Mushroom Culture

Syllabus

Course Title: Mushroom Culture (0+1)

Practical: Introduction to mushroom fungi, nutritional value, edible and poisonous type, edible mushrooms -- Pleurotus, Volvariella and Agaricus, medicinal value of mushrooms , genetic improvement of mushrooms, preparation of culture, mother spawn production, multiplication of spawn, cultivation techniques, harvesting, packing and storage; problems in cultivation --- diseases, pests and nematodes, weed moulds and their management strategies. Economics of cultivation, postharvest technologies. Equipment and sterilization techniques for culture media, isolation of mother culture, spawn preparation and maintenance of mushroom beds of oyster mushroom, Volvariella and Agaricus. Processing and preservation of mushrooms, economics of spawn and mushroom production and mushroom recipes.