Small Scale Mushroom Growing Business?

Question

I am a retired woman aged 52 living in Thane Mumbai. I want to invest in mushrooom growing business (I have 6x 2 feet area which can be used for it ) . can I get some information how to go about it?

Answer 1

General know of Mushrooms

Can mushrooms be grown in plain areas?

Yes, mushrooms can be grown anywhere , proviced

the temperature and humidity requirements are kept in the required range.

What type of climate is suitable for mushroom cultivation?

Mushroom is an indoor crop. The temperature at the time of fruiting is to be kept from 14-18 C and humidity at 85%.

What substrate is used for growing mushrooms?

Mushrooms are grown on compost prepared by mixing wheat/paddy straw, chicken manure, wheat bran, urea, gypsum. The spawn is prepared on wheat grains.

What are the general requirements for mushroom cultivation?

Mushroom being an indoor crop, it requires controlled conditions of temperature and humidity (temperature in the range of 14-18 C and humidity of 85%.

Is mushroom vegetarian or non-vegetarian?

Mushrooms are vegetarian.

What are the benefits of eating mushrooms?

Mushrooms are very nutritious, rich in proteins, fibre and have folic acid content that is uncommon in vegetables and amino acids which are usually absent in cereals.

What is the market potential of mushrooms?

Mushrooms have now become popular, therefore it has a good market potential. White button mushroom can be sold in fresh or canned form and products such as pickle and soup can be made from it. Oyster mushroom can be sold in dried form also.

How can I get rid of mushroom flies?

You can get rid of mushroom flies by screening doors and ventilators with nylon or wire mesh (35 or 40 mesh size), using yellow coloured light trap, and giving preventive spray of malathion or cypermethrin on walls.

From where can I get training regarding mushroom growing?

You can get training regarding mushroom production technology from National Research Centre for Mushroom, Solan or State Agricultural Universities.

What are the products that can be made from mushrooms?

You can make pickle, soup powder, candies, biscuits, nuggets, murabba etc.

Whether the government provides any financial support/subsidies for establishing mushroom units?

NABARD, National Horticulture Board and Banks provide loans for establishment of mushroom units, spawn production units and compost making units.

How many types of edible mushrooms are there?

White button mushroom, oyster mushroom, black ear mushroom, giant mushroom, milky mushroom, shiitake are some of the edible species of mushrooms which can be grown artificially. Morchella, which is collected from the high hills of HP, J&K and Uttaranchal, is also edible.

Do mushrooms suffer from diseases?

Yes, mushrooms suffer from different types of diseases. Some of the major diseases of mushrooms are wet bubble, dry bubble, cob web and moulds (green, yellow, brown).

Answer 2

Please don't even try thinking growing mushrooms.

Reasons :

1. Your intended area is too less to do anything economically viable.

2. Marketing of mushrooms is a big, big headache.

3. It requires lots of time and dedication.

But still if you need proper and authentic information/ training please get into touch with MITCON people. They run short term courses also.

Best of luck if you decided to do the same.

Answer 3

12 sq feet is too less for any kind of mushroom vultivation even if you do a 2 layer facility its 24 sq feet can try 4 -6 musroom hangings will help you produce like 250 gms a day..... it can be treated as a hobby and nothing else....there should not be much sunlight in this place and need to be humid...( is it a balcony)