Oyster mushroom cultivation by children.

By Nandkumar Kamat. Navhind Times . India. Edible mushrooms are highly prized new age, popular health foods. The world mushroom trade has grown by leaps and bounds in the past decade-but India, worlds largest food producer is nowhere in the picture. The directorate of agriculture, Government of Goa conducted a three-day mushroom cultivation-training workshop at their farmers training centre, Ela, Old Goa from October 30. There was emphasis on three species suitable for Goa-Oyster mushrooms, scientifically known as Pleurotus species, Paddy straw mushrooms, scientifically known as Volvariella species and Milk mushroom, known as Calocybe indica. The last one has been domesticated entirely in India. Consumers in Goa are used to the wild Termiomyces species and the cultivated white button mushrooms (Agaricus species). Dr Sangam Kurade, food technologist and local bioentrpreneur has achieved success with the button mushroom plant at Bhatpal, Canacona. But common people cannot cultivate button mushrooms. As a resource person for mushroom training camps, I have found that initially the participants show a lot of interest but in practice very few take to mushroom cultivation. People fail to recognize the importance of growing oyster mushrooms at home and using the entire harvest for their own consumption. Oyster mushroom cultivation can be easily taught to the children above five or six years. If they can display some interest in gardening and care of indoor plants then it is easy for them to watch, learn and master the technique. I recommend the tissue paper roll technique that can be first demonstrated to young kids. The polybag technique can be used by slightly older children (above 8-10 years). The purpose of writing this article is that November is best season for growing oyster mushrooms. So why not involve your kids in this enjoyable, educative, delicious enterprise? All that you would need is a bottle of good mushroom spawn, which can be purchased at mushroom spawn lab, Ela farm. contact, Reyna Menezes. How to recognize good spawn? The bottle should be uniformly white. There should not be patches of black, green, blue, red or yellow mould. Once you get the bottle, use it within a few days. For teaching children, use a common tissue paper (toilet paper) roll-the largest available. Remove the wrapper/cello tape. Boil water. In a metal plate or tray keep the roll and pour the hot water on it. Parents should supervise this stage other wise children can get hurt with hot water. Allow the roll to soak water for an hour. Then drain the water from the plate. Without squeezing the roll, let the extra water drip from it. Then transfer it to a clean plastic plate/small tray. Keep it vertically. You would notice that there is a cardboard drum on which the tissue is rolled. This drum has to be removed. The hollow, cylindrical part so created can be then filled with the spawn. All the operations from this stage onwards have to be done in a clean, dust free place, away from breeze and direct sunlight. For using the spawn, remove the cotton plug. Insert a small clean spoon and loosen the grains. Each of the grain is impregnated with mushroom filaments. The loosened grains are then filled inside the hollow cavity of tissue paper roll. Make the grains as compact as possible. The roll should not become loose in this process. Once filling is over, invert a transparent polyethylene bag over the roll. Secure it below the roll. This is necessary to protect the growing mushroom filaments from dust, insects and contamination. The tray/plate with your spawned roll is then kept in dark for about four to seven days. After which you would notice that the entire roll covered with white filaments. Once you are sure that the full roll is covered inside and outside with white filaments it is time to bring the tray in normal, ambient light. It is time to simulate a little rain. The polybag is now removed and with a plastic hand sprayer (one which is used for indoor plants) the tissue paper roll is gently given a light mist of water on all sides. If there is good ventilation in room then it helps. The water spray has to be given at least twice a day. But the water should not be allowed to drip. It would spoil cultivation. Within a day or two-small pinheads would appear from the side of the roll-either a big bunch or several small bunches, these would then enlarge, expand and become small oyster mushrooms. It is fascinating for children to watch these mushrooms grow. It would be like magic for them. When they learn that what is growing is food and can be eaten safely, then it is their first step to become amateur biotechnologists. In simple words the parents can explain that the mushroom mycelium, the fungus converts the cellulose in the tissue paper which is of plant origin to mushroom proteins, the bunches of oyster mushrooms. We have tested this technique

successfully at Goa University. If no pinheads appear, wait for more days but go on spraying the roll. Only if you notice contamination as indicated by blue, black, green, red patches then discard the roll. If good hygiene is maintained then success is ensured. Repeat with more tissue paper rolls till children perfect the technique. Encourage them to keep notes, take photographs. Mushrooms orient towards light. You need good light (not direct sunlight, but ordinary fluorescent/tungsten filament lamp) light. From a single tissue paper roll, after the pinheads start coming, one can get three to five crops or flushes. The first one is biggest. About hundred grams of fresh mushrooms can be harvested from single roll. In USA this technique is used in schools-so why not the science teachers include it in their biology demonstrations? Simple biochemical and biotechnological principles can be taught to children. Perhaps the children can come out with innovations. Instead of tissue paper roll, rolls of dry banana leaves can be also tried but these take time to produce oyster mushrooms. There is a lot of fun and joy in cultivating oyster mushrooms. Children would just love it when they learn the tissue paper roll technique