MUSHROOM CULTIVATION - · PDF file037 - Mushroom April 01-15, 2006 - 2 - IAR INDUSTRIAL...

037 - Mushroom April 01-15, 2006INDUSTRIAL ADVISORY REPORTSIAR

H I G H L I G H T SThere are 2,500 varities of mushroomsgrown in the world and at least 270 speciesare known possesing herapeutic properties.Small-scale mushroom production providesan opportunity for farmers an additionalincome, without sparing much land.Mushroom production is labor andmanagement intensive i.e. not requiredmuch money.White-button mushroom accounts for 38percent of the total mushroom production.There are many ways to grow mushrooms,but production always occurs in threegeneral steps.

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MUSHROOM CULTIVATIONINTRODUCTION

The mushroom can be cultivated in the tropicswithout special equipment in green houses, growthchambers, ditches, caves, huts, hovels, cottages,cellars, garages, sheds or shelters, bee hive shapedhuts, thatched or meted roofs, thick tree groves andgardens, kitchens or other extra rooms of a house orany other vacant building.

The mushroom can be grown year after yearwith full commercial access if proper growingconditions are provided and adequate facilitiesavailable for the control of diseases and insect pests.Such conditions can be fulfilled in shelf growing byconstructing proper insulated and ventilatedmushroom houses. Model mushroom house musthave rooms for storing, pasteurization, spawnpreparation and spawning, spawn running, cropping,and packing and preservation.

Mushroom are eaten fried, boiled, roasted,sliced, stuffed, sautéed, curried, herbed, bread-crumbed etc.

There are at least 270 mushrooms species thatare known to posses distinct herapeutic properties.Many of the edible species are also important due tonutritional and organoleptic qualities.

DefinationA mushroom is the ‘fruit’ of certain fungi,

analogous to the apple on a tree. Most of the fungusgoes unseen as it colonizes and absorbs nutrients fromwood, fallen leaves, organic matter in soil, etc. As agroup, fungi can grow on almost any carbon source(a substrate). A fungus is composed of tubular,branched filaments known as hyphae (a mass ofhyphae is called a mycelium). Many fungi, includingsome that form mushrooms, are saprophytes,obtaining their food by colonizing dead organic matter.

If a mycelium thrives, it will eventually have enoughenergy to reproduce. When the combination oftemperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide levelsare just right, the fungus will develop a highly organizedstructure called a mushroom. The mushroom releasesmillions of spores, which function like the seeds ofplants. A number of these saprophytic fungi arecultivated for their edible mushrooms.

Some fungi are parasites, living on plants,animals, or other fungi. Some are parasitic andpathogenic, while many are parasitic and beneficial.A mutual beneficial partnership between a fungus thatlives in the roots of a plant (which provides sugars tothe fungus) and the plant (which receives mineralsfrom the fungus), is called a mycorrhiza. Many fungithat form mushrooms exist in mycorrhizal relationshipswith trees, and this is one of the reasons why forestsare often generous to mushroom hunters. Some wildmushrooms, including the popular Porcini, Matsutake,and Chanterelles, are mycorrhizal mushrooms and assuch cannot be cultivated (unless the tree is also

Report # 037 April 01-15, 2006

037 - Mushroom April 01-15, 2006INDUSTRIAL ADVISORY REPORTSIAR- 2 -

cultivated). These mushrooms are sometimesavailable in stores, but they are all collected from aforest.

WORLDProduction

The major varieties of mushrooms produced inthe world are European or white-button mushroom(Agaricus bisporus), Oyster mushroom or Dhingri(Pleurotus spp), Chinese or paddy-straw mushroom(Volvariella volvacea), shitake mushroom (Lentinusedodes) and Auricularia spp. Among these the mostwidely cultivated species is the Agaricus bisporus,which accounts for almost 38 percent of the totalmushroom production. About 2,500 varieties ofmushrooms grown in the world are edible. Thesevarieties are grown in diverse regions of the world.While the white-button mushroom is grown in theUSA, France and China.

The Oyster mushroom is concentrated in China,which accounts for over 80 percent of the production.It is also grown in South Korea and Italy. India is nota major producer of any of the mushroom varieties,but it does cultivate mushrooms. The variety gainingmaximum importance in India has been the white-button mushroom, which registered the highest growthrate in production. Mushroom production is aboutnon-existant in Pakistan.

World TradeOnly about 45 percent of mushrooms produced

are consumed in the fresh form. The rest of the 55percent is processed with 5 percent in the dehydratedform and 50 percent in the canned form. This isbecause their shelf life in the fresh form is very short.Hence mushrooms are traded in the world marketmostly in the processed form.

Netherlands is the largest exporter of cannedbutton mushrooms with a market share of about 38.5percent. China is another significant exporter of theprocessed form of this variety, accounting for almost30 percent of world trade. France is another importantexporter, contributing to about 13.5 percent of theworld exports.

As far as the import market is concerned, themost significant buyer of canned white buttonmushroom is Germany. This country alone accounts

for almost 40 percent of the world imports. USAalso imports canned mushroom, accounting for about19 percent of the world imports.

Main importer of button mushrooms areGermany, USA, France, Belgium, Sweden, Norwayand UK.

India’s Exports

Out of about 2,000 edible mushrooms known,about 280 species are produced in India. The mostimportant mushroom collected in India is the Guchhi(Morchella species), which is dried and exported toWestern countries, rather than being consumeddomestically.

Domestic consumption of canned mushroomsis quite low in India, it has managed to foster exportsdue to the huge marketable surpluses. It was onlyafter 1990 that the export level of mushrooms beganto pick up substantially. Currently, there are only twomajor exporters of canned mushroom, namely FlexFoods and Ponds Ltd. but now five new companieshave entered the market recently. Countries like theSwitzerland and the USA have ranked ascomparatively consistent importers of cannedmushrooms from India in the recent years.

