IJFANS International Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences

ISSN PRINT 2319 1775 Online 2320-7876

Evaluating the Economic Viability of Pleurotus florida and P. eryngii Mushroom spawn culture and production in Agribusiness

Main Article Content

Rashmi Mathur, Payal Mago, Isha gunwal, Sumit Sahni, Garima Bhargav, Anubhuti Agarwal, Anjali Rawat, Khushi Tiwari, Vriddhi Rastogi, Swayanka Rawat, Alok Verma, Faiz Ahmad, Lokesh, Manav Arya, Nitish Jha. Rahul Dev Ambedkar

Abstract

Mushrooms are one of the most abundant fungi and have been used as a food source for years. A variety of them are cultivated across the country and have become an additional source of income for farmers. Mushroom cultivation and spawn production have the potential to ensure food security and provide employment opportunities, especially for rural and small-scale farmers. However, due to the inadequacy of knowledge and skills for mushroom farming in remote areas and the inaccessibility of quality spawn at affordable rates, large-scale production of this potential cash crop is hindered. A Project to prepare Spawn Culture was launched with the aim of inculcating the idea of agripreneurship among students. In this paper, we have discussed the materials and methods used in preparing mushroom spawn from Pleurotus florida and Pleurotus eryngii. In the following sections, we have also discussed the estimated cost of producing the commercially significant “1 Kg spawn bag”. The present paper provides the procedure followed for Spawn Cultivation to inculcate the idea of agri-entrepreneurship among students and create a market interface so that the students can then reach out to encourage scaling up mushroom cultivation among small-scale farmers.

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