Directorate of Mushroom Research: lab manager with incubating portions of spawn.
manure and lime. Phase 1 takes place outdoors, phase 2 in a pasteurisation tunnel. A Nepalese workforce armed with spades was busy mixing the spawn into the pasteurised compost, that is subsequently filled into plastic bags. And casing soil? “The lack of turf means we make
Welkin Overseas: harvesting mushrooms.
the casing ourselves from a mixture of digested cow manure, fine coco coir and burnt rice hulls. Before use, small portions are pasteurised in a separate tunnel. The water holding capacity is less than that of turf-based casing, yet we still manage to get yields up to 30% in 4 flushes.” In summer, Vikas fills all his rooms, and sells the substrate to local farmers who want to generate some extra income in the slow months. They often don’t have more than one room of 40 m2 available, but that will produce sufficient additional capital to be able to send their chil- dren to a decent school. Vikas:”’We collect the freshly picked mushrooms in the mornings, and at around ten o’clock a wholesaler comes to pick them up, so the produce can be on the market in Solan the same afternoon. Produce intended for the wholesale market in Delhi leaves in the late afternoon so it can arrive at destination before one in the morning.” The rooms we visited were quite primitive, but clean and tidy with no sign of flies, maybe due to the coldish weather. At the start of the season, the growers reach an average yield of 22% in 3 flushes. Not bad given the conditions.
Mushroom Research We also paid a visit to the Directorate of Mushroom Research, a government institution under the respected directorship of Dr. Manjit Singh. Unfortunately he is about to retire and a good successor has not yet been found. There are currently ten scientists in active service, but nine vacancies still have to be filled. The centre provides cultivation advice and performs research, the results of which are regularly published. The team organises training courses for growers from all over India. The centre offers dedicated demonstration units: a spawn lab,
”We manage to get yields up to 30% in 4 flushes”
MUSHROOM BUSINESS 29
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