Small-scale mushroom production provides anopportunity for farmers interested in an additionalincome and is a specialty option for farmers, withoutmuch land. The farmers can use mushroom cultivationas a way to extract value from woodlot thinnings andother waste materials. Mushroom production canplay an important role in utilizing farm organic wasteswhen agricultural and food processing by-productsare used as raw material for growing edible fungi.The spent substrate can then be composted andapplied directly back to the soil.

Many people are intrigued by mushrooms’nutritional and medicinal properties, in addition to theirculinary appeal. Mushrooms contain many essentialamino acids; white button mushrooms, for example,contain more protein than kidney beans. Shiitakemushrooms are less nutritious, but are still a goodsource of protein. As a group, mushrooms also containsome unsaturated fatty acids, provide several of theB vitamins, and vitamin D. Some even containsignificant vitamin C, as well as the minerals


potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium.

Asian traditions maintain that some specialtymushrooms provide health benefits. Chinese doctorsuse at least 50 species.

Mushroom production is labor and managementintensive i.e. not required much money. Specialtymushrooms are not a “get rich quick” enterprise. Onthe contrary, it takes a considerable amount ofknowledge, research, planning, and some capitalinvestment to set up a production system.

Growing Mushrooms

There are many ways to grow mushrooms, butproduction always occurs in three general steps,spawn run, pinning and fruiting. All species ofmushrooms require a set of environmental conditionsfor pinning that are different from the conditions foroptimum mycelial growth. Most, if not all, cultivatedmushrooms fruit at lower temperatures than theoptimum for substrate colonization. The last step,fruiting, is the development of the pins maturemushrooms.

Mushroom production is completely differentfrom growing green plants. It does not containchlorophyll and therefore depend on other plantmaterial (the “substrate”) for their food. The part ofthe organism that call a mushroom is really just thefruiting body. Unseen is the mycelium, tiny threadsthat grow throughout the substrate and collect nutrientsby breaking down the organic material. This is themain body of the mushroom. Generally, eachmushroom species prefers a particular growingmedium, although some species can grow on a widerange of materials.

If considering mushroom production, becomethoroughly familiar with the life cycles of fungi. A verygeneral description is included below. A plantpathology textbook is a good resource for learningmore about these complex life cycles.

Once one is familiar with various fungi life cycles,learn the growth requirements of each of the speciesbeing consided to be grown.

Growing mushrooms outdoors as a part ofinvolves little effort after inoculated the logs or othersubstrate with the mushroom spawn. Duties are mainly

to maintain humidity and monitor for fruiting. Whenmushrooms appear, add them to other gardenproducts and sell them.

The entire operation can also be conductedinside. However, indoor mushroom productiondemands a much higher level of knowledge,continuous monitoring, and timely manipulation ofenvironmental conditions is required.

Steps

A cycle that takes about 15 weeks (time variesby species) from start to finish.

Choosing a growing medium

Pasteurizing or sterilizing the medium

Seeding the beds with spawn (material frommature mushrooms grown on sterile media)

Maintaining optimal temperature, moisture, andother conditions for mycelium growth and theconditions that favor fruiting, this is the mostchallenging step.

Harvesting, packaging, and selling themushrooms

Cleaning the facility and beginning again

The substrate on which the mushrooms will fruitmust be sterilized or pasteurized in order to destroyany fungal or bacterial competitors.

Spawn

To produce spawn, inoculate a pasteurizedmedium, usually grain, with the sterile culture of aparticular mushroom species. After the culture hasgrown throughout the medium, it is called spawn.Producing spawn requires exacting laboratoryprocedures.

A better choice for the beginner is to develop aniche market for high quality fresh mushrooms, thensell them at retail or to produce a value-addedmushroom product, such as a soup mix or sauce.

Mushrooms on the Farm and in the Garden

Fungi cycle nutrients that nourish new life in thesoil. Recognizing this essential function, inventivegardeners integrate mushrooms into farm, garden andpermaculture systems. Mushrooms can also be grown


in lawns, polytunnels or polyethene bags, vegetablegardens, and woodlands. In the posh areas of the bigcities this can be grown successfully in their lawnsalso. The necessities required include substrates,microhabitats, sun, shade, wind, and humidityconditions. Gardens offer ample substrates, organicwaste materials, while plants provide shade andhumidity. Plug-inoculated blocks buried amongplantings work well for oyster and Stropharia rugoso-annulata mushrooms. It is suggests that a mistingsprinkler should be used for growing mushrooms ingardens.

In weedy areas, it is suggested that putting downorganic material and covering it with wet cardboardand wood chips, an ideal substrate for fungi.

These methods of production are not likely toyield huge numbers of mushrooms. However, theycan provide an attractive addition to directly marketedproduce.

Production at Home

Gourmet mushrooms like Shiitake, Oyster andEnoki mushrooms are growing in popularity but theretail price for many of these delicacies can often beout of range for many people. Mushroom lovers on abudget have another option - growing mushrooms athome.

Mushroom production might seem complicatedbut by taking instructions from nurseries or experts itbecomes very simple.

When one thinks of mushrooms, often think ofthe soft caps and stems. Hidden underground,however, is the vast majority of the mushroom massitself, the network of feathery mycelia. These mycelia,often seen when turning over compost, are what themushroom uses to absorb food and moisture. Thecap and stem that is commonly eaten is just the fruitingbody.

To grow, mycelia require an uncontaminatedfood source, free from other microorganisms,moisture and temperatures between 60 to 80F. Thefood source can vary, depending on the species ofmushroom, from sawdust and shavings to manure orcompost. Once mycelia have colonized a food source,they begin to produce fruiting bodies, commonlyreferred to as pins. As the pins mature, they develop

into recognizable mushrooms.

Choosing a Mushroom SpeciesFor commercial purposes first choose the species

of a mushroom for cultivation then purchase spawnthat will grow on materials that is available. Thendesign and test a system that duplicates the conditionsfavorable to all stages of growth. One can use thisexperience to learn how to create sterile cultures andspawn for the species are being grown.

