This document provides information about mushroom technology and mushroom cultivation. It discusses the nutritional value and medicinal properties of mushrooms. It then describes the cultivation process of three common mushrooms - button mushroom, milky mushroom, and oyster mushroom. For each mushroom, it explains the substrate processing, bag preparation, incubation, cropping, harvesting and expected yields. Finally, it shares eight mushroom recipes.

1. MUSHROOM TECHNOLOGY
Dr.A.GANDHI
Assistant Professor
(Deputed from ANNAMALAI UNIVERSITY)
PG & Research Department of Botany
H.H.THE RAJAH’S COLLEGE(Auto.)
Pudukkottai -622 001, TN

2. MUSHROOM
 A mushroom is the fleshy, Spore-bearing fruiting bodies of a fungus,
typically produced above ground on soil or on its food sources.
 These lack chlorophyll and live on dead organic matter and hence are
saprophytic.
 Mushroom develops from a nodule, or pin head on surface of the
substrate, less then two millimeters in diameter, Called a primordium,
 The primordium enlarge into umberella or button or ball or oyster like
structure, Called Fruiting body or Mushroom.
 Mushrooms may seem to sprout overnight, it actually takes days or weeks
for one develop.
 More than 200 Sps are identified as eatable mushrooms
 But only few are being cultivated in large scale
Examples:
Agaricus bisporus, Calocybe indica and Pleurotus sajor-caju

3. Nutritional value and Medicinal Value
 Moisture(Water): 85%
 Protein:3.2%
 Carbohydrate:4-2-4.5%
 Fat:0.3%
 Fiber: Helps lower cholesterol and is important for digestive system.
 Vitamin D- Essential for the absorption of calcium
 Thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and ascorbic acid
 Minerals: Ca,P,Fe,Na and K etc.
 Mushroom can be substituted for fish, meat and egg.

5. EDIBLE MUSHROOMS
Agaricus bisporus
 Native to Europe and North America
 Known as button mushroom.
Calocybe indica
 Native to India
 Milky white, Umberella shape-known as Milky Mushroom
Pleurotus sajor-caju
 The fruit bodies of this mushroom are distinctly shell, fan or spatula shaped with
different shades of white, cream, grey, yellow, pink or light brown depending up on
the species.
 Generally referred to as Oyster Mushroom
 They are also found on hard woods

6. Types of Mushroom
BUTTON MUSHROOM – Agaricus bisporus

7. MILKY MUSHROOM – Calocybe indica

8. OYSTER MUSHROOM – Pleurotus sajor-caju

9. Poisonous MUSHROOMS
 Look like edible mushroom.
 But can be distinguished by its Bright coloured fruit
bodies
 Pink, Yellow –green spores
 Oozing of milky or coloured latex at damaged
portion
Eg. Amanita phalloides(Yellow)
Tricholoma muscarium(Pink)

10. MATERIAL REQUIREMENT
Substrate:
Straw of paddy, wheat and ragi, stalks and dry leaves of maize, jowar,
bajra, and cotton, sugarcane bagasse, jute and cotton waste, peanut
shells, dried grasses, sunflower stalks and discarded waste paper.
Mushroom Spawn:
Spawn @ 10 % of dry weight of the substrate is required.
Polythene Bag:
Transparent polythene tube of 125-150 gauge with a dimension of
60 cm x 30 cm is suitable for oyster cultivation.
OYSTER MUSHROOM CULTIVATION PROCESS

14. CULTIVATION PROCEDURE
Substrate Processing :
 The pre-wetted straw is steam pasteurized at 60-70o C for one hour, cooled
at room temperature and then seeded with spawn.
 The substrate is dried in shade for few hours in order to maintain the
moisture level of 55-60%.

18. Raising of bag
 One end of the polythene tube is tied with a rubber band or cotton thread.
 The moistened substrate is put inside to a height of 15 cm.
 Spawn (25g) is spread at the periphery close to polythene.
 Likewise, four such layers are made.
 The bag is closed at the upper end after pressing the substrate.
 15-20 small holes (0.5 cm diameter) should be made on all sides to facilitate
gas exchange.
 The bags are then incubated in a well-ventilated room at 25o C.

25. After Care:
 Once the mycelium has fully colonized the substrate forming a thick
mycelial mat, it is ready for fruiting.
 These bags are opened after 15-16 days and arranged on shelves at a distance
of 20 cm between each bag in the tier or hanged with plastic rope.
 Appropriate temperature (20-30o C), humidity (70-80%) and light (200 lux)
with good ventilation should be maintained in the cropping room.
 Bags are watered twice daily depending upon the weather condition.

