Oyster Mushroom cultivation training at Maharaja's College

• 13-02-2024

Hands on training on Pleurotus mushroom cultivation by polybag method was organized by Bhoomithra Sena in association with the Department of Botany.

LECTURE SESSION:A class for the same was taken by the Resource Person, Dr. Stephen Sequeira (Assistant Professor of Botany, Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam) on 13th February 2024, 3.00pm in the B.Sc. Botany Lab. 42 student members participated in the programme. PRACTICAL SESSION: After the Lecture session, students actively got involved in the workshop session of spawning by filling the polybag with Mushroom spawn and making the bags ready for cultivation. Different substrates like paddy straw, dried banana leaves and coconut husk fibre were used. The bags were kept in wooden racks in dark room.

TRANSFER TO CROPPING ROOM: After 15 days when the bags were fully impregnated with white mycelium, they were transferred into cropping room and the polythene covers were cut opened. The opened bags were hanged in open room with gap.Humidity was maintained by spraying water twice a day on the walls and floor of the room.

HARVESTING: First harvest was done on 7th February 2024 by College Principal Dr. Suja TV in presence of all members and Sri Tomas Antony, Head, Dept. of Botany, and the harvest was gifted to Dr. Pooja Balasundaram (Vice Principal, Maharaja’s College). Mushrooms were plucked before they were shed. Harvest was done twice for each substrate.

The cultivation of Pleurotus mushroom can be easily carried out using low cost agricultural waste and hence can be taken up on a large scale by individual entrepreneurs. The agro-climatic conditions as well as local availability of raw material makes mushroom cultivation an economically viable proposition.

Programme Expenditure

Report of the programme  Download