‘New Oyster variety released’
A new high-yielding oyster mushroom that can do well in temperate regions has been developed and released for commercial cultivation by the farmers of the hilly tracts by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore.
Christened `Oyster Mushroom Ooty 1’, the mushroom was selected from the Doddabetta forest area in the Nilgiri district by the scientists at the Horticultural Research Station of TNAU at Uthagamandalam. The production technology has been developed at the station.
The new mushroom, recorded for the first time in Tamil Nadu, is pleurotus ostreatus, and it produces white sporophores at temperatures ranging between 12 and 25 deg. The bright white mushroom has good consumer preference, and can fetch premium price in the market, according to the scientists who developed this mushroom. This mushroom looks light brown and resembles a datura flower in the early stages of development. As it grows it turns white with a depressed pileus. The fully-grown mushroom is fleshy, tastier and suits the needs of mushroom growers in the hills.
This variety is recommended for growing in the hilly tracts of Tamil Nadu. It takes 27 to 30 days for the first crop, and it offers three harvests in 55 to 60 days. There are no recorded pests or diseases for the mushroom.
This mushroom can be cultivated with paddy straw under a temperature range of 12-25 deg.
The mushroom can be raised using paddy straw and wheat straw. It can be grown all through the year. Polybag method using 60 cm by 30 cm polybags is recommended. The spawn in based on sorghum grains, and each bottle of spawn can be used to seed two or three beds containing about 500 g. dry substrate (rice or wheat straw) each. About five layers can be accommodated in each bed. So far the pleurotus varieties released are not suitable for growing in the hills.
