Button Mushroom: A Prosperous Farming
Deepak Kumar Singh2, Susheel Kumar1, Amit Singh1 
1. Assistant Professor & 2. B.Sc. (Ag) 3rd Year  Department of Agriculture, SIPS

 
Mushroom is non phototropic, non chlorophyll containing fleshy fruiting body of fungus.  It is easy to grow and can give high returns in short duration40-60 days. Straws are spread over a sterilized floor and watered 2-3 times for 2 days. After that mix the above ingredients (except Gypsum & Folidol dust) and water it. Cover with polythene sheet. The compost is filled in wooden trays or shelves or in polythene bags at different rates. The hard compressed bags / beds attain more compost as compared to slightly compressed bags. The spawn of particular strain of mycelium is put into compost @1.5-2

Mushroom is non phototropic, non chlorophyll containing fleshy fruiting body of fungus.  It is easy to grow and can give high returns in short duration40-60 days. It utilizes agriculture waste and doesn’t require heavy inputs and equipments. Along with this it is highly nutritive; the nutritional value of mushroom is as follows-

• Mushrooms contain sufficient quantities of mineral elements such as Na, K, Ca, P and Fe.
• Mushrooms contain folic acid.
• Mushrooms contain vitamins like B, C, D and K.
• They contain little amount of fat (0.35- 0.65% dry wt.) and starch (0.02% dry wt.).
• Mushrooms are good sources of some B vitamins like Riboflavin or Vitamin B2, Pantothenic acid or Vitamin B5, and Niacin or Vitamin B3.
• Mushrooms are also a good source of some important minerals like Selenium, potassium, and copper.
• Selenium, an antioxidant, can keep the body’s cells healthy and prevent heart disease and cancer. Selenium also promotes a strong immune system and fertility in men. Mushrooms are the richest vegetable source of selenium. This is especially good news for vegetarians since selenium is often found in animal foods.

Cultivation Practice of Button Mushroom

Button mushroom is easy to cultivate, it requires a certain formulation given by NRC for Mushroom, Solan are-

• Wheat Straw- 1000kg
• CAN- 30kg
• Super Phosphate- 25kg
• Urea -12kg
• MOP – 10kg
• Wheat Bran -100kg
• Molasses- 16.6l
• Gypsum- 100 kg
• Folidol dust- 750g

Now the straws are spread over a sterilized floor and watered 2-3 times for 2 days. After that mix the above ingredients (except Gypsum & Folidol dust) and water it. Cover with polythene sheet.
Preparation:
Day 0- Ingredients are mixed well and pile of 5by5 is made and covered with polythene sheet. Don’t make very high pile as it increases the temperature over 80°C and the decomposition will not be proper.
Day 1-5- Monitor the stack and water it if needed. Leached water is again used. In 24-48 hr temperature of heap will be 65-70°C
Day 6- 1st turning is given in such a way the centre portion goes bottom, bottom on top and top portions in centre.
Day 10- 2nd turning given in same fashion (way)
Day 13- 3rdturning, Add gypsum to it, thoroughly mix and restack.
Day 16- 4th turning
Day 19- 5th turning
Day 22- 6th turning
Day 25- 7th turning, add required amount of Folidol dust
Day 28- Filling Day, check the heap for ammonia smell if not present fill in poly bag or tray. If smell persists give a more turning.
Filling:
The compost is filled in wooden trays or shelves or in polythene bags at different rates. The hard compressed bags / beds attain more compost as compared to slightly compressed bags. The dry weight of substrate per square foot of cropping surface largely determines total yield. During summer the compost is slightly pressed while filling so that due to the metabolism of the growing mycelium, bed temperature may not rise as enough of heat is generated during that period. Similarly it is hard-pressed during winter season.
Spawning:

• The spawn of particular strain of mycelium is put into compost @1.5-2%.
• The spawn is spread over the filled compost and a thin layer is again spread to cover it.
• Maintain moisture level to 80-85% by spraying water on floor ceiling walls and also maintained the temperature 22-25°C. 
• Tie the polythene or cover the tray with paper.
• In favourable conditions spawn run complete in 12-15 days. Now the casing soil mixture (Sterilized- Soil+ sand mixture.) 2-3 cm thick is spread in tray and polybag. This allows faster fruiting of mushroom.
• In a week the pinheads are seen, 4-5 days later fruiting bodies are seen.
• Harvesting should be done with care, no damage to immature mushroom.

Mushroom should be cut with sharp knife along with stipe.
Yield- 12-25 kg/100 kg straw