Oyster mushroom production

A thatched Shed of 16 sq.m. is required. Divide the shed into spawn running and cropping rooms
Spawn running room: maintain 25-30⁰C, provide ventilation, no light is required
Cropping room: Maintain 23-25⁰C, RH above 75-80% with moderate light and aeration.

(Digital Thermometers and Humidity meters are available in the market)

Suitable substrate: Sorghum, Maize or, Wheat grains
Preparation of spawn: Half cooked grains, air dried, mixed with calcium carbonate powder at 2% level, fill the grains in empty glucose drip bottles, plug with cotton and sterilize in cooker for 2 hours.
Put the pure culture of the fungus (Procured from agriculture departments/agrl. Universities) and incubate at room temperature for 15 days. Use 15-18 days old spawn for spawning.

Suitable substrate: Paddy/wheat straw, sugarcane baggasse, hulled maize cobs
Cooking of substrate: Cut into 5cm bits, soak in potable water for 5 hrs, boil water for one hour, drain the water, air dry to 65% moisture (no water drips when squeezed between hands)
Preparation of bags:
1. Use 60 ×30 cm polythene bags (both side open).
2. Keep the beds moist by periodical spraying with water.
3. Tie one end of bag, put two holes of 1 cm dia in the middle.
4. Put handful of cooked straw in the bag to a height of 5 cm; sprinkle about 25 g of spawn.
5. Layer the straw to 25 cm height. Repeat the process to get four layers of spawn and 5 layers of straw.
6. Tie the mouth and arrange beds in tiers in the spawn running room.
7. After 15-20 days, cut and remove the polythene bag and transfer the beds to cropping room.

Mushroom pin heads appear on 3rd day of opening of beds and mature in 3 days.
Harvest matured mushrooms daily or alternate days, before spraying water.
Second and third harvest can be obtained after scraping the surface of beds after first or second harvest.

A video on Mushroom Production Technology, Oyster, harvesting, infestation and building.