Choose the species to grow by thinking about:

What waste materials are readily available touse as a growth medium

What kind of facility or environment is available

How much will the necessary equipment cost

What level of skill is required to manage the lifecycle of the fungus

What is market demand for this species

According to these criteria, oyster (Pleurotusspecies) and shiitake (Lentinus edodes) mushroomsare probably best for most novices, although themaitake (Grifola frondosa) is also a possibility. Theformer two are relatively easy to grow and there isalready a market for them, largely becausecommercial producers of white button (Agaricusbisporus) mushrooms have been diversifying intospecialty mushrooms. If someone intend to growmushrooms commercially, shiitake or oystermushrooms are your best choices.

Mushroom Cultivation from Industrial Waste

Mushroom and its raw material fulfils the proteinrequirements of human beings requires less space,care, equipment and expenditure than many plantsand animals. As a raw material different agriculturaland industrial straw wastes can be used for itscultivation.

Mostly, the wheat, paddy, barley, oat and gramstraw, banana, sugarcane and maize leaves, emptymillet heads and corn cobs, cotton waste, thin sticksand boll locules, sugarcane baggage, bananapseudostems, saw dust, logs, straw papers, manureetc., can be used as substrate (medium) for cultivation.In Pakistan huge quantity of crop wastes can beconverted into edible mushrooms by using these


separately or in combination.

There are thousands of mushroom varieties inthe world. About 2,500 species are edible - hencenot termed as toadstools, but about 20 species arepopularly known that are cultivated. The white buttonmushrooms or crimini/portabella or portobello(Agaricus bisporus) have commercial value. TheOyster includes different species of Pleurotus; strawdifferent species of Volvariella; and Morels(Morchella esculentia) common in use are cultivatedartificially.

Straw mushroom, Volvariella volvacea (Bull. ex.Fr.) Singer, also known as paddy straw and theChinese mushroom, due to its artificial cultivationbegan in China and grows best on paddy straw. It isalso known as “Tributary” or “Nanhua”. This can beconsumed fresh and dry, both. Only three species,Volvariella volvacea, V. esculenta, and V. diplasia areunder artificial cultivation. It contains 206.27 mg ofvitamin C per 100 g of fresh fruiting bodies. Theprotein extract contains cardio-toxic proteins,volvatoxin and flammutoxin which inhibit respirationin certain tumour cells.

Seed SpawnThe spores serving as a means of seed of

mushroom are small and not visible to a naked eye.The laboratory people can inoculate sterile cerealgrains with the spores or pure mycelial culture andincubate it till the development of a viable product.The grains become “spawn” and can be sown likethe seed. The entire operation (spawn preparation tospawning) begins in a laboratory under sterileconditions.

The culture of straw mushroom could beobtained from the fresh fruiting body of the mushroomby tissue culture method. The culture thus obtainedcan be maintained on potato dextrose agar (PDA)medium, applying standard equation and method forpreparation, sterilization, multiplication andinoculation. The spawn (mushroom seedling or seed)can be developed by using chopped paddy strawafter boiling for half an hour and sterilization at 15 lbPSI for 20 minutes in conical flasks and inoculatingwith pure culture of mushroom on the following day.The pure culture and spawn needs 30OC constanttemperature for 15 days. The straw mushroom needs

30 to 35OC temperature during cropping.Near about all types of mushrooms grow well

within the range of 80 TO 95 percent humidity whichcould be arranged with the help of a desert roomcooler or by sprinkling water near the mushroombeds. The water could be sprayed over the beds butit must be kept in mind that this exercise may inhibitthe growth and development.

The paddy straw leaves of different crops andempty corn cobs are chopped into 3 to 5cm pieces.Threshed wheat straw, cotton waste, saw dust, cottonboll locules and empty millet heads are soaked inwater for 24 hours. The same is boiled in water for30 minutes to kill insect pests and other microbesand the substrate becomes moist. The straw is thenspread on an inclined cemented floor for cooling.

As the temperature comes to normal with 80percent moisture contents, the spawn is mixed at 10to 20 percent of the substrate dry weight, 100 to200g per kg of dry substrate. The spawned substrateis filled in polythene bags under controlledtemperature, humidity and light. When pinheads(initial growth of fruiting bodies) of the mushroomsappear, mouths of the bags should be opened or cutto facilitate the growth of fruiting bodies.Contaminated bags are then destroyed by burning.

The straw mushrooms are also cultivated on bedsof about a square meter by placing the first layer ofmoist straw at about four inches. The spawn is placed3 to 4 inches inside the margin of layer at 4 to 5 inchdistance from each other and small quantity of gramflour is sprinkled. The second and third layers areprepared and spawned in the same way. The last layeris covered with a thin layer of chopped, soaked andboiled straw. Finally, the beds should be covered withpolythene sheet under controlled temperature andhumidity.

Cultivation of straw mushrooms on beds ofunchopped paddy straw, banana leaves etc; thebundles should be prepared of the size of straw orleaves and soaked in water for 24 hours. For bundlesprepared from the banana leaves, soaking may bedone for four hours only. These bundles are placedlengthwise, close to each other on cemented floor, ina cross fashion, with the opposite but ends on oneside with each bed of not more than five layers. Whenthe pinheads or small buttons of mushroom appear,


the polythene sheets are removed.

CuttingThe matured mushroom can be picked by

twisting at the base of stem and lifting without leavingstalk. The solid portion if left may harbour flies andother insects. Only mature mushrooms are harvestedcarefully so as not to disturb the nearby pins. Themushroom yield the crop in flushes, therefore, caremust be taken during harvesting.

The subsequent flushes depend on watering,humidity, temperature and light. Sometimes othersaprophytic mushrooms as well as lower fungi anddifferent microbes cause damage to the crop and bed.All matured, harvested or diseased mushrooms, theirstalks and refuse must be removed at every harvestingand the cropping be kept clean.

