Grade 8 Mushroom Farming

Mushroom:
an umbrella shaped cap at the end of a stem, fleshy spore body of various fungi.
Many of them are poisonous, while few are edible.

Benefits of mushrooms:
1. They are rich in protein. fresh- 7%,    dry- 40%
2. They are high in medicinal value.
3. They can slow down the spreading of cancer, HIV etc.
4. They are ideal to people with heart and kidney diseases.
5. They are key ingredient of various recipes.

Advantage of mushroom farming:
1. Source of income.
2. Use of idle space.
3. Low investment.
4. production all the year.
5. agriculture waste utilized.


Mushroom farming in Nepal:
More than 5 species are cultivated, among them 2 are:
1. White button
2. Oyster

1. White Button Mushroom:
   Smooth round cap with short truncated stems. 90% water and without calorie.

Cultivation Technology:
1. Spawn production : production of seed in a lab.
2. Compost preparation: surface from mix of plant waste, salt, water etc, where mushroom is grown.
3. Spawning: process of mixing spawn with compost.
4. Spawn running: fill in polythene bag and start growing fungal bodies from spawn.
5. Casing: covering spawn running with layer of soil that are high in water holding capacity.
6. Fruiting: Pin head is starts growing and develops into button stage and the mushroom is ready.


2. Oyster Mushroom:
   White, grey or brown in colours wide and fleshy in nature.
Methods:
1. Pasteurize straw.
2. The straw are heated and vaporized.
3. Once the straw cools down, packed into bag.
4. Distribute the oyster mushroom spawn throughout the straw.
5. Make a holes in the plastic bags.
6. It is kept in dark room.
7. Spawn develops into mycelia and start growing in cluster.
8. Remove the plastic, take out the cluster and put it into wooden flack.
9. In a week oyster mushroom is ready to harvest.