Mushroom Cultivation Tips for Beginners

 

Investment Required
Dr. Marcos says, “The primary investment for mushroom cultivation depends on mushroom variety, the level of technology utilized and the volume of production. Someone can start a mushroom culture by spending a few hundred rupees/dollars, using simple and inexpensive devices for substrate preparation or, on the contrary, a high cost system involving hundred thousand dollars/rupees by utilizing mixing machines, steam boilers and specialized peoples.”

“Cultivation growing houses are also an important component for cost evaluation. Thatch houses are cheaper and maintain temperature and air moisture dispensing climate controlling devices, but its use is best recommended for small growers.”

Mr. Gupta emphasizes that the most important decision that a farmer has to take is the quantity to be produced on a daily basis. “The minimum volume that one should start with should be at least 10 kilograms of fresh mushrooms of any variety daily. For a farm cultivating oyster mushrooms this would mean a farm of 300 square feet floor area, for a farm cultivating milky mushrooms this would be 400 square feet,” he informs.
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Surma Achar  supplies oyster mushroom.
Mrs. Achar says that the most commonly sold and accepted mushrooms in the Indian market and hospitality industry are oyster, shiitake, reishi and button mushroom. “All are sold fresh and dry depending on the usage and composition it is used for. For example all the dry varieties have more shelf life and availability throughout the year long. They can be used in the research and medicines for many ailments.”
Mrs. Achar stresses that marketing is the essence of mushroom cultivation. “It will give instant result and a feedback how best your product is doing in the market. There are different modes and ways to publish, advertise and spread awareness about mushroom. There is a huge requirement so prospects are very bright,” she concludes.
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Factors to be taken into consideration to determine which variety to grow:
1. First aspect is the variety characteristics, called growth parameters that include temperature, CO2 concentration light requirements for spawn run, primordial formation and fruit body development and cropping cycle that hold out from 3 to 16 weeks depending on the species.

2. The second aspect to be taken into account is raw material availability, such as straws, sugarcane bagasse, cotton agro-wastes and other cellulosic materials.

3. The third aspect is the local environment characteristics. Temperature, air humidity and/or seasonal climate variation along the year are important factors for mushroom physiological development.
“Confronting these three aspects it will find a consistent criterion for the kind of mushroom to be cultivated,” says Dr. Marcos.

Depending on the investment plan and sustainability, marketing and logistics with the natural resourcefulness locally first time cultivators can choose from oyster and milky mushrooms, advises Mrs. Achar. “Button mushroom needs more care and controlled atmosphere. In tropical conditions with few months of rain oyster and milky mushrooms can be grown throughout the year,” she says.
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 “We were earlier into mushroom cultivation. But from inception we faced constant problem with getting good quality mushroom spawn. We then decided to use our expertise and learning in making good spawn for the cultivators. In 2001 we closed our mushroom farm and started a spawn laboratory,” says Mr. Gupta.
According to Mr. Gupta marketing is the main challenge in the mushroom business. “Post-harvest technologies are hardly ever used. Direct markets are less and cultivators are at the mercy of wholesalers or agents who reap more profit,” says Mr. Gupta, adding, “Exports market is big but lack of cold chain facility and bureaucratic hurdles are hampering growth.”
Future Plans : Mr. Gupta maintains the company is developing a spawn that would be self-sufficient in nutrition, pesticide, and growth regulators.
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Mr. Gupta suggests four varieties of mushrooms to be cultivated on a commercial scale – oyster mushrooms, paddy straw mushrooms, milky mushrooms, and button mushrooms.
1. Oyster Mushrooms: Oyster Mushrooms are the easiest to cultivate. They can be sold both fresh and as dehydrated (dried). Primarily a temperate variety of mushroom that grows best under mild temperatures of below 25°C. There are now some temperature-tolerant strains developed that can be cultivated all year round and even at temperatures above 35°C. The average wholesale price is usually Rs.50 per kilogram while in retail the price ranges from Rs.70 to Rs.100 per kilogram depending upon the locality where it is to be sold.

2. Milky Mushrooms: Milky mushrooms are gaining popularity too. They have a big advantage of very good shelf life of over one week at room temperature. With proper cooling they can be stored for a very long period. Their cultivation technique is very much alike oyster mushrooms with slight modifications. The biggest advantage for milky mushrooms is that it grows at temperatures above 28° C and upto 38°C, which means that this variety can be successfully cultivated for more than 9 months in coastal regions of India and for about 8 months of year in plains of India.

3. Paddy Straw Mushrooms: Paddy straw mushrooms are popular in Odisha and parts of Jharkhand, and Bengal. These mushrooms grow best at temperatures between 28°C and 36°C. The most popular variety is black or grey in colour. There is a white variety too.

4. Button Mushroom: It is the most popular (from market demand standpoint) and most difficult to grow. It is strictly meant for experts and requires lot of capital investment. It is highly temperature sensitive and compost specific. Temperature has to be maintained very stringently to get good quality and quantity. Under natural conditions many cultivate it but only in places where winter temperatures of 15°C during day will last for more than 3 months. For other places where day temperature is more than 22°C the chances of failure are maximum. There are two varieties Agaricus bisporus and Agaricus bitorquis. The former one is the most popular worldwide though the later one would be cheaper to cultivate since its minimum temperature requirement is 22°C; 6°C higher than A bisporus.
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Dr. Marcos José Correia

Dr. Marcos José Correia is a professor at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco state in Brazil teaching biochemistry. Dr. Marcos is a chemical engineer and did his doctorate in Applied Microbiology. He has been working with development of technology for mushroom cultivation since 1990. He has extensive experience in substrate pasteurization and indoor environment control for mushroom cultivation.


