A One-day training program on “Paddy Straw based Mushroom Cultivation” was organised by Punjab Agricultural & Management Training Institute (PAMETI) in association with Department of Microbiology, PAU, under the PAMETI-UNEP project on 7th January 2019. The training program was attended by 11 Progressive Farmers from the selected villages under the project.
Dr H S Dhaliwal, Director, PAMETI welcomed participants and informed that earlier only wheat straw was used to prepare the compost for mushroom cultivation but as the wheat straw was costly, the cost of production of mushroom became higher with this raw material. Now the compost could be prepared by using 50 % wheat straw and 50% paddy straw and this combination did not make any difference in the mushroom yield.
Dr H S Sodhi from Deptt. of Microbiology, PAU informed the participants about the mushroom production in the state and apprised the participants about its packaging, market along with its economics of cultivation. He also explained the preparation of paddy straw-based compost using the short method along with spawning, casing etc. He explained the structure of well-designed mushroom farms to ensure optimum production. Dr Shivani Sharma and Dr Suman Kumari informed the participants on spawn preparation and explained the technicalities involved in the cultivation of different species of mushroom such as oyster, milky and shiitake. These technicalities were practically explained to the farmer by taking them to the mushroom farms and hands on training for compost preparation was also imparted to all the trainees. A field was also organized for the participants.
Mr Lakhwinder Singh Brar, Deputy Director-marketing, PAMETI motivated the trainees to take up the mushroom farming as a ready source of income and as a means of crop diversification as well as an option for managing the paddy straw. The trainees were provided spawn and envelopes/bags for holding the compost free of cost under the PAMETI-UNEP project. The farmers were enthusiastic about the training and were upbeat about such trainings which would help to further their understanding in such type of specialized farming.
Source: http://www.pau.edu/
