Mushroom ornaments: A photo gallery

The present gallery  illustrates me and my father's creation on mushroom ornaments. Here, we have used  tough and leathery mushrooms of class Basidiomycetes for decorating purposes . Let all of you  should enjoy this section.

Mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) as a Banyan tree
Photo © Dr. Siddhant Oys

Mushrooms in  shell-centerpiece
Photo © Dr. Siddhant Oys

Mushroom as a flowering plant
Photo © Dr. Siddhant Oys

Polypore fungus wall hanging showpiece 
Photo © Dr. Siddhant Oys

                                                                               

Polypore fungus as a throne
 Photo © Dr. Siddhant Oys

                                                                                                        ....more updates will come soon            

                                                                                   

                                                                                                          -Siddhant and R.S. Kanaujia                                                         

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मेरी कलम 06:44  No comment

Waste paper: An alternative substrate for growing oyster mushrooms

Most of the edible fungi are saprophyte in nature. They utilize lignocellulosic complex as an energy source and for making their carbon skeleton. The oyster mushroom has strong enzyme profile that breakdown these complex organic macromolecule to simple form and help them to grow on a wide range of agricultural waste like cereal and millet waste, pulses and oil crop waste, vegetable and fruit waste, cotton and palm waste, sugar crop waste and wood and wood by-products etc. 

              These agro-wastes are scarce in the big cities, the people are unable to grow their own mushroom. Waste paper, on other hand, is an accessible cellulosic waste that provides carbon source to mushroom and  promotes their cultivation in such circumstances. 

Fruit bodies of Pleurotus flabellatus on waste-paper. 
Photo © Dr. Siddhant Oys

                  For this purpose, waste register paper is  dip over night in the solution of Formaldehyde (500ppm) and Bavistin (75ppm). Next morning, it is squeezed to drain off excess water and layer spawning is done under hygienic conditions using polythene bags. After inoculation, bags is incubated at 25^oC-30^oC. When mushroom mycelium fully colonized the substrate, several cuts (1.0-2.0cm diameter) are made on mushroom bags instead of complete removal of polythene film. The humidity of substrate is maintained at 85-95 per cent with the help of sprayer. The  mushroom appears about 33 days after spawning. However, waste paper doesn't show good response as compared to conventional substrate. It produces 70-75% of fresh mushrooms on dry weight basis of substrate. (See Table)

Source- Siddhant, Ruchira Singh and R.S. Kanaujia (2009): Cultivation of Pleurotus flabellatus (Berk. Et Br.) Sacc. using different waste substrate. Journal of the Indian Botanical Society. 88(1&2): 137-139. 

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मेरी कलम 19:10  2 comments

Bottle culture: A novel tool of mushroom cultivation in flatlets

Malnutrition in terms of deficiency of protein and micronutrients is not only a problem for the small towns. Many children in metro-cities are also under-nourished despite of taking fullest capacity of meal. In severe cases, it resulted higher incidence of disease, delayed mental development and even growth retardation. The nutritive value makes oyster mushrooms an ideal and balanced food for aforesaid children which can fulfill their minimum nutritional requirements. The mushrooms are  not only good source of dietary fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals but also have some  medicinal values. In addition, they have unique colour, taste, aroma and texture characteristics. 

The most common practice  of producing oyster mushrooms is the bag culture method, in which mushroom cultivation is carried out in the polythene bags. Unfortunately, nuisance caused by this technique leaves a little scope of mushroom production for flat let-dwellers. The bottle culture , on other hand, is the most suitable technique for flatlet-dwellers, where polypropylene bottle is used  instead of polythene bags. 
The procedure for bottle culture technique can be divided into following heads -
(a) Bottle selection - Empty cold drink  bottles (pepsi) of 2 litre capacity can be used for the mushroom production. To give uniform shape and place for primordial development, bottles are cut 13 cm below  the mouth while 5-6 pin holes are made in the bottom for exhaust of gases. 
(b) Substrate and its preparation - Any kind of  agro-waste available, is suitable for the mushroom cultivation. The paddy and wheat straw  is the most common substrate which is widely used  in different mushroom farm. In case agro-waste is not available, the waste paper can be utilized for this purpose. One should be remember that these substrates are attacked by various contaminants of fungal, bacterial and pest nature, resulted decrease in mushroom yield. To eliminate them, substrates is  boiled in the water for one hour at 100 ^oC. 
(c) Spawning - After cooling, soaked agro-waste is spread over clean and inclined cemented floor to drain off excess water and spawn is mixed @ 5% w/w on dry weight basis to this substrate. Now the bottle is filled with spawned agro-wastes and the mouth of bottle is then closed with a small piece of polythene ties with rubber band to protect substrate surfaces from airborne contaminants and pests. The film also prevents moisture losses from the substrate surface (Fig.1). 

Figure.1. Bottle culture. 
               Photo © Dr. Siddhant Oys

Figure.2 Fruiting bodies appeared on substrate. 
              Photo © Dr. Siddhant Oys

(d) Incubation and fruiting- The bottle is then incubated at natural condition (20-30^oC) for spawn run which is completed in about 8-10 days, depending upon the nature of substrate.  At this stage, substrate appears white, due to growth of cottony mycelium. After completion of spawn run, polythene covering was turned off and substrate was scratched mechanically to stimulate mycelium so that  fruiting are started uniformly on surface. The humidity of substrate is maintained at 85-95 per cent with the help of sprayer. 

Figure.3. Pleurotus eous and P. florida. 
                   Photo © Dr. Siddhant Oys

(e)Harvesting and  Yield- The first mushroom appear about 14-16 days after spawning (Fig.2&3). The fruit bodies should be harvested before spores released, by twisting of mushroom fruit body from the substrate. The yield of oyster mushroom depends upon several factors like  quality of spawn, nature of substrate, temperature, ventilation, moisture etc. Generally, It ranges from 100-150 % to the dry weight of substrate, used. 
The flat let-dwellers who has insufficient space for their accommodation and are facing the problem of malnutrition get the benefit of bottle culture technique for the production of protein rich food.    

Source- C.S. Singh, Siddhant, Ruchira Singh and R.S. Kanaujia (2006): Bottle culture: A suitable method for oyster mushroom cultivation. Environmental Biology and Conservation . 11:25-26

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मेरी कलम 04:27  No comment