Mushrooms: A Manual for Cultivation

About the Book: Mushrooms: A Manual for Cultivation Mushroom is an important crop of fungal origin that can be cultivated on several agricultural residues. There are about twenty mushroom species grown commercially all over the world, specifically known for their attractive flavours and textures that make food delicious. Mushrooms not only contain protein, vitamins and minerals, but also have low calorie content with little fat and sugar. They provide a high amount of qualitative nutrition required for our growth and strong immune system. This is a complete manual on the cultivated edible mushrooms covering all the information from their morphological features to post-harvest preparations. The structure, natural diversity, food and medicinal values, impact of climatic factors on their cultivation and cultivation methodologies are all explained in an easy-to-understand way. The economics of mushroom cultivation and ancillary information about mushroom centres, sources of spawn and machineries as well as addresses of leading mushroom farms and exporters have been elaborated in the text. The text is intended for the undergraduate students of Agriculture, Biotechnology, Botany and Microbiology. Besides, it will serve as a handy compendium for those engaged in mushroom development programmes as well as those interested in establishing their own mushroom farms. Contents Foreword Preface 1. Introduction 2. Biodiversity of Mushrooms 3. Influence of Climatic Conditions 4. Importance of Mushroom Cultivation 5. Mushroom Laboratory and Spawn Preparation 6. Button Mushroom Cultivation 7. Cultivation of Specialty Mushrooms 8. Management of Diseases, Pests and Weed Fungal Attacks 9. Post Harvest Technology and Food Preparations 10. Economics in Mushroom Cultivation 11. Ancillary Information References Glossary Index About the Authors: SV Ngachan, M Datta, Subrata Biswas SV Ngachan, Ph.D., is Director, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya. He is the recipient of