Time Period

The development of eggs, maturation of fruitingbodies takes 20.16 to 23.83 days after spawning andpaddy straw and cotton waste are best followed bybanana leaves and wheat straw. These are alsoreported as the best for maximum number of flushes3.83 and 3.16 as compared to banana leaves andwheat straw 2.83 and 2.66 flushes.

The results regarding the yield performancerevealed that paddy straw were best for maximumyield 67.33 percent as compared to cotton waste39.50 percent; banana leaves 34.46 percent andwheat straw 26.98 percent.

SPECIES FOR BEGINNERSPink Oyster (Pleurotus species)

The Oyster mushroom is the easiest specialtymushroom to grow. The various Oyster mushroomscan be grown on a variety of sources of cellulose,including coffee grounds, newspaper, and corn husks,to name a few. The standard sawdust recipe is also asuitable substrate. Perhaps the most convenientsubstrate for the hobbyist is chopped wheat straw(or the straw of other small grains) pasteurized bysubmerging the straw for I hour in water heated to160° F. Plastic bags stuffed with the drained strawand inoculated with spawn are often used. Incommercial farms, long bags of straw are hung fromceilings. Holes are punched at intervals around the

bag for air exchange and openings for the mushroomsto emerge.

Spawning can be conducted without specialfilters since Pleurotus species are very fast growingand will out compete most organisms in the straw.

Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp) are namedfor the fact that their flavour and texture resemblesoysters. The mushroom itself comes in differentcolours, depending on species, from pink, cream,white and grey.

They are a good choice for beginning mushroomcultivators. The white mushroom is easiest to growthan many of the other species, and they can be grownon a small scale with a moderate initial investment.Although commonly grown on sterile straw fromwheat or rice, they will also grow on a wide varietyof high-cellulose waste materials. Some of thesematerials do not require sterilization, onlypasteurization needed, which is less expensive.Another advantage of growing oyster mushrooms isthat a high percentage of the substrate converts tofruiting bodies, increasing the potential profitability.They will fruit over a wide temperature range from55-75 F. These mushrooms are particularly sensitiveto humidity and need to be misted 2-3 times per day.

Oyster mushrooms can become an integral partof a sustainable agriculture system. Many types oforganic wastes from crop production or the foodprocessing industry can be used to support oystermushroom production. Oyster mushroom cultivationhas one significant drawback i.e., some people areallergic to the spores. In these cases, air-cleaningequipment or respirators are necessary in order tosafely work in the production facility.

All over the world the consumer market foroyster mushrooms is being developed by the largermushroom companies as they diversify theiroperations. However, because of the short shelf lifeof many oyster mushroom varieties, this species mayoffer a special advantage to the local grower whomarkets directly and can consistently deliver a fresh,high-quality product.

Shiitake or Black Oak (Lentinula edodes)Shiitake is relatively easy to grow and is one of

the most popular specialty mushrooms. Today, USAgrowers annually produce over 5 million pounds of


Shiitake. Like most specialty mushrooms, Shiitake isgrown on sawdust in plastic bags (in environmentsmore humid than California, it is also grown outdoorson natural logs). Various strains of Shiitake differ inthe time required for spawn run. Some require aspawn run of 45 days while others require 100 days.The plastic bag is then removed and the block is placedin a fruiting room (about 63° F with 75 to 90 percentrelative humidity). After harvest, the block may bestimulated to fruit again by soaking the block in wateruntil the block is almost back to its original weight.

Shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes), have arich, meaty texture. The brown caps often grow upto 3 to 4 inches in diameter. They have been highlyprized in the Orient for centuries and scientists areresearching its medicinal, antiviral properties. Indoors,the kits can be stored from 55 to 75F and will produce2 to 3 pounds within 3 months.

Shiitakes (Lentinus edodes) are well suited as alow-input alternative enterprise because they, likeoyster mushrooms, can be grown on a small scalewith a moderate initial investment. Shiitake is widelyused in USA and its cultivation has been thoroughlyinvestigated and a commercial market already existsin most areas of the United States. These mushroomsare grown on logs, either inside or outside. Inside,they can also be grown on compressed sawdust logsor in bottles or bags.

Log ProductionHardwood logs approximately 4” to 6” in

diameter and of an easily handled length (commonlyfour feet) are cut during a tree’s dormant season.Oaks, sweetgum, cottonwood, beech, birch, willow,and other non-aromatic hardwoods are appropriatespecies. The denser woods produce for up to twiceas long as the softer ones. Smaller diameter logsproduce more quickly than larger ones, but for ashorter time.

Handle the logs carefully to avoid soil contactand damage to the bark. This will help preventcontamination by competing fungi. Inoculate the logswith spawn from a strain suitable to the productionsystem. There is a wide variety of spawn from whichto be choosen and several inoculation methods.

After inoculation, the spawn develops a threadlike network, the mycelium, growing throughout the

log. During this time, the logs must be protected fromdehydration by the sun and wind. Spray or mist thelogs to maintain the humidity necessary to keep themycelium alive and growing. When the mycelium hasfully occupied the logs and the temperature andhumidity are right for fruiting, the mycelium will initiatetiny “pinheads” at the surface of the log. The pinheadsgrow into mushrooms in the next couple of days.

To stimulate fruiting, some growers soak the logsin water tanks or “shock” them by physical impact orchilling. Others leave the logs in the growingenvironment and harvest when they naturally fruit.

Be alert for signs that fruiting is beginning. Thebest grades of shiitakes have caps that still have aslight curl at the edge. Harvest often if one wants toearn the best price for his mushrooms. In addition, ifgrower wants to deliver a premium product, attentionmust be paid to post harvest storage, packaging, andshipping.

Many shiitakes are raised organically. Althoughit is easier to produce shiitakes organically than someof the other mushrooms, “weed” fungi, as well as pestssuch as slugs and fies, can reduce fruiting and quality.The producer must monitor, quickly identify andcontrol these pests or lose some of the crop.

