Cultivation of button mushroom involves:

Spawn

Mushroom spawn is technically equivalent to seed of a plant, although, in reality, it is

a pure mushroom mycelium (vegetative growth) growing on a sterilized grain
medium. The grain medium is prepared from boiled grains of cereal or millet like
wheat, bajra, jowar and rye mixed with chalk-powder and gypsum. The medium is
sterilized after filling in heat resistant glass bottles or polypropylene bags at 121°C
and inoculated with pure culture of A. bisporus. The medium soon gets impregnated
with mushroom mycelium if incubated at 25°C and is ready for use in 2–3 weeks.

Compost

The substrate used for button mushroom is a partially decomposed organic matter
prepared under aerobic conditions and is generally termed as compost. In India, straw
of wheat or paddy have generally replaced horse manure as the base material for
mushroom compost. It is known as synthetic compost. Several formulations of
compost have been worked out, the most commonly used are:

Long method compost (unpasteurized)

Solan
Wheat straw 300kg
Calcium ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulphate (20.6% N) 9kg
Urea (46% N) 3.6kg
Potassium sulphate or muriate of potash 3.0kg
Wheat bran or 30.0kg
Spent brewer’s grains 40.0kg
Gypsum 30.0kg
Nemagon (60%) 40ml
Furadan 3 G 150g
Lindane or BHC 5% dust 250g
Molasses 5kg
Ludhiana
Wheat straw 300kg
Poultry manure 60kg
Wheat bran 7.5kg
CAN 6kg
Urea 2kg
Superphosphate 2kg
Potassium sulphate 2kg
Gypsum 30kg
Lintox 60ml
Srinagar
Wheat straw 300kg
Molasses 12kg
 Urea 4.5kg
Wheat bran 50kg
Muriate of potash 2kg
Cotton seed meal 5kg
Gypsum 15kg
Lindane 250g
Shillong
Paddy straw 400kg
Ammonium sulphate 9kg
Urea 3.6kg
Sulphate of potash 3.0kg
Single super phosphate 3.0kg
Wheat bran (or flour) 30.0kg
Gypsum 30.0kg
Molasses 5.0kg
Temik 40.0gm
BHC 5% 250gm
Kelthane or Ecalux 40ml

Any of the above formulations can be used for preparing long method compost
(LMC) which is accomplished outdoors in about 28 days. The constituents included in
the formulations ensure the N levels initially at 1.5–1.75 and finally at 1.25%, as also
the C:N ratio between 25 and 30 at starting and 16–18 at the end. The straw after
thorough wetting for 24 hr is mixed with the bran fertilizer mixture prepared with
two-thirds quantities of ammonium sulphate and urea and the entire quantity of SSP
and SOP added to 15kg of moistened wheat bran and left overnight covered with wet
gunny sheets. The substrate so prepared is formed into a large heap to encourage
intense microbial activities causing the generation of heat reaching up to 75°–80°C.
The heap is broken and remade on the sixth day after adding the bran fertilizer
mixture made the previous night with the remaining ingredients and slurry made with
molasses, nematicide and insecticides in 10 litres of water. Every 3–4 days, the heap
is broken and remade (turned) after adding water to maintain around 75% moisture
and allowing aerobic conditions. Normally 7–8 turnings are necessary with addition
of gypsum at third and BHC or Lindane at the 7th turning. The compost after seventh
or eighth turning is ready for seeding (spawning) if free from ammonia, otherwise
more turnings are necessary.

Short method compost (pasteurized)

Solan
Wheat straw 1000kg
Chicken manure 400kg
Brewer’s grain 72kg
Urea 14.5kg
Gypsum 30kg
Bangalore
 Wheat straw 300kg
CAN or ammonium sulphate 9kg
Super phosphate 9kg
Wheat bran 15kg
Gypsum 30kg

Thus short method compost can be prepared accordingly if completed in 18–20

days in outdoor and indoor phases. During the outdoor phase, the straw is pre-
wetted and spread before the entire quantities of chicken manure and Brewer’s
grains are added in layers. Ample water and trampling makes the loose stack
almost anaerobic which is normally given a turning after 2–3 days. An aerobic
heap is prepared 2 days later after adding the full quota of urea. About 3–4
turnings on alternate days complete the outdoor phase.

