How To Start a Button Mushroom Farming Business

Button mushroom is a specialty type of edible mushroom. Thus, this product has commercial value. The scientific name is Agaricus Bisporus. The commercial cultivation of this type of mushroom is practiced in almost seventy countries in the world. There are several processes you can adopt for cultivation.

Mushroom production is a growing business globally. As the demand is increasing for the last few years farmers are getting inspiring profits from this product. In addition, mushroom cultivation is a matter of practice and technical knowledge with a high value of return in a short time.

Mushroom production has some key raw materials to get good yields. However, the major essential three raw materials are spawn, compost, and casing soil. And you can start this type of mushroom farming on a small-scale basis. Even you can start from your backyard or home.

Health Benefits of Button Mushroom

First of all, it reduces inflammation in arterial cells and prevents white blood cells from sticking to arterial walls. Furthermore, the researchers conclude that consuming button mushrooms may be a means to prevent heart disease.

Secondly, scientists believe that it is the polysaccharide content of the mushrooms that are responsible for their immune-boosting ability.

Also Read: How to Start a Home-Based Mushroom Farm

In addition, a healthy woman can eat less than 1/2 cup of button mushrooms to greatly reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.

Finally, this vegetable contains high amounts of copper. In addition, they are rich in the nutrients like vitamins C, D, and B; and the minerals selenium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, and zinc

Is Button Mushroom Farming Profitable?

The easily saleable product is the fresh mushroom. However, canned mushrooms in brine solution have potential retail values. This product has also longer shelf life. Mushrooms are highly popular in Asian countries such as China, India, and Japan. Asia holds the majority of the market share of global mushroom consumption and is closely followed by North America and Europe. Europe is the leader in mushroom production and processing.

The global mushroom market has shown remarkable growth in recent years and is also showing attractive market potential for the future. The major importing countries are the USA, UAE, Russia, The Netherlands, Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Denmark, Israel, and Sweden. However, the increasing development of high-yield systems, rising saturation in demand, and consumer shifts towards value-added products are the major driving factors.

Components Required For Button Mushroom Farming

• Composting Unit
• Outdoor Phase-composting platform/indoor bunkers or aerated chambers
• Indoor Phase-in peaks heating/bulk past-chamber
• Peak heating chamber
• Bulk pasteurization chamber
• Cooling of compost in the summer months is a special requirement
• Casing pasteurization chamber
• Spawn unit
• Spawn laboratory
• Cropping unit
• Seasonal cropping rooms
• Environment-controlled cropping rooms
• The environment control, air conditioning, and forced-air circulation
• Ancillary units
• Post-harvest handling unit
• Pre-cooling chamber
• Canning hall with a canning line
• Packaging room

These are all essential items for establishing a full-scale commercial mushroom farming business with a processing unit. However, you can start only mushroom cultivation on a small scale basis from only fresh mushroom production.

Here are the 7 Steps of Button Mushroom Farming

1. Spawn Production

You can produce spawn from fruiting cultures/stocks of selected strains of mushrooms under sterile conditions. However, stock culture demands laboratory operation. In that case, you can procure it from another reputed source. Moreover, you must procure good quality spawns in terms of flavor, texture, and size. Apart from these, the spawns must have the potential for high yield and longer shelf life.

2. Compost preparation

In compost preparation, there are two different types of methods. One is a short method of composting. And another is the long method of composting. The short method of composting consists of the pasteurization phase. However, if the pasteurization facility is not available you can go for the long method of composting.

3. Spawning

Spawning is the process of mixing spawns with compost. In addition, there are three different types of spawning you can avail of.

a) Spot Spawning

You can plant the lumps of spawn in 5 cm. deep holes made in the compost at a distance of 20-25 cm. Then you must cover holes with compost.

b) Surface Spawning

In this case, you can evenly spray the spawn in the top layer of the compost. And then mix to a depth of 3-5 cm. Then, you must cover the top portion with a thin layer of compost.

c) Layer Spawning

In this method, you must mix about 3-4 layers of spawn with compost. Then cover it again with a thin layer of compost like in surface spawning.

Read: How to Start a Vermicompost Organic Fertilizer Production Business

4. Spawn running

After the spawning process is over, you will need to fill the compost in polythene bags. Then cover the bags with a newspaper sheet or polythene. The fungal bodies grow out from the spawn and take about two weeks (12-14 days) to colonize. In addition, you must maintain a temperature in the cropping room of about 23 ± 2° C.

5. Casing

The environmental conditions suitable for spawn runs are suitable for case run as well. You can apply a casing 3-4 cm thick layer of soil on the top of the spawn run compost. The casing soil before application should be either pasteurized (at 66-700 C for 7-8 hours), treated with formaldehyde (2%), formaldehyde (2%), and Bavistin (75 ppm.), or steam sterilized. The treatment needs to be done at least 15 days before the material is used for the casing.

6. Fruiting

Under favorable environmental conditions viz. temperature, moisture, humidity( above 85%), proper ventilation, and CO2 concentration, the fruit body initials. Generally, it appears in the form of pinheads that start growing and gradually develop into the button stage.

7. Harvesting & Yield Of Button Mushroom

The first crop appears about three weeks after casing. And you can harvest the mushrooms by gently holding a mushroom body and twisting it. You can obtain about 10-14 kg. fresh mushrooms per 100 kg. fresh compost. However, the short method used for the preparation of compost under natural conditions gives more yield in the button mushroom cultivation business.