Growing Shiitakes on SawdustPresently, most shiitakes and many other

mushroom species are raised on a sterilized sawdustsubstrate. Although this method allows a much fasterfruiting cycle and a high level of return (110 percentor more of initial dry weight), it also demands agreater capital investment and more skillfulmanagement than log production. In order to achievefruiting as quickly as possible, it is needed to buildingin which you can control the temperature andmoisture. The building must be easy to keep clean,and sanitary procedures must be strictly followed toavoid contamination.

The chamber and the steam processor topasteurize or sterilize the sawdust can represent asignificant initial investment.

However, innovative producers have usedconcrete mixers to blend supplemental ingredients andmade pasteurized substrate in drums. Using hydrogenperoxide instead of conventional pasteurization is a


relatively recent innovation.

Growing mushrooms on sawdust requiresattention to detail especially careful monitoring andtimely processing of the blocks, bottles, or bags.

Shiitake Prices

In the world markets the price for shiitakemushrooms fluctuates throughout the season. Pricesare highest in the winter when supply is low, and lowestin summer when production peaks. Except in verymild climates, the only logs that fruit in winter are thosemaintained indoors. Using strains selected to fruit atcooler temperatures can lengthen the harvest seasonand allow producers to capture the higher prices.

OTHER MUSHROOM SPECIESEnoki or Golden Needle Mushroom

Enoki mushrooms (Flammulina velutipes) havelong delicate stems, joined at the base. Both the capsand stems are edible and are best eaten raw to takeadvantage of this variety’s crisp texture. Toss theminto salads, sandwiches, or as a garnish for soups.Enokis require a colder environment, 45 degreescompared to growing temperatures of about 60degrees, which other varieties require.

This mushroom is grown on the standardsawdust recipe and can be grown in a variety ofcontainers, including the filter bag. Commercially,Enoki is grown in jars. After pinning is initiated, themushrooms are grown in the dark at coldtemperatures with collars around the top of the jarsto elevate CO2, levels, resulting in long stemmed,almost capless, blanched, crisp mushrooms. Enoki isrelatively fast growing.

When the fruiting bodies appear, the humidityneeds to be kept high with a plastic tent so a regularspray of water is enough to achieve the rightconditions. Using the right water, however, is critical.Spring, well or rainwater is best, as it doesn’t containany chlorine. If none of these are available, leave abucket of water to stand overnight to allow thechlorine to evaporate.

Outdoor productionIf cultivation becomes hooked on mushroom

production, the next step of growing mushrooms onlogs is to take logs much more time to develop edible

mushrooms, they produce for up to 4 years and areeven more economical than the kits.

Limited Commercial Production

Some species of mushrooms are not yetcommercially cultivated. Many of these aremycorrhizal types; that is, they grow only inconjunction with the roots of a higher plant.Matsutakes and chanterelles are typical examples ofsuch mushrooms.

Mycorrhizal mushrooms are the hardest to growcommercially, because the needs of both the fungusand the host plant must be met in order to produce acommercial crop. Also, the host plant typically mustreach a certain physiological maturity before thefungus will fruit. When the host is a tree, this maturationmay be measured in decades. Nevertheless, highlypriced morels and truffles are mycorrhizal, and theyare both now being grown commercially in the US.

Morels

Commercial production of morels on anythingbut a small-scale, seasonal basis is currently not apractical option. However, they can be grown yearround.

It is, however, possible to establish a morelpatch by using a morel starter kit. If experiment issuccessful, these mushrooms will fruit in the spring atthe same time as wild morels. Morel prices are,understandably, at their lowest during this naturalfruiting season. Adding them to a super market standwould certainly attract morel-loving customers. Theseproduct can be dried for year-round sales, if can begrown commercial quantities in the patch.

TrufflesGrowers generally begin truffle production by

dipping tree seedlings in a mycorrhizal slurry beforeplanting. After several years, under favorable growingconditions for both the tree and the fungus, trufflesform underground fruiting bodies that roughlyresemble potatoes. These range from the size of apea to that of a fist and give off a distinctive odor.

The requirements for growing the black Perigordtruffle, Tuber melanosporum Vitt., include choosingan appropriate host plant (usually oak or hazelnut),inoculating its roots with the spawn and planting it.


Consider combining the production of truffleswith the sale of nuts from the host trees, growingannual or perennial crops between the trees, orgrazing ruminants among them sheep have beencredited with increasing the French wild-harvestedcrop yield. These or other agroforestry options couldprovide additional sources of income during early,non-fruiting years and in the seasons when truffles donot produce.

Button mushrooms

The most popular mushroom consumed in theUnited States is the white button mushroom. Becauseit dominates the market, many call anything other thanthe button mushroom a specialty mushroom.Following that logic, the Portobello is the most popularspecialty mushroom, even though it is simply a brownvariety of the button mushroom that is allowed tomature. In the United States, other popular specialtymushrooms are the Shiitake, Oyster, and Enoki.Several other cultivated mushrooms are grown, butthey are not widely available.

The white button mushroom and its various forms(Crimini, Portobello, and Portobellini) are grown oncompost. Straw, either alone or with horse manure(a little horse manure in straw, usually from racetrackbedding) is the starting material of compost andprovides structural and chemical properties. The strawis supplemented with nitrogen in the form of variousagricultural wastes such as cottonseed meal andchicken manure. During composting, certain physicalqualities (permeability to air and water holding ability)and chemical properties (nutrient availability to themushroom and the exhaustion of nutrients forcompetitors) are developed as organic matter isconsumed and heat is released by generations ofmicroorganisms. The heat needed for these reactionsrequires a pile of straw of considerable size. The laborand/or machinery required for handling the compostpile generally prevents the small grower fromproducing good quality compost. Special rooms withcontrolled temperature, humidity, and fresh air arealso necessary to produce the appropriate conditionsto pasteurize and condition the finished compost.Unless compost is available, the production of thebutton mushroom is fairly technical and generallybeyond the ability of the hobbyist or small grower.