28. Harvesting:
 Primordia (small eggs) appear within 4-5 days of opening the bag that
came to the harvestable stage 3-4 days later.
 The mushrooms should be harvested when the cap begins to fold
inwards.
 Picking is done by twisting the mushroom gently without disturbing
the surrounding fruit bodies. Crop should not be watered before
harvesting.
 The second crop appears after 7-10 days.
 Within 45 days crop period, 3-4 crops are expected.
 Under suitable growing condition, a biological efficiency of 100% is
achieved in commercial farms.

31. CULTIVATION OF OYSTER MUSHROOM
(Pleurotus sajor-caju)
Spwan
Paddy straw
Soaking in water
( 12-24hrs )
Straw and Spwan filled
in polytene bags
(60x30cm) as layers and
mouth tied
Kept in Growth
Chamber For 20-25 Days
Kept in Mushroom Shed
(Humidity.80-90%; Temp.25-30C)
Small Pin head appears and
matures as Mushroom
with in 2-4 days
Crop yield:80-100% on Dry weight of Raw material Used
Excess water
removed

32. SPAWN PRODUCTION
Vegetative growth on seed like sorghum and Rice grain called as spawn or
Mushroom seeds .
Method:
 Grains are smoked in water for 12 hours.
 Half boiled and water removed
 The moist grains mixed with Calcium Carbonate at 20g per kg
 Packed in poly bags or bottles
 Steam sterilized
 Cooled to room temperature
 Fungal mycelia mate of is inoculated aseptically.
 Incubated at 25 to 30 deg.C in a dark and dry place for 2-4weeks
 Thick fungal mycelia growth on grains is observed and used as seed for
bedding.

33. MILKY MUSHROOM
Calocybe indica

34. MILKY MUSHROOM CULTIVATION
Milky mushroom, otherwise known as summer mushroom, is a long sized, white
and attractive mushroom of India.
This is a tropical mushroom like paddy straw mushroom.
Attributes:
 The mushroom is bright white in colour and attractive.
 Different types of cellulosic wastes can be used as basal substrate.
 The cultivation procedure is simple and easy
 Productivity is higher – 80 to 100 %
 Milky mushroom has good self life.
 Fruit bodies can be stored for 3-4 days in ambient condition.
 Fresh mushroom can be exported.

35. Substrate Processing and Rising of the Bag are similar to
Oyster Mushroom except Casing
Casing means covering the top surface of bags after spawn run is over, with
pasteurized casing material in about 2-3 cm thickness.
Casing provides physical support, moisture and allows gases to escape from the
substrate.
 Casing material(soil 50% + Compost 50%) with pH adjusted to 7.8 to 7.9 with
chalk powder is pasteurized in autoclave at 15 psi for one hour or chemically
treated with 4 % formaldehyde solution about a week in advance of casing.
 It is covered with polythene sheet to avoid escape of chemical and turned at 2
days interval so that at the time of casing, soil is free from formalin smell.
 Top of the bag is opened, polythene is folded and casing material is
uniformly spread in 2-3 cm thickness

36. Cropping :
 It takes about 10 days for the mycelium to reach the top of the casing layer
when fresh air is introduced along with appropriate temperature and
humidity.
 The changes thus made in the environment, result in the initiation of
fruit bodies within 3-5 days which may mature in about a week.
 Mushroom of 7-10 cm diameter are harvested by twisting, cleaned and
packed in perforated polythene/polypropylene bags for marketing.
 In a 40 days duration crop, around 800-1000 g of mushroom may be
harvested per bag.
 Hence, the biological efficiency of milk mushroom is 80-100%.
Average Yield per bag : 1 Kg

38. Mushroom Recipes
1. Mushroom tomato soup
2. Mushroom onion soup
3. Mushroom cabbage salad
4. Mushroom tomato sauce
5. Kadai mushroom
7. Mushroom pakoda
8. Mushroom curry
9. Mushrooms biryani

39. Mushroom biryani

40. MUSHROOM RECIPES
MUSHROOM TOMATO SOUP
Ingredients
Fresh mushrooms - 200 g (chopped)
Tomatoes - 4 (chopped)
Onion - 1 medium (chopped)
Garlic - 3 cloves
Corn flour - 3 table spoon
Cream - 2 table spoon
Butter - 50 g
Salt and pepper - to taste
Method
Boil tomatoes, onion and garlic in water for 10 minutes. Grind the above material
and sieve it. Melt butter in a pan and saute chopped mushrooms for 10 minutes
until they become golden brown. Add sieved material to it and sprinkle one table
spoon of corn flour on to mushroom soup to thicken adding salt and pepper to it.
Boil for 7-8 minutes and serve hot with cream.