The phase-II is done indoors either in a bulk chamber or in a pasteurization

room. The bulk chamber is especially designed for phase-II composting and is
fitted with boiler-fed steam-pipes and a blower. Bulk pasteurization in such
chambers has now become more popular particularly in bigger farms. The
phase-I compost is directly filled into the chamber up to a height of 6–7 feet,
while it is filled in trays or shelves to a depth of 17–22cm in a pasteurization
room. In either case, the temperature is allowed to rise first to 48°–50°C and
after 6–8hr it is raised by steam injection to 57°–59°C for effective pasteurization
of the compost. When both the air and compost temperatures have reached and
maintained at this range for 4–6hr, fresh air is introduced slowly to lower down
the compost temperature to 50°–52°C for conditioning, which takes 3–4 days and
is indicated by the absence of ammonia. Introduction of more fresh air brings
down the temperature of compost to 25°–28°C, when it is ready for seeding.

Spawning and spawn run

The compost made by long or short method is filled in trays, or shelves or more
commonly in polybags, after mixing the spawn through compost @ 0.5%. The
spawned beds are kept covered with formalin dipped paper sheets or by closing the
mouth of the bags,. The beds if incubated at 24°C, with relative humidity maintained
between 80–85%, get fully impregnated with mushroom mycelium and when the
spawn-run is completed (in 2–3 weeks), the compost turns light brown from deep
brown and is ready for casing.

Casing and case run

The spawn run beds are then covered by 1–2" thick layer of casing material, which is
necessary to initiate fruiting, though its role in fruiting is only partially understood.
Casing material should have the characteristics like poor in nutrient, good water-
holding capacity but a texture permitting good aeration and a pH of 7–7.5. The best
and the most commonly used casing material is the peat-moss, which is directly used
for casing after adding lime or chalk to adjust the pH and also after pasteurization.
However, due to its paucity in India, one of the following mixtures is being used in
our country.
 • 1–2 years old and rotten cowdung + clay loam soil (1:1).
• 1–2 years rotten cowdung + clay loam soil + 2 years old spent compost
(1:1:2).
• 2 years old spent compost + sand + lime (4:1:1).
• Garden loam + sand (4:1)

The casing material is pasteurized either by steaming (60°–65°C for 6 hr) or by

adding 3% formalin solution (3 litres formalin in 40 litres of water), covering with a
polythene sheet for 15–20 days. Before casing, the material is allowed to cool or
become free from formaldehyde. To encourage the mushroom mycelium to fully
impregnate the casing soil, temperature is maintained around 24°C for 7–10 days.
After this the room temperature is brought down to 14°–18°C and ample ventilation is
provided to reduce CO2 level, preferably below 1,000ppm. The relative humidity of
the room is maintained between 85 and 90%. The casing layer is given light spray of
water to prevent its drying.

Harvesting and Postharvest Management

Mushroom pin-heads start appearing after another 7–10 days. They appear in flushes
every 7–10 days. They are harvested accordingly. About two-third of the total crop
can be harvested within first 3 weeks. The beds retain up to 6 weeks of fruiting. The
growing rooms are then emptied and cooked out to kill pests/pathogens, if any,
attacking the crop to protect the subsequent crop-cycle.

Generally mushrooms are harvested as buttons, which if allowed to grow further to

reveal pink gills due to ruptured ‘veil’ are known are ‘cup’. They further grow in size
and become fully ‘open’ or ‘flat’ exposing dark gills. If the harvesting is delayed
further, it deteriorates and dies soon.

Mushrooms have a very short shelf-life. They should be sold immediately after
harvesting. They are stored without washing in paper envelopes kept in plastic bags to
prevent moisture loss and are stored in a refrigerator (lower shelves) for less than a
week.

Some precautions

Important precautions are:

• Maintain cleanliness in and around the farm. Any left over or refuses must be
burried in soil.
• Prepare substrate only on a cemented platform cleaned with 2% formalin
solution.
• Use of pasteurized compost and casing should be preferred.
• Use healthy spawn free from contaminants. Reject spawn showing even a little
infection.
• Clean area, trays, old bags before spawning.
• Growing rooms must be cooked-out with live-steam for 12hr at temperature
above 70°C, before/after a crop. Alternatively, spray thoroughly 2% formalin
 solution on floor, walls, racks etc. and keep the room closed for 24hr before
use.
• Use a foot-dip (with germicidal solution) before entering the growing
area/rooms.
• Personal hygiene of workers and use of clean and disinfected tools/implements
during spawning/casing and harvesting.
• Reject any infected bag/mushroom and treat them with formalin before they
are buried in the soil.
• Growing rooms should be provided with insect-proof nets in doors
and windows or any other inlets.
• Use safe and recommended doses of pesticides only when
absolutely necessary and between the flushes.