Although the common button mushroom isgrown on straw-based compost, most specialtymushrooms are grown on sawdust supplemented withother nutrients. Many types of wood are suitable, butalder and oak are the most popular. Cedar andredwood are resistant to colonization by most fungi,including the cultivated mushrooms that must beavoided. Pines are also unsuitable since most cultivatedfungi are inhibited by the resins in the wood. Thecoarseness of wood sawdust should be about thatfrom a chain saw. Larger chips can be included (use2 parts of sawdust to I part wood chips). Sawdustshould be sterilized at 250° F at 15 PSI (pounds persquare inch) for 2 to 4 hours, depending on volume.This is accomplished in an autoclave, a retort, orpressure cooker. A common recipe for supplementedsawdust is: 76 percent sawdust, 12 percent millet,and 12 percent bran, and 65 percent moisture. Notethat recipes are always based on dry weights of theingredients because moisture contents of theingredients vary. The standard industry container forgrowing specialty mushrooms in sawdust is a heat-resistant plastic bag fitted with a filter patch, whichallows gas exchange but excludes contaminatingmicroorganisms.

These mushrooms can be grown in Islamabadat homes are more correctly called ‘agaricusbisporus’ and actually need cool, not warm, growingconditions. They produce best at temperatures below20°C, unlike ‘oyster mushrooms’ which needtemperatures way above this. Button mushrooms aregrown in the plains from October to the end ofFebruary, sometimes to April if temperatures remainlow enough and then up in the hills from February tothe end of September.

Other than a source of spawn, the trick togrowing this species of mushrooms lies in the compostwhich is tricky and rather expensive to make. Theingredients vary from place to place, the all importantcompost comprises a mix of old poultry manure,‘bhoosa’ which is chopped wheat straw, organic peatand pure, rough ground gypsum which is tightlypacked in five kilograms clear plastic bags and thensteam-sterilised to remove any weed seeds or otherimpurities.

At this stage the spawned bags are left open at


the top to allow the first ‘flush’ of mushrooms to popup, something they do very quickly indeed providedthat correct conditions are maintained. Thesemushrooms, like many others, need to be grown indark, humid conditions. Humidity is maintained by aregular spraying with clean water.

Mushrooms give off carbon monoxide when theyare growing and huge extractor fans are used to pullthe poisonous air out of the closed growing area on aregular basis. If this is not done then all of the baby‘pin-head’ mushrooms go brown and die.

Some farmers imports mushroom spawn fromCalifornia but don’t despair. Some research is beingdone at the Institute of Horticultural Science, a divisionof the University of Agriculture in Faisalabad, whohave established a Mushroom Research Laboratorywhere, under the guidance of Dr Muhammad AsifAli a variety of mushroom spawn has been developed.The varities include a button mushroom which isclaimed to tolerate temperatures of 27°C to 30°Cand three types of oyster mushrooms. Interestedgrowers can contact Dr. Asif Ali.

Black Poplar Mushroom (Agrocybe aegerita)

This mushroom is relatively easy to grow butyields are generally modest. Because the pins are verysusceptible to desiccation, a layer of moist peat mossand crushed oyster shells (9 parts peat moss: 1 partcrushed oyster shell) on top of the block may improveyields.

Maitake/Hen-of-the-Woods (Grifola frondosa)

In the wild, this mushroom is known as Hen-of-the-Woods. It fruits at or near the bases of trees orstumps. Although Maitake can be grown on thestandard sawdust recipe, yields may be increased withthe following recipe: 72 percent sawdust, 20 percentcornmeal, 7.5 percent rice bran, 0.2 percent CaC03,and 67 percent moisture.

Nameko or Golden Needle (Pholiota nameko)

Nameko is one of the most popular mushroomsin Japan. It is grown on the standard sawdust recipein filter bags. To initiate pinning, the bag must beexposed to very high humidity or a light mist.

Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus)

This gourmet mushroom, which tastes somethinglike lobster, is grown on the standard sawdust recipe.Unlike most mushrooms, this fungus does not possessgills. Instead, spores are produced on teeth that hangdown like delicate icicles.

Reishi or Mushroom of Immortality(Ganoderma lucidum)

This mushroom is too tough to be edible but isused in teas for its reputed medicinal effects. It isgrown on the standard sawdust recipe and can begrown in a variety of containers, including the filterbag.

Equipment

Spawning and spawn run can be accomplishedin any clean room at nonrial room temperature withfresh air, sterile techniques are absolutely necessaryfor successful cultivation of most mushrooms. Thegrowing room requires special conditions. In additionto cooling requirements (60 to 63° F), the humiditymust be maintained at about 95 percent (or evenhigher in some situations) with just enough airmovement to avoid pockets of stagnant air. Excessiveair movement, even with high relative humidity, willdry the surface of a substrate and can damage delicatepinheads. Creating a very humid environment formushroom production is perhaps the limiting factorin home cultivation. Creative steps may be necessaryto provide high humidity. Aquariums, plastic tents,ice chests with cellophane windows, etc., are potentialhumid chambers used for growing. One way tohumidify a growing chamber is to bubble a stream ofair (perhaps using an aquarium air pump and porousstone) through water slightly warmer (perhaps usingan aquarium heater) than the air you want to humidify.Various humidifiers are also used by the homecultivator.

Pest Management

Integrated pest management (IPM) is a leasttoxic approach for managing any pest. IPM viewspests as a natural part of the farm. The integratedmanagement of a pest is accomplished by alteringthe environment to the disadvantage of that pest.


Mushrooms Anti-Cancer EffectsMan has been aware of the importance of

mushrooms since antiquity. More recently, certainmushrooms have been identified as a valuable sourceof bioactive compounds, having potent and uniquemedicinal properties.

