Business Proposal of Mushroom Cultivation

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Oyster mushrooms are often grown without any environmental control. P. sajor-caju is cultivated for the summer crop at Kathmandu (25-30°C and 80%) and in the hills of Nepal while it is cultivated in the Terai regions during the winter season (22-26°C and 70%). P. ostreatus is grown during the winter season in Kathmandu and other cool places (5-20°C and 70%). Some mushroom growers try to grow these two species together. Of course, oyster mushrooms cannot be grown in Terai during the summer (30-40°C and 70%). The mid hills of Nepal are the most appropriate areas for oyster mushroom production and therefore the mushroom technology has been expanded widely in those villages.

Cultivation Method Practiced in Nepal

The cultivation method for oyster mushroom production using paddy straw in Nepal is as follows. Paddy straw is selected from the field by choosing fresh, not old, clean and straight pieces, of good quality. These straws are manually chopped into small pieces (2-3 inches long) using the locally hand-made chopper (Fig. 2). Chopped straw is then soaked in water for 2-4 hours, or sometimes overnight, in a container or a small ditch specially made for this purpose (Fig. 3).

The soaked straw is cleansed in water (Fig. 4) 1-2 times in a plastic bucket or some other container. The water from the straw is drained off in sieve (Fig. 5). Most farmers drain the water off slowly by placing the cleansed straw on a sloped place, a procedure that takes 2-4 hours. [pic 2]

Figure 2. Straw chopping

[pic 3]

Figure 3. Soaking the chopped straw

The drained straw is then steamed in a steamer. The local steamers are clay pots with a number of holes on the bottom. These steamers are put on top of a metallic vessel containing water (Fig. 6). The water is boiled using a kerosene stove. The mouth of the straw steamer is covered with thick plastic sheet (Fig. 7) and tied up by a string so as to make it tight. It takes about half an hour for the steam to reach the top of the steamer. Once the steam reaches to the top, steaming should be continued for about half an hour or more in order to sterilize the straw. The temperature in this process usually goes beyond 90°C.

[pic 4]

Figure 4. Cleaning the straw in clean water

[pic 5]

Figure 5. Draining water on a wooden framed net

[pic 6]

Figure 6. Local steamer (earthen pot) on a metallic vessel containing water

[pic 7]

Figure 7. Covering the steamer with plastic to pasteurize

[pic 8]

Figure 8. Steaming the straw in a metallic drum

Instead of the clay pot steamer, a metallic drum (Fig. 8) can be used. In such cases the metallic drum is filled with water to about 6 inches from the bottom and a tripod stand is used to support the grate. The drum is then filled with straw and covered with a plastic sheet. The steaming method is then the same as with the clay pot steamer. The steamed straw is cooled down in the same container or transferred into a plastic sack to prevent contamination from outside.

The plastic bags used for making packets are of different sizes: 12×16î (small) and 18×26î (large). These bags are punched to make holes at a distance of 4 inches apart. Cooled straw is packed in the bags in layers up to 4 inches deep and grain spawn is sprinkled in layer by layer (Fig. 9). Once the bag is filled, the bag mouth is closed with a rubber band. Incubation proceeds at room temperature for 20-21 days (Fig. 10), until the mycelium spreads completely throughout inside the packets.

[pic 9]

Figure 9. Making packets and spawning

[pic 10]

Figure 10. Incubation of packets at farmer’s house

When the spawn run is completed, the bag is removed by cutting the plastic (Fig. 11). The packets are arranged in a row on the floor using a brick or two underneath (Fig. 12). The spacing between the packets is 6 inches, with 2 feets between the rows. Watering is done every morning and evening using a sprayer. In the dry season, one more spraying of water should be done. Primordia appear after 4-5 days (Fig. 13) and develop into a full size

mushroom within an additional 2-3 days (Fig. 14). [pic 11]

Figure 11. Packets after opening the plastic bags

[pic 12]

Figure 12. Packets are arranged in a row with bricks underneath

[pic 13]

Figure 13. Primordia formation

[pic 14]

Figure 14. Fruiting bodies

2.2 Swot analysis

Strength

• Abundance potential for product diversity in rural area,

• Diversity of raw materials for mushroom production,

• Rural labor force potential,

• Low environmental pollution and existence of potential for organic agriculture,

• Richness of mushroom production and consumption culture,

• High potential in respect of mushroom consumption by youths

• The experience obtained in European Union’s rural development projects,

• Increasing supports of Ministry of Agriculture engaged in rural development,

• Small scale and fragmented agricultural holdings

• Insufficiency of capital and financial resources,

• Low soil quality, widespread erosion, and inappropriate utilization of land resources due to ignoring of soil capability,

• Problems regarding balance of conservation- utilization