Hi
The raw materials requirement for raising a crop of mushroom is recyclable cereal straw/ organic waste / organic byproducts. The main byproducts used for substrate preparation for mushroom farming are:
a. Wheat / paddy straw.
b. Sugarcane baggage
c. Saw dust
d. Cotton seed meal/soybean meal
e. Scores of the locally available agro byproducts and other agro waste materials like banana pseudo stem/ corn cobs/ groundnut hull etc.
Besides above, poultry manure is also used as nitrogen rich supplement for compost making for button mushroom cultivation. These raw materials are locally available in all the rural areas of the country at very reasonable rates. The farm yard manure (FYM), spent mushroom substrate and coir industry waste are three main ingredients used as casing materials after proper decomposition in button mushroom farming in India.
Extensive training programmes are undertaken at various centers for mushroom training in the country. No crop is supported for such extensive training programme as mushrooms. The main centers where training is available are the Directorate of Mushroom Research, Solan; IARI (Division of Plant Pathology), New Delhi: GBP University of Ag. & Tech. Pantnagar; all agricultural universities; Deptts. Of Agri./Horticulture in states of India and various NGO’s. special trainings under Horticulture, mission are organized under central schemes for inaccessible areas like North Eastern region, Kashmir and other distant states of the country. IGNOU, New Delhi also offers courses for the students and farmers. Special training programmes are organized at IARI in response to demands of the farmers. There is no deficiency in this area and all the training programmes are well attended.
Regards
Ashwini