Polysaccharides derived from mushrooms canmodulate animal and human immune responses andinhibit the growth of certain tumours. Several of thesecompounds are now used extensively and successfullyin Asia as complimentary and mainstream therapiesto treat various cancers in combination with chemo-and radiotherapy.

Many mushroom fungi have long been valuedas tasty, nutritious food by different societies aroundthe world. To the ancient Romans they were “thefoods of the gods”, resulting from bolts of lightingthrown towards the Earth from Jupiter duringthunderstorms. The Egyptians considered them as “agift from the god Osiris”, while the Chinese viewedthem as “the elixir of life”.

Types

Today there are at least 270 mushroom speciesthat are known to possess distinct therapeuticproperties. Many of the edible species are alsoimportant vis-a-vis nutritional and organolepticqualities.

Species of medicinal mushrooms such asGanoderma lucidum (Reishi) and Trametes versicolor,while distinctly non-edible because of their bitter tasteand coarse texture, have a long history of medicinalusage as hot water extracts dating back at least severalmillennia, in the case of the former.

The extracts, preparations or partially purifiedsubstances derived from medicinal mushrooms finduse in the Far East not as designated pharmaceuticalsor medicines but as a novel class of products, namelydietary supplements. A mushroom nutriceutical is arefined or partially refined extract or dried biomassfrom either the fruit body or the mycelium of amushroom and has potential therapeutic applications.

Cancer therapy programmes in these Asiancountries make considerable use of these mushroom-derived preparations in purified form as adjuvantdrugs when administered in combination with

chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Key Medicinal Compounds

Recent advances in analytical chemicaltechnology have resulted in the isolation andpurification of some of the relevant medicinalcompounds, especially polysaccharides such as ß-D-glucans, which can induce immunomodulatory andtherapeutic effects in humans. Levels of medicinalactivity have been related to their molecular weight,degree of branching and solubility in water.

While water-soluble ß-D-glucans withheterosaccharide chains of xylose, mannose,Galactose and other species can containpolysaccharide-peptides (variously known in theliterature as glycoproteins, proteoglycans orpolysaccharopeptides), which are polypeptide chainsto which ß-D-glucans are attached. Several of thesepolysaccharide-related compounds are nowproduced commercially for therapeutic applications.

For instance, Lentinan from Lentinula edodes,Grifolan from Grifola frondosa and PSK and PSP(polysaccharide-peptides) derived from differentstrains of Trametes versicolor. Lentinan, Schizophyllanand PSK in Japan and PSP in China have beenapproved as prescription drugs for cancer treatment.

A wide range of Basidiomycete mushroomshave now been shown to contain biologically activeanti-tumour and immuno-stimulating polysaccharidesthat can be derived from mushroom fruit bodies orfermenter culture broths.

Immune System

It is now well recognized that the immune systemplays an important role in tumour formation. Defenceagainst viral attack and against spontaneously risingmalignant tumour cells most probably involves anorchestrated interplay of innate and acquired immuneresponses. Stimulated macrophages and NK cells cancreate cytokines such as interferons and interleukins,which can destroy cancer cells.

This is considered as the first line in the defencemechanism of the host and could successfully eliminateinfected or transformed cells prior to the formation offully generated humoral and cell-mediated immunity(CMI) responses. Clearly, a functional immune


response is critical to the recognition and eliminationof tumour cells and the identification of mushroom-derived compounds capable of stimulatingcomponents of innate or acquired immunities ofpotential value in cancer therapy.

A novel approach in cancer therapy has beento modify the host biological response to the malignantinvasion. Mushroom polysaccharides are now mainlyconsidered to function locally as Biological ResponseModifiers (BRMs) where they influence the immunesystem.

More recently, medical mushroompolysaccharide research has been focused onidentifying the compounds that can modulate,positively or negatively, the biological responses ofimmune cells. Whether mushroom polysaccharideimmunomodulators enhance or suppress immuneresponses can depend on a number of factors suchas dosage, timing of application, route and frequencyof administration. Mushroom polysaccharides appearto stimulate the immune system without triggeringautoimmune conditions.

Extensive studies in both animal and humansystems have shown that certain mushroompolysaccharides can prevent oncogenesis,demonstrate direct anti-tumour activity against variousallogeneic and syngeneic tumours and can also in manycases prevent tumour metastasis.

Such polysaccharides produce their anti-tumoureffects by activating different immune responses inthe host system. The anti-tumour activity of thepolysaccharides needs an intact T-cell component inthe host immune system and the activity is mediatedthrough a thymus-dependent immune mechanism.Mushroom polysaccharides have been shown tostimulate NK cells, ß-cells and macrophage-dependent immune system responses.

It is now believed that ß-D-glucans inducebiological response through binding to membranecomplement receptor type-2. The intercellularsignalling events that occur after ß-D-glucan receptorbinding are now being deduced and it has recentlybeen demonstrated that the mechanism for glucan-mediated killing of tumour targets is by interaction ofanti-tumour antibodies with glucans-activated cells.While previously ß-glucans were considered largely

as non-specific immune stimulators they can now beidentified as agents specifically affecting immunereactions.

The Therapy

There is an immense body of literature relatedto the anti-cancer effects of many mushroompolysaccharides in humans.

Lentinan: This is a cell wall constituentextracted from fruit-bodies or fermenter-producedmycelium of Lentinula edodes (Xiang gu in China andShiitake in Japan), and is a pure polysaccharidecomposed only of carbon, hydrogen and oxygenatoms. The ß-glucans structure of Lentinan comprisesa ß (1-3)-D-glucopyranosyl backbone with ß(1-6)-D-glucopyranosyl side chains.

Lentinan does not attack cancer cells directlybut produces its anti-tumour effect by activatingdifferent immune responses in the host. It appears toact as a host defence potentiator restoring oraugmenting the responsiveness of host cells to lymphocytokines, hormones and other biologically activesubstances.

