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| AGRICULTURE TRIBUNE | Monday, October 21, 2002, Chandigarh, India |
Let non-winter varieties also mushroom Haryana should exploit Delhi-neighbourhood advantage B. S. Dahiya and Surjeet Singh AMONG the food sources for humans also come microbes, of which fungi comprise the largest and most important group containing edible species of mushroom. Although mushrooms, which appear in nature, are delicious and nutritious, not all are edible and a few are even poisonous. Breakthrough
Gardening in October |
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Let non-winter varieties also
mushroom AMONG the food sources for humans also come microbes, of which fungi comprise the largest and most important group containing edible species of mushroom. Although mushrooms, which appear in nature, are delicious and nutritious, not all are edible and a few are even poisonous. Mushrooms have traditionally been used in India as garnishing on food and a few varieties have also been treated as tonic or medicinal material. Sincere efforts to bring mushrooms under cultivation were made in 1961 after the commissioning of a scheme, "Development of mushroom cultivation in Himachal Pradesh," at Solan. Initially it was thought that Agaricus bisporus (white button mushroom) being a temperate mushroom could be grown only in the hills under seasonal conditions during winter. But now it has been scientifically proved that seasonal cultivation of this European mushroom is also successful in North-Indian plains.
Though Haryana was a late starter in mushroom cultivation, yet in the past decade it has achieved tremendous increase in mushroom production. Mushroom growers of the state, apart from generating employment, earned Rs 7 crore as additional income from this crop alone during 1997-98. At the CCS Agricultural University, Hisar, standardisation of the cultivation technology suited to local conditions for locally consumable mushrooms has been done. These are Agaricus bisporus, A. bitorqis, Pleurotus, spp., and Volvoriella volvacea (paddy straw mushroom). Though the production technologies for these have been developed, yet all these mushrooms could not achieve commercial status, except the white button mushroom (A. bisporus). Now, growers are also showing interest in oyster mushroom cultivation and in the coming years it is likely become a commercial venture. Since all mushrooms are grown indoor, thatched structures made of locally available material like stalk of sarkanda, jowar, bajra, cotton sticks, dhaincha, etc., have been found superior to brick structures under low-cost technology. These structures are cheap and provide natural ventilation, which is required in mushroom houses. Regarding marketing of fresh mushrooms, growers of Haryana do not face any difficulty, being in the vicinity of Delhi, which is a major market for fresh mushrooms. Out of India’s estimated production of 50,000 tonnes, Haryana alone produces more than 5000 tonnes annually. However, even this quantity is not sufficient, considering the growing popularity of mushroom among consumers due to its flavour, nutritive and medicinal attributes. Farmers like to cultivate mushrooms because this venture is less land dependent as it is grown indoors using vertical space. It also escapes natural vagaries like rain, hailstorms, etc. Environmentalists prefer it because of its eco-friendly nature as mushrooms use agricultural waste/byproducts as their food and convert them into protein-rich food. The spent compost substrate—the compost left after taking the crop—can be used as organic manure or as casing material. Alternative varieties Unfortunately, till today only A. bisporus is ‘in vogue’ in Haryana. This being a temperate mushroom can be cultivated only during winters in Haryana. For most part of the year, the temperature is not suitable for white button mushroom. Keeping this in mind, efforts have been made to popularise A. bitorquis, a high-temperature white button mushroom that can tolerate slightly higher temperatures (24-25° C) as compared to A. bisporus, which requires relatively lower temperatures (14-18° C) for production. But the temperature range of 24-25° is most congenial for pests and diseases, which create hurdles in its successful production using low-cost cultivation technology. So growers should cultivate oyster mushroom, paddy straw mushroom or white milky mushroom for which the market is likely to develop in near future. As the mushroom spawn (seed) is a crucial component in mushroom cultivation, and in Haryana mushroom growers require approximately 100 tonnes of spawn annually, this is also a major opportunity for agricultural science graduates who can put up spawn laboratories so that the growers get good quality spawn. Constraints 1. A major difficulty faced by mushroom growers is depressing/low market rates due to heavy production during the peak season and dumping of produce by a few export-oriented units in the local market. There is no system at present by which growers can be protected from the crash of prices. 2. Availability of quality spawn 3. Low and variable productivity 4. Low consumption in domestic market, especially in rural areas the consumption is extremely low. 5. Weak financial status of entrepreneurs/growers and limited institutional financing. 6. Post-harvest losses in quality. 7. Lack of industries involved in post-harvest processing/marketing value-added products. Future outlook 1. Mushroom production can reach any height if assured procurement prices are there. For this formation of mushroom growers’ cooperatives can go a long way. 2. Mushrooms being a highly perishable commodity, the establishment of processing industries is needed. 3. To compete in the international market, emphasis on quality produce is required and indiscriminate use of pesticides/chemicals during cultivation should be curbed. 4. Quality spawn production is another area that needs proper attention so that mushroom growers do not suffer on account of sub-standard spawn. There should be proper labelling of spawn bags indicating the name of mushroom, strain, weight, expiry date, etc. At present there is no regulating authority in India to monitor the quality of spawn. 5. Alternative varieties like oyster, paddy, paddy straw and white milky mushrooms should be encouraged by educating growers and consumers about its vast production potential and nutritional value. 6. Domestic market should be catered