41. MUSHROOM ONION SOUP
Ingredients
Chopped/rushed mushroom - 200 g
Onion thinly sliced - 4 medium sized
Garlic - 1
clove, crushed Corn Flour - 1 table spoon
Water - 4 cups
Sugar - ½ table spoon
Bread - 3 slices
Cheese - 50 g grated
Butter - 50 g
Method
Melt the butter in a heavy based sauce pan. When hot add onion and crushed garlic
to it. Fry gently for about 10 minutes until onion turns soft and golden brown. Add
mushrooms to it and fry for 10 minutes until mushrooms release its water. Remove
the pan from the heat. Add Corn flour in a cup of water and stir well. Return pan to
the heat, pour the mixture stirring all the time for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is
smooth. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste. When it starts boiling, cover with the lid
and simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Cut bread into 1 cm thick pieces and deep fry until golden brown. Pour soup into
bowls, sprinkle bread crums and grated cheese on the top of the soup and serve hot.

42. MUSHROOM CABBAGE SALAD
Ingredients
Fresh mushrooms - 150 g
Capsicum - 50 g
Cabbage - 50 g
Onion - 1
Spring onion (chopped) - 50 g
Cooking oil - 50 g
Soya sauce - 1 table spoon
Corn flour mixed with a little water - 2 table spoon
Green chilly sauce - 1 table spoon
Tomato sauce - 2 table spoon
Salt/pepper - to the taste
Method
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Fry mushrooms until water evaporates. Add petalled onion
and cook quickly tossing all the time for two to three minutes until softened slightly
but are still crisp. Add cabbage, capsicum, spring onion and toss together on high
flame. When cabbage starts wilting, mix all the sauces and ingredients together and
cooks stirring until smooth and sauce has heated thorough. Serve hot with any type of
meal.

43. MUSHROOM TOMATO SAUCE
Ingredients
Fresh finely chopped mushrooms - 250 g
Tomatoes - 250 g
Onion - 1
Garlic - 1 clove
Ginger - 50 g
Cooking oil - 25 g
Salt and pepper - to taste
Method
Chop the tomatoes and boil it in 50 g of water to make thick paste. Add garlic and
ginger to it. Give two whistles in cooker and then sieve the material. Now tomato
paste is ready.
Heat oil in a heavy pan then gently fry chopped onions until light brown. Add
chopped mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, little water, salt and
pepper to taste and 1/2 table spoon of sugar and boil for 10 minutes until it becomes in
the form of creamy consistency. Serve hot with vegetables or on toast as

44. KADAI MUSHROOM
Ingredients
Fresh mushrooms pieces - 500 g
(button or oyster or milky)
Onion - 2 (paste)
Ginger - 2 teaspoon
Garlic - 2 table spoon
Capsicum-sliced, seed removed - 2
Peas boiled - ½ cup
Whole red chillies - 4
Chilly powder (degi) - 2 table spoon
Green chillies, chopped - 2
Tomato puree - 1 cup
Cumin seeds, kasoori methi - as per taste
Garam masala, salt - as per taste
Method
Heat cooking oil in a kadai, put cumin seeds, when they get browned put mushrooms in it and
saute in high flame for 2 minutes. Add peas, capsicum, salt and garam masala. Cook for 2 minutes
and remove from heat.
Now heat oil in a deep pan, put whole red chillies and fry until deep brown. Add onion, ginger
and garlic paste and fry till golden brown. Add green chillies and puree to it and keep stirring over
low heat till the oil separates out. Add salt and other spices to it. Pour the gravy over the cooked
mushrooms in kadai and cook for 5 minutes stirring thoroughly. Sprinkle kasoori methi and
coriander leaves. Serve hot with tandoori roti.