The immune-potentiation occurs by stimulatingthe maturation, differentiation or proliferation of cellsinvolved in host defence mechanisms. Lentinan hasbeen shown to stimulate various kinds of immune cells,including macrophages, NK cells and lymphocytes(T- and ß-cells).

Pre-clinical studies on animal models withLentinan have produced considerable information onanti-tumour activity, prevention of metastasis andprevention of chemical and viral-induced oncogenesis.Many anti-cancer clinical trials using Lentinan andother mushroom polysaccharides in conjunction withradiotherapy or chemotherapy have been performedsuccessfully.

Lentinan appear to prolong overall survival inadvanced gastric and colorectal carcinomas and in anumber of trials on patients with inoperable orrecurrent gastric carcinomas there have been goodresponse rates with strongly implied increased mediansurvival. A fascinating aspect of Lentinan use inchemotherapy is its ability to ameliorate many of theassociated debilitating side effects — nausea, pain,hair loss and depressed immune function. Similar


effects have been observed with the clinical adjuvantuse of several mushroom polysaccharides.

PSK and PSP: PSK developed in Japan andPSP developed in China are derived by deep layerliquid cultivation of mycelium from different strains ofTrametes versicolor. PSK and PSP are glycoproteinscomprising a mixture of polysaccharides covalentlylinked to a number of proteins or peptides at anapproximate 60:40 ratio.

The saccharide composition of PSK consists ofglucose, mannose, galactose, xylose and fucose butdoes have arabinose and rhamnose. The glucan partof PSK and PSP consists of ß-(1-4) main chain andß-(1-6) side-chains that bond to the polypeptidecomponent through O-or N-glycosidic bonds.

PSK and PSP have been shown to be potentimmunostimulators with specific activity for T-cellsand for antigen-presenting cells such as monocytesand macrophages. Both compounds can restore theimmune potential to the normal level after the hosthas been depressed by the tumour burden or anti-cancer chemotherapeutic agents. Both polysaccharidepreparations have extensive documented anti-canceractivity on human cancer cell lines and in human clinicaltrials. There have been several decades of successfulclinical trials using PSK in conjunction withchemotherapy to treat head and neck, upper gastricintestine, colorectal and lung cancers. In this way PSPcan be considered as a clinical biological responsemodifier.

Pre-clinical safety studies for major medicinalmushroom polysaccharides have been extensive andsupportive in their use in clinical trials and in long-term treatment of cancer patients. When comparedto conventional chemotherapy, mushroompolysaccharides are remarkably benign, have verylow levels of toxicity and no side effects.

A novel approach to the treatment of humancancer has been the activation of the cell deathprogramme (apoptosis). However, several cell cycle-specific agents successful in killing cancer cells arealso toxic to normal cells. PSP enhanced the apopticcell death activity of doxorubicin and etoposide andhas been suggested as a possible adjuvant forleukaemia treatment.

It should be noted that while the role of medicinalmushrooms in immunomodulation and anti-canceractivities have been to date their major therapeuticapplications, many extracts have been considered forother properties, including the treatment ofhypercholestoremia, high blood pressure, diabetestypes I and II, as well as anti-microbials andantioxidant/free radical scavengers.

In the Far East edible medicinal mushroomshave been part of the regular dietary intake of peoplefor many generations. They mostly have excellentnutritional value, coupled with good organolepticqualities when either eaten alone or incorporated invarious menus.

The availability in the supermarkets of fresh, highquality medicinal mushrooms, together withinformation on their potential health value, wouldencourage greater acceptance among the masses.However, there is much to be applauded in theproposal that glucan and proteoglycan mushroomimmunoceuticals offer hope to cancer patients. Thesesubstances are prohomeostatic, uniquely effectiveimmune boosters, which pose no threat ofautoimmune backlash.

As dietary supplements, they are safe and exhibitnear-perfect benefit-risk profiles. Mushroomimmunoceuticlas are a potential boon to individualsafflicted with cancer and living with impaired immunityor merely decreasing immunity. For more informationcontact Prof Sheikh Arshad Saeed who is a HEC-designated distinguished national professor.

Marketing

Marketing is the most important considerationof all. If grower can’t sell his mushrooms at a pricethat ensures a reasonable profit margin, he shouldnot invest in this enterprise. Moreover, he must spendsome time and even some money educating himselfabout marketing potential product.

Identifying A Poisonous Mushroom

Do not eat any mushroom unless you areabsolutely sure of its identity. Folk tales on testing amushroom for toxins are, without exception, useless.Poisonous mushrooms are known because ofsomeone’s unfortunate experience. Eating wildmushrooms can be dangerous.


Table - 1

Production Schedules for Specialty Mushrooms Grown in 5-pound Bags of Supplemented SawdustMushroom Spawn run Primordia initiation Fruiting (63° F Total time to harvest

and high humidity)Black Poplar 3-4 weeks 1-2 weeks at 63° F 1 week 5-6 weeksEnoki 17-21 days 1-2 weeks at 63° F 1 week 6 weeksLion’s Mane 3-4 weeks During spawn run 1-2 weeks 5-6 weeksMaitake 35 days or less During spawn ran; primordia darken Clusters take shape in 63-70 days

in 9 days; cut holes over largest, fold 11 days; harvest 8-15over bag days later

Nameko 3 weeks After 1-2weeks in fruiting room, 1-2 weeks 2+ monthsremove block from bag and placein loosely closed bag at 54° F untilpriniordia form

Oysters 2 weeks 2-3 days at 63° F 3-7 days 3-4 weeksReishi 3-5 weeks During spawn run 7-9 weeks 3+ monthsShiitake 45-100+days 2-3 days at 40° F 2 weeks 2-4 months

(strain dependent)Source: Stamets, Paul. Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms

Figure - 1Common Button Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus)

Figure - 2Grey Oyster Mushroom

Figure - 3ShiitakeMushrooms Fruiting on Sawdust

Figure - 4Reishi or Mushroom of Immortality

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Table - 2


Figure - 5

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