to by seasonal growers while the export-oriented units should confine
to exports. |
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Breakthrough
SCIENTISTS of the National Research Centre for Mushroom, Solan, have achieved a major breakthrough by successfully growing Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), an important medicinal mushroom that grows in the wild. Known as Ling Zhi in China, the mushroom has wide-ranging uses in the pharmaceutical industry because of its efficacy in treating diseases like cancer, diabetes and hypertension. According to Dr R. D. Rai, Principal investigator of the project on medicinal mushrooms, the technology of Reishi production had been till now a monopo1y of a few countries like Japan and China, which kept it a closely guarded secret. Mushrooms have a world trade of about $4 billion and till now it has been dominated by China, Japan and Korea. Out of the total global production of about 6000 tonnes, China alone contributes over 4000 tonnes. The USA is the biggest market for medicinal mushrooms and their products. Medicinal products of Reishi in the form of capsules and tablets are being sold as dietary supplements. Referring to the technology developed by the centre, Dr Rai says in the absence of any scientific literature on the cultivation of Reishi his team had to pick up clues from the Internet and try a number of permutations and combinations of various types of sawdust, supplements, nutrients and environmental conditions. The success was achieved after work spanning over five years. Most importantly, the famous Red Reishi was grown organically to full maturity. The growth medium is steam sterilised, which can be done in an autoclave and the temperature required is 28-30 C with 85-90 per cent relative humidity. One crop takes about five months. Dr S.R. Sharma, Director of the institute, said the breakthrough could be regarded as one of the "greatest achievements of the centre" in the field of medicinal mushrooms. Complete details of the technology could not be disclosed because the centre would file for a patent for the "benefit of the country." He expressed confidence that with the establishment of a modern growing facility the centre would be able to come out with production technology for many new varieties and develop state-of-the-art technology for farmers. In the Chinese system of medicine mushroom is regarded as a symbol of longevity or immortality. Reishi is reported to contain a treasure of pharmacological triterpanes, adenosine derivatives, organic germanium and a very active protein called Ling Zhi-8, which exhibits a wide range of medicinal benefits. It has been found to be effective
against diseases like cancer, cardiac arrest, diabetes and
hypertension, besides its immuno-stimulating properties. |
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TREE TALK KARONDA (Carissa carandus L.) is a fruit of dry areas and flourishes well on lands with high temperatures. At present it is grown on a limited scale in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. It is a fruit of Indian origin and under the changing world trade scenario it can be exploited on a commercial scale as a fruit for the processing industries. The karonda fruit is a rich source of iron and contains a fair amount of Vitamin C and, therefore, is very useful for cure of anaemia and has antiscorbutic (counteracting scurvy) properties. Mature fruit contains high amount of pectin and, therefore, besides being used for making pickle, it can be exploited for making jelly, jam, squash, syrup and chutney, which are of great demand in the international market. Karonda plants can be grown for raising beautiful juvenile hedges and because of the presence of auxiliary spines it can be a very good bio-fence. Karonda can also be planted on the boundaries and bunds of fields, keeping space in between for other crops. The leaves of the plant are easily biodegradable and enrich the soil with a lot of organic carbon and other mineral nutrients. Due to the presence of dense foliage, the evaporation rate from the soil underneath a karonda plantation is extremely slow and, therefore, it is useful for moisture-stress conditions. The roots of the plant are heavily branched and make it suitable for stabilising eroding slopes. A very hardy, drought-tolerant plant that thrives well in a wide range of soils, it is commercially propagated through seed in August and September, though inarching and budding can also be practised for vegetative propagation. Cuttings may also succeed. Planting is done with the first shower of monsoon at a distance of 1.5 m. There are no well-established varieties of Karonda, but depending on the colour, different strains are grouped as grape green, green with purple blush, white with pink blush and maroon. Pink blushed varieties are richer in iron than green and maroon ones. Plants raised from seed come into bearing two years after planting. Flowering starts in March and the fruit ripens from July to September in North India. The fruit is ready for harvest after 100-110 days of fruit-set, when they develop natural colour with a specific gravity around 1.02. Two to three pickings are required for complete harvest of 3-4 kg fruit per plant. The fruit harvested at maturity can be stored for 5-7 days at room temperature. If harvested at a ripe stage, it has a very short shelf life and can be stored only up to two days at normal temperature. Long-duration storage of the fruit can be done in SO2 (KMS) @ 2000ppm. In the lower hills of Himachal
Pradesh, vast chunks of marginal and wastelands, which are unsuitable
for other crops of commercial importance, karonda can be a good
alternative, particularly for poor farmers. The maintenance cost of
plantations is low in comparison to other fruits. |
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Gardening in October Annuals Chrysanthemum Bulbous plants —Progressive Farming, PAU |
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TREE TALK