45. MUSHROOM PAKODA
Ingredients
Fresh mushrooms - 500 g
Onion, chopped - 1 big
Ginger (chopped) - 2 table spoon
Garam masala - 10 g
Anar dana powder - 1 table spoon
Gram flour (besan) - 150 g
Cooking oil - 100 g
Salt, green chillies - to taste
Method
Place washed mushrooms in 1 litre of water and add salt (half spoon). Boil for 5
minutes and drain the mushrooms and let it dry for 10 minutes by spreading on a
dry cloth. Cut mushrooms into pieces and squeeze properly so that no water
remains in mushrooms. Add all ingredients and salt as per your taste in gram flour.
Pour little water to make thick paste. Add mushrooms to it and mix well. Deep fry in
hot oil on medium heat. Serve hot with pudina chutney.

46. MUSHROOM CURRY
Ingredients
Fresh mushrooms - 300 g
Onion - 2 (medium and chopped)
Garlic - 3 cloves (crushed)
Tomato puree - 1 cup
Corn flour - 15 g (mixed in half cup water)
Curry powder - 2 table spoon
Red chillies - whole - 3
Salt and spices - To taste
Mustard oil - 3 table spoon
Coriander leaves - 50 g (chopped)
Cumin seed - ½ table spoon
Coriander powder - 1 table spoon
Garam Masala - 2 table spoon
Turmeric powder - ½ table spoon
Method
Heat oil in a deep heavy based pan, put red chillies and fry until deep brown then add chopped
onion, garlic and ginger. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Pour puree and fry until contents start leaving oil.
Pour in curry powder and corn flour and cook for a minute adding salt, spices and desired water,
bring to boil for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for another 5-6 minutes. Garnish with
coriander leaves. Serve with steamed rice.

47. MUSHROOMS DAM BIRYANI
Ingredients
Fresh mushrooms - 500 g
Basmati rice - 2 cup
Onion chopped in lengths - 2 medium
Ginger pieces - 2" pod
Garlic crushed - 5-6 cloves
Red chillies - 2 table spoon
Coriander leaves chopped - 50 g
Mint leaves (chopped) - 20 g
Tomato puree - 1 cup
Milk (double toned) - ½ cup
Curd - ½ cup
Cassia (Tej patta) - 2
Cloves - 4
Garam Masala - 2 table spoon
Green cardamom - 2
Black cardamom - 2
Mace (Javitri) - 1 piece
Cumin seeds - 1 table spoon
Turmeric powder - ½ table spoon
Saffron - 1 pinch
Salt - to taste

48. Method
Wash mushrooms and cut into four pieces. Soak rice for ½ hour. Grind ginger and
garlic in a mixer. Beat curd thoroughly, soak saffron in milk. Take a heavy based pan
and boil 4 cups of water, add cassia, clove, cardamom, cinnamon, mace and one table
spoon of salt and boil till the spices start leaving their colour and flavour. Add soaked
rice, keep stirring and cook till the 34 part of rice is cooked. Drain extra water and keep
aside.
Heat oil in a non stick pan and add onion, fry till golden brown. Pour ginger , garlic and
other spices and cook till it thickens to hard consistency. Add beaten curd, garam
masala, coriander leaves, mint leaves and salt, cook for 2 minutes then add mushrooms
and cook on high flame for 2-3 minutes till the mushrooms stop leaving water.
Mushroom dam biryani
Take an oven-proof dish, put boiled rice and mushroom masala into layers one by one
adding coriander leaves and sprinkle saffron milk after every layer. Top layer should be
of rice and sprinkle coriander leaves and saffron milk. Seal the dish with foil and put it
in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes at 700C temperature. Serve hot with pudina
chutney and curd

49. ECONOMICS OF A SMALL SCALE MODEL
OYSTER MUSHROOM PRODUCTION UNIT-500kg per annum
Non Recurring Cost(Rs.)
Shed (10’x15’) : 9000
Vessels :4000
Stove :2500
Gas Connection :2500
Miscellaneous items :2000
Total :20000
Recurring cost(Rs.)
Paddy Straw (500kg@Rs.5/-) :2500
Spawn (Rs15/-/100g/kg straw) :7500
Polythene covers 10kg@200/- :2000
Power & Gas Rs.1000/month :12000
Miscellaneous expenses Rs.500/-month :6000
Total :30000
Production cost (Rs) (1kg mushroom /kg dry straw)
Interest on Non Recurring cost @24%/annum : 4800
Recurring cost :30000
Total :34800 (Say as Rs. 35000)
Profit(Rs.)
Sale of 500kg@Rs.200/kg :100000
Cost of Production :35000
Profit :65000