Free from School

guel Braganza, an agricultural officer of the Goa Government. It was through him that I learnt of a two-day course on mush

around on my own. For, although the course was conducted in Goa itsel

ost people would avail of the accommodation facilities offered since late evening transport is not very good in Goa. At any rate I enjoy camping out and so I a

s located within Ela farm. At the gate I had to fill in a gate pass. Down the right lane was the ICAR office. On either side of the road were coconut, guava and chickoo plantations. Further dow

er our names for the course and immediately after and to my total surprise we were informed that each of us would receive a stipend of Rs.500 for attending

han me. Most of them were farmers, so all the people who gave talks either spoke part English a

ion was: "What do you want to cultivate mushrooms for? Kitchen gardening, small scale production or large scale export?" Depending on your objectives

t of the participants including myself were happy to go straight to a meal at th

the first by a scientist from the ICAR who spoke on pests and diseases that attack mushroo

lorose, copper sulphate or citronella oil. To be fair, he also laid stress on proper management and hygiene as an effective way to redu

hour she spoke on the low fat and sugar content of mushrooms and how mushrooms prevent pain in joints

was going home and I was the only residential participant. I decided to stay the night anyway si

all nursery, a flower garden, a small fish pond, pens for small animals such as rabbits and chickens, cattle sheds an

Since there was no one else staying the night, the watchman was asked to stay with me for company. The canteen served good and cheap meals. I had already eaten there in the afternoon with the others. For the night the cook prepared some fish

nstrations. He showed us the inoculation and culture room for tissue culture as well as the ultraviolet tube where the mother spawn is prepared. Rushing up and down the lab and the lecture hall we were shown how s

ne year, selling them fresh or dried according to the demand and they gave us very practical information based on their personal experience. They said that they filled two hundred bags of straw everyday. They told us of the problems they faced with pests

ew I wouldn't be in a position to get into action immediately as my travel

the act of mushrooms-growing, I lea

Work

Grow Mu

the oyster and button mushrooms are the most popular wi

three hours. They contain iron, vitamins, calcium and protein. They are especially good for pregnant mothers, and diabetic and blood pressure

techniques and follow all the procedures and requirements very carefully. One does not ne

35-90% humidity. They also require adequate ventilation, diffused l

er the sacks should be first sterilized using savlon, formalin or dettol to avoid fungi or bacteria entering the

pawn should be compact, white on all sides and cottony. If it is yellow, it means that the spawn is old. Any other c

w grains should be removed and the remaining boiled for one hour so that it is half cooked. While boiling some formalin or savlon should be added to disinfect the grain. The grain is then spread

bes i.e. an ultra-violet tube and a normal tube light are used. A spirit lamp is also used. One can produce up to six generations from one bottle of

h of which are necessary for the growth of mushrooms. However many other kinds of substrata are also used, for

han 6 months. The straw should be dried in the sun for several days, stored if necessary in an air-tight container

hen be filled in cloth bags and soaked in water (1 kg straw to 10 litres water) for 10 hours. The

ld be weighted down and fully immersed in water. The bubbles will disappear when the straw is immersed and then reappear. Thirty minutes after the reappearance

e content one should hold some straw between one's fingers and squeeze tightl

f the bag. The four free ends must be held outside the bag. The bag can now be filled. First a 5 cm layer of straw should be put in and the straw pressed lightly against the bottom. Mushroom spawn should then be spread over it. Then another 10 cm layer of straw, over which the spawn should be spread and so on

th water three times a day with a shower pointing upwards so that the water falls on the bags like rain. On the following day small mushrooms, the size of pinheads will appear. Two days later fully grown mushrooms will appear. The mushrooms should not be pulled out because the substrata will also be pulled out with it. Instead they should be cut or twisted a

e require utmost care and good management. Of the two well known types of mushrooms,

mushrooms it is best to keep the mushroom bags at least one foot above the ground. One can burn sulphur in the room before seeding the mushrooms. Citronella oil

monitor the humidity level and maintain it as required. To prevent the occurrence of nematodes, the substrata should be constantly changed-it should never be older than six months to one year. The