3 Review(s)

Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus sp.) belonging to Class Basidiomycetes and Family Agaricaceae is popularly known as ‘dhingri’ in India and grows naturally in temperate and tropical forests on dead and decaying wooden logs or sometimes on dying trunks of deciduous or coniferous woods. It may also grow on decaying organic matter. The fruit bodies of this mushroom are distinctly shell or spatula shaped with different shades of white, cream, grey, yellow, pink or light brown depending upon the species.Suitable substrate: Paddy/wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse, hulled maize cobsCooking of substrate: Cut into 5cm bits, soak in potable water for 5 hrs, boil water for one hour, drain the water, air dry to 65% moisture (no water drips when squeezed between hands)Preparation of bags:Use 60 ×30 cm polythene bags (both side open).Keep the beds moist by periodical spraying with water.Tie one end of bag, put two holes of 1 cm dia in the middle.Put handful of cooked straw in the bag to a height of 5 cm; sprinkle about 25 g of spawn.Layer the straw to 25 cm in height. Repeat the process to get four layers of spawn and 5 layers of straw.Tie the mouth and arrange beds in tiers in the spawn running room.After 15-20 days, cut and remove the polythene bag and transfer the beds to cropping room.HarvestMushroom pin heads appear on 3rd day of opening of beds and mature in 3 days.Harvest matured mushrooms daily or on alternate days, before spraying water.The second and third harvests can be obtained after scraping the surface of beds after the first or second harvest.