Farm Enterprises :: Mushroom

MUSHROOM BED PREPARATIONS

The cultivation of oyster mushroom is usually carried out in transparent polythene covers. The size of the cover should be 60 x 30 cm, with a thickness of 80 gauge.

Procedure

Wash hands thoroughly with antiseptic lotion.
Take the polythene cover and tie the bottom end with a thread and turn it inwards.
Shade dry steam sterilized straw to get a uniform moisture level in all areas.
Take out a well-grown bed spawn, squeeze thoroughly and divide into two halves. (Two beds are prepared from the single spawn bag)
Fill the straw to a height of 3” in the bottom of polythene bag, take a handful of spawn and sprinkle over the straw layer , concentrating more on the edges.
Fill the second layer of the straw to a height of 5” and spawn it as above.
Repeat this process to get five straw layers with spawns.
Gently press the bed and tie it tightly with a thread.
Put 6 ventilation holes randomly for ventilation as well as to remove excess moisture present inside the bed.
Arrange the beds in side the thatched shed, (Spawn running room) following Rack system or hanging rope system.
Maintain the temperature of 22-25° C and relative humidity of 85-90 % inside the shed.
Observe the beds daily for contamination, if any. The contaminated beds should be removed and destroyed.
Similarly, observe regularly for the infestation of insect pests viz., flies, beetles, mites etc., If noticed, the pesticide like Malathion should be sprayed in side the shed @ 1 ml per litre of water.
The fully spawn run beds can be shifted to cropping room for initiation of buttons.