Solan Directorate granted mushroom patent

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, December 9

In a significant achievement, a patent “technology for early fruiting in shiitake (Lentinula edodes)” for mushroom cultivation, which will enable the fruiting in shiitake mushroom within 45-47 days as against the existing 90 to 100 days, has been granted to the Indian Council of Agriculture Research(ICAR)-run-Directorate of Mushroom Research (DMR), Chambaghat, here by the Centre.

The technology developed by Dr VP Sharma, Director, DMR, and his team relates to a technology with a specific combination of growing substrate and a distinct strain of shiitake mushroom that had reduced the cropping cycle to an extent of 50 per cent. The existing technologies on shiitake mushroom cultivation takes 90-100 days for fruiting initiation while the new technology will help produce the fruiting in shiitake mushroom within 45-47 days.

“This technology will revolutionise mushroom production as it will help harvest shiitake mushrooms in just 45 days and will deliver quick returns to the growers,” said Dr Sharma. Shiitake mushroom is one of the five commercially cultivated mushroom species in India. Its production has been steadily rising. It contributes 22 per cent of the global mushroom production. Mushroom cultivation has increased from 40,000 metric tonnes in 1996 to 1,81,980 metric tonnes this year with a quantum leap of 26,427 metric tonnes in the last one year nationally. Himachal occupies the fifth position nationally after Haryana, Odisha, Maharashtra and Punjab in production of this low calorie food nationally and it produces 14,505 metric tonnes per annum. Globally, China is the largest producer though majority of its produce is consumed within the country.