G.L. Khajuria
The mushrooms are as varied and countless as are or flowering plants, herbs and shrub from lowest strate to higher one. These are both palatable and non-palatable, poisonous, and non-poisonous fungi mostly manifesting their wild existence. These mostly subsist on dead, dying and diseases(3D’S) trees both in standing and felled from of logs, the forest. These as well exhibit their growth in a multipored form at various sites in and around the forest areas. Some of the palatable mushrooms exists on coniferous trees such as kail and chir in the form of beehive and most of them are palatable.
In rainy season, some forms of fungi emerge out from ground, and around termite mounds when there is lightning with thunders which are spoken as ‘khumbaan’ in dogri parlance. This variety of fungi is most serving as well multicinal properties in form or the other. These exists both multi-medinone both in the wild and around, habitation in rural areas, The tribal people are expert in identifying both the palatable and non-palatable mushrooms and they mostly have such mushrooms as their most favored and delicious dishes they subsist on this type of mushrooms.
Around 2,000 species of mushrooms have been identified out of which as many as 25 have been classified as edible. In delicacy, mushrooms are difficult to resist and that is why this variety forms the predominant part amongst other dishes displayed during important functions, particularly marriages menoes. Its delicacy is peerless and non-resistible. These form the prominent part for the vegetarian in breakfast, not lunch or dinner and is evergreen dish which in a way is not ignorable.
Mushrooms are of delicious taste and can be taken in a variety of ways: Mushroom with tea, coffee, in toasts with sauce.
The significance and awareness regarding nutritive value of mushrooms still remainsobscureand unidentified. These are warrant their awakening promotion, propagation encourage their cultivation, and this is not only by the farmers alone, but any person which is having an inclination towards gardening, floriculture, and horticulture etc.
Modern field in home gardening within and around home is of course, much ahead never people of all ages are keenly enthusiastic in raising multihued variety of ornamental plants (Flowering-cum-vegetationfoliage), them what hinders for mushroom culture which invigorate and makes one possessed us with garden-oriented.
Globally, mushroom cultivation took its initiation far back around 17th century in France. Now it has become a leading industry in many other countries like US, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Britain, Australia, Italy, Canada, Korea, China, Taiwan, and Japan and so many other countries. In a sense, mushroom cultivation has taken a worldwide phenomenon across the globe. Apart from vast, interest in its cultivation, it improves the economy in a bigger way this yielding hefty dividends for professional cultivators.
In our country, the full potential of mushrooms cultivation remains to be tapped as yet. In many parts of your country mushroom cultivation is viable due to the ideal atmospheric condition us for example in Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, mushrooms can very conveniently be cultivated in nine months of the year under natural conditions. The availability of technical know-how has however made the mushroom growers to cultivate not only in their backyards but indoors under proper climate conditions.
In the recent times, the technology of mushroom cultivation has been considering improved and diversified to cover a wide range of species suited to different geographical areas of the country.
At present, three varieties of edible mushrooms are being cultivated on commercial basis. These varieties ate European mushroom (Agaricusbisporus), oyster mushroom (Pleurotusspp) and the paddy straw mushroom (Poluartellspp). The scientific know-how for their cultivation on commercial basis have however, been for its inition. The temparata valley of Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, W.Bengal, Tamil Naidu are ideally suitable around the world.
In winter, mushrooms can conveniently be grown in the plains of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu.
In order to ensure good cultivation of mushrooms, complete darkness is no pre-requisite as the mushrooms don’t need sunlight at any stage in their cultivation. Manure is oftenly used in wooden trays which should be carefully kept on cemented floors with overhead roof and water availability nearby.
As stated earlier, many mushrooms have been founded perched upon Kail and other coniferous trees in the forest. These are exhibited on decaying/decayed stumps which are of umbrella- shape and come under a wide range fungi which corm a distinct type such as load stools, buff balls and these are found associated with lichens and ferns, microscopic yeast and are non-flowering being evolved much earlier than flowering plants.
Owing to the fact that there are lacking chlorophyll, these subsist on decayed matter which is abundantly found on ground of forest areas.
Mushrooms are meat-eaters too. Bio logistics have found that mushrooms trap microorganisms and others whom they can capture/trap and conveniently consumed by the mushrooms. This is the magic of nature alone well understands. How a vegetarian becomes non-vegetarian and vice-versa which is much beyond human imagination like us and other bio-forms, the meat-eating mushrooms have of course, been provided by nature certain enzymes which help in the digestion and assimilation of their intakes. That way these mushrooms act as scavengers in the wide varied biodiversity and the mushrooms have their role to play with in a broader spectrum in balancing the ecosystem and the worldwide sustainability.
(The author is former Deputy Conservator of Forests, J&K)
