Hi
At present 3 mushrooms are being cultivated in India. These are : the white mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), the paddy-straw mushroom (Volvariella vovvacea) and the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus sajor-caju). Of these, A. bisporus is the most popular and economically sound to grow and is extensively cultivated throughout the world. However, due to its low temperature requirement, its cultivation is restricted to the cool climatic areas and to the winter in the plains of Northen India. In summer, the tropical paddy-straw mushroom is suitable for growing in most parts of India. Even then it is less attractive commercially owing to very low yield per unit weight of the substrate and an extremely short shelf-life. But, as a kitchen-garden crop it is preferred because it is very delicious and nutritous.
Oyster mushroom can grow at moderate temperature ranging from 220 to 280C. therefore, it is suitable for most of the places of India. It is a familiar item in the menu of most hotels in Bangalore where it is being grown commercially.
In north India, the climate conditions prevailing during different seasons can be exploited for growing mushroom throughout the year. To this a year-wise production schedule is suggested :
Mid-November to Mid-March : Agaricus bisporus
February to Mid-April : Pleurotus sajor-caju
Mid-June to Mid-September : Volvariella volvacea
September to November : Pleurotus sajor-caju
For spawn you can contact the agriculture department.
Regards
Ashwini