Speaking about the latest technologies available in mushroom cultivation to produce high quality mushrooms, Dr. Marcos says, “The latest technologies follow the same principle of previous technologies, but use more advanced features such as mechanical, control systems for temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide levels by using electronic sensors and computer support. These features allow more accurate control in steps of substrate preparation and cultivation. With these new technological resources one can prepare substrates with more nutritional quality and also have more precise environmental conditions for indoor cultivation.”

Switching Varieties
Dr. Marcos says that by utilizing appropriate technology and strains, the grower can not only switch to another variety but also cultivate two or more species simultaneously by observing time of life cycle, environmental conditions (light, temperature, and air humidity) and nutritional requirements of strains. “Oyster and milky mushroom, for example, can be cultivated in the same growing house at same time,” he suggests.
Mr. Gupta informs there are many cultivators who grow different varieties of mushrooms in different season in same farm set up. “This is possible but with proper care; since spores of one variety will interact with other variety and cause problems in cultivation. You cannot grow two varieties in the same shed simultaneously. There should be a solid partition between two sections so spores of one variety do not enter the cultivation area of the other variety. If same shed is used for different variety of mushroom according to season then the cultivation area should be cleaned properly.”

Pests and Insects
To fight pests and insects, Mr. Gupta recommends the use of pesticides like Dimethoate or Chlorpyriphos which would remain for a long time on the walls and internal structures like bed frames, or hangers and destroy the eggs or larvae of the pests and keep them free from them for quite some time. To help in inhibiting pathogens like moulds from spreading, the farm and its internal structures should be sprayed with a long residue and cheap fungicide like Mancozeb, Zineb, and Blitox. Another method that can be followed is to seal the cropping area well and then spray Formalin (formaldehyde) inside and lock the room/shed for 48 hours. After that the windows and doors are opened and fresh air introduced to evacuate all traces of Formaldehyde. This treatment renders the cultivation area pathogen and pest free for quite some time.

Marketing Mushrooms
Pricing and packaging are important component of marketing the products. Mr. Gupta comments, “Proper packaging – if possible CAP (controlled atmospheric packaging) or MAP (modified atmospheric packaging) – would not only make your product attractive but also preserve it for longer time. Pricing should be according to the local market demand, but I would suggest keeping the price low as that would encourage more people to purchase and try mushrooms and perhaps include them in their daily diet. Even at minimum prices (oyster @ Rs.50/kg, milky and paddy straw @ 70/kg) a cultivator would earn at least 100% profit if they can reach directly to the consumer. If they go via middle men then slightly less profit is earned but even then there is a very high percentage of return on investment compared to any other form of business/industry.” Dr. Marcos says, “ In India, the mushroom production shot up from mere 5,000 tonnes in 1990 to over 100,000 tonnes in 2010. In regard to relations between producers and buyers, I believe that the former should organize themselves in Associations to realize commercial and logistic operations. By means of Associations or Cooperative Companies growers can provide more easily contact to buyer as well as negotiate price and time of payment.”

Returns
Speaking about the returns, Dr. Marcos maintains, “Depending on the technological level and area size, return can be achieved at first crops (in small set culture) or since first year of crop (in large scale cultivation). However the rate of return is function of price practiced by market.”
Mr. Mehta says the return is dependent on the mushroom variety. “If one starts a paddy straw mushroom farm then the first crop is harvestable within 12 days from the date of spawning; if one starts oyster mushroom farm then the first harvestable crop is within 24 days , for milky mushrooms this period is 32 days and for button mushrooms this would be 36 days . The first harvest also depends upon the climate/weather.”

Training
Three of them suggests, for a beginner basic training from a known authorized or certified cultivator to gain the theoretical knowledge, economics behind the project, calculated risk along with practical experience is important. More skills and expertise would develop during cultivation by observing mushroom’s response to day to day conditions.

Certification and Licenses
Mushrooms are considered as horticultural products and commonly do not need special licenses for cultivation. However, it depends on the local laws, commercial demands or use of post-harvest processes says Dr. Marcos.

Mr. Gupta stresses on maintaining quality of the products, especially for exports. “To export you will need phytosanitory certificate, plant quarantine certificate, pseudomonas free lab testing report, and laboratory test report of your product itself. Every consignment/invoice needs all the above mentioned certifications to be attached with them every time. This involves sizeable capital investment. If you are interested in supplying fresh mushrooms or frozen mushrooms then your farm must also be located close to an international airport or port. The need for cold chain from farm to airport and then in the airplane is essential.”

Mr. Gupta points out that a trade license enlistment is required to achieve legal status and start cultivation of mushroom. “If you want to cultivate button mushrooms on a large scale then permit and no objection certification is required from the Pollution Control Board since during the compost preparation as lot of obnoxious gases are emitted. Button mushroom farms are not allowed near cities or large residential areas. If one wants to produce byproducts or set up processing unit then FPO license is required. These processed mushrooms then attract local taxes as applicable as well as VAT @ 13.5% and CST @2%. Processed mushrooms include canned, pickled or dried mushrooms. Fresh mushrooms are considered as fresh vegetables and do not have any taxes on them.”

Important Points in a Nutshell
Important points to be known before starting the mushroom cultivation include:
1. A person wanting to start a mushroom farm should get proper training to get acquainted with all the possible factors that govern the quality and quantity of mushrooms cultivated.
2. Decide which variety to cultivate by surveying the local market (for a small farmer) or international demand (for a big farmer).
3. Decide which variety to cultivate depending upon the agro climatic conditions of the area.
4. Search for a good spawn supplier who would provide first generation spawn of the correct variety at reasonable rate.
5. Keep arrangement for preserving excess production either by drying, canning or pickling.