Mushroom farmers in Jammu and Kashmir are upbeat over the government announcement to introduce 'shiitake' mushrooms for commercial farming in the Union Territory. The agriculture department will launch commercial farming Shiitake in September after successful field trials of the cultivation of this Japanese-origin variety.
Cultivation trials were carried out successfully for spawn production and cultivation of shiitake mushrooms in a spawn production laboratory in Jammu as well as in fields. It was done on sawdust of broad leaves in polypropylene bags as per the guidelines of the Directorate of Mushroom Research (ICAR), Solan.
Aiming to support small-scale farmers, the J&K government is going to implement a full-fledged project at a cost of Rs 420 mln (€4.6 mln) in the next three years for the promotion of round-the-year mushroom cultivation for sustainable and profitable crops.
Source: theweek.in