The grain should be washed, all hollow grains should
be removed and the remaining boiled for one hour so that it is half
cooked. While boiling some formalin or savlon should be added to
disinfect the grain. The grain is then spread on a disinfected muslin
cloth and mixed with calcium carbonate. It is then filled into bottles
which are tightly corked using nonabsorbent cotton. The bottles are
then put into a pressure cooker.
The inoculation or the culture room for tissue culture was also shown
to us. This room should be about 2.25 m in height and 1.25 m in length.
Two tubes i.e. an ultra-violet tube and a normal tube light are used. A
spirit lamp is also used. One can produce up to six generations from
one bottle of mother spawn with the help of tissue culture. After six
generations the strength of the spawn decreases and the yield of the
mushrooms will be less.
Substratum: Paddy straw is the main substratum used for growing
mushrooms-it contains cellulose and lignin, both of which are necessary
for the growth of mushrooms. However many other kinds of substrata are
also used, for example, saw dust, sacks, banana leaves, dry mango
leaves, coconut leaves, sugarcane, wild grass, rice husk, etc.
The paddy straw must be carefully selected. It should be brittle,
yellow or golden brown in colour and not older than 6 months.
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