and hamper spawn run and yield.

Cinnamon mould (Peziza spp.)

The association of Cinnamon mould is attributed to the use of peat in casing mixture. This
mould appears as small dark brown, gelatinous disc- or cup-shaped circular structures
(apothecia) which are about 1 cm across. Mostly few solitary fruiting bodies are produced
but in some cases un-restricted growth of fungus appear as circular colonies which are
initially grey white but soon turn brown. Cinnamon mould is a nuisance besides causing crop
loss.

Parasitic moulds (parasitic diseases)

Wet bubble disease (Mycogone perniciosa)

Wet bubble disease is characterized by the development of white felt like mycelial growth on
fruiting bodies of button mushroom. It spreads and covers the entire cap. The sporophores are
eventually reduced to a white, soft and foul smelling mass. The disease is also characterized
by the development of distorted masses of mushroom tissues, which initially are white and
fluffy but become brown with age and then decay. These distorted mass called
‘Sclerodamoid mass’ when mature may be up to 10 cm across. Mushrooms are attacked at
the base of stalk and disease may cause brown discoloration and decay.

Dry bubble disease (Verticillium fungicola, V. malthousei, V. psalliotae)

Dry bubble disease symptoms vary with the age of mushroom. In case of early infection
disease appears on mushrooms as small and undifferentiated masses of tissue upto 2 cm in
dia. When disease affects the crop at later stage they are often imperfectly formed with
partially differentiated cap or with distorted stipes and titled caps. Such affected mushrooms
are covered in a fine white grey mycelial growth and although discoloured they are dry and
do not rot. Occasionally, more fully differentiated mushrooms are affected and they show
small pimple like out-growth from the top of cap or blue grey spots (1–2 cm dia.) on the cap
surface. Such spots often have yellow or bluish-grey halo around them. Downward splitting
of stipe gives it shattered appearance. Contaminated casing is probably the most common
initial source of Verticillium on mushroom farms. Primary introduction may also be through
air borne spores as well as by the spores carried by flies, mites or pickers.

Cobweb disease (Cladobotryum dendroides syn. Dactylium dendroides)

The disease exhibits characteristic coarse mycelial growth over the affected mushroom, hence
is named as cobweb disease. Mushrooms are attacked at any developmental stage. The
pathogen rapidly colonizes mushroom which eventually turns brown and rots. The mycelium
colour of pathogen changes to pink or red and the cobweb appearance is replaced by a
mycelial mat. Brown or pink-brown spots with poorly.

Conclusion

It takes approximately 14 weeks to complete an entire production cycle, from the start of
composting to the final steaming off after harvesting has ended. Final yield depends on how
well a grower has monitored and controlled the temperature, humidity, pests, and so on. All
things considered, the most important factors for good production appear to be experience
plus an intuitive feel for the biological rhythms of the commercial mushroom. The
production system used to grow a crop can be chosen after the basics of mushroom growing
are understood Organic mushroom cultivation is one of the fastest growing segments of
agriculture. At the core of the organic philosophylies abanon the use of synthetic fertilizers,
pesticides herbicides,inaddition to such enetsas ,animal welfare energyefficiency,and social
justice.Hypsizygusmarmoreus (HM)is a highly praised cultivated culinary and medicinal
mushroom. The objective of this project was to assess the suitability of different spawn
media and then the potential of various Cultivation substrates to support.HM mushroom
production compatible with organic standards. The spent mushroom substrate provides a
good method for the disposal of solid waste. The guidance provided in this researches
complies with organic mushroom cultivation standards and can be used to produce certified
organic mushrooms .In addition, it allows responsible and beneficial disposal of a large
amount of solid agro-industrial waste. Cultivation of edible mushroom might be the only
current stage that results the production of protein rich food with less environmental
pollution. Mushroom can serve as food,asatonic,and as medicine are regular intake of
mushroom can make you healthier ,fitter and happier

RESULT
 My experiment proved that white button mushrooms which is produced by the above
parameters and methods are organic , healthier and has high nutritional and medicinal value.

BIBLOGRAPHY
1.Stephen Russell“ The essential guild to activating mushroom”, a textbook of mushroom
cultivation ,1st edition (2014), storey publication
2.Tradd Cotter “organic mushroom farming and my coremediation textbook of
mushroom farming,1 stedition (2014), Chelseagreen publication.
3.Paulstamets“growing and medicinal mushrooms “,a textbook of mushroom production,
1stedition(1993), tenspeedpress publication