Are you looking for a farming-related business that involves a low cost of investment and greater profit margins? A mushroom growing business may generate a significant return in just a few weeks with a relatively cheap start-up capital expenditure.
Did You know?
The global mushroom industry is predicted to reach ₹3.78 lakh crores in the next seven years, owing to an increase in mushroom consumption for a variety of purposes. The major producers of good quality and variety mushrooms are the United States, Italy, China, and the Netherlands. India and several other developing countries are pursuing mushroom cultivation and farming as a means of sustaining small-scale companies.
How to Start a Mushroom Farming Business in India?
Mushrooms are significant not only as a food source but also have therapeutic properties. Exports of mushrooms are gradually increasing as a result of high demand elsewhere. We'll show you how to establish a mushroom farming business in this article.
Choosing the right location
Mushroom production does not necessitate a large amount of area. In a 20ft × 20ft room, you can set up a unit and generate roughly 50 kg each week. It's a low cost small business that can start making money in as little as a few weeks. You can rent a tiny building as your company grows.
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Gaining of experience
Mushroom farming necessitates research and practice. You must study the science and technology of mushroom cultivation. There are numerous online courses to choose from.
Spawn collection
You must obtain mushroom spawn, often known as eggs, from the local market. You can also use a sterile culture to create your spawn. In the long run, this will be less expensive.
Requirement of raw materials
Use disposable plastic sacks or buckets with holes on the edges to enable the mushroom to sprout to grow the fungi. You'll need to purchase the substrate, which could be straw or wood chips.
Food for mushrooms
Mushroom farming is part of a circular economy in which waste items can be used to generate revenue. Growing media or substrate for mushrooms is a by-product of grain and legume production. Mushroom farms typically grow mushrooms on sawdust or wood pallets. You'll need organic softwood fuel pellets, wood chips, and soy hulls to build the substrate that mushrooms prefer. Then, in a biodegradable bag, combine these two ingredients and add water to achieve the desired moisture content.
Mushroom growing process
Mushrooms can be grown both indoors as well as outdoors.
a) Indoor cultivation - Indoor growing necessitates some forethought, technical expertise, and financial investment. To kill any germs or mould, you place the growth media in a steriliser, which can be a large drum. Allow the substrate to sterilise for 20 hours. The heated substrate must then be cooled to ambient temperature (approximately 95 degrees C), which can take many days. The flow hood is a blower that circulates air through a HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filter. It can be used to remove any contaminants from the air in the bags. To use the flow hood, turn it on and leave it on for around 30 minutes.
You must place scoops of mushroom mycelium into the sterile substrate bags. The mycelium will next begin to eat the substrate.
The sterile substrate is covered in a layer of grit. To speed up the mycelium's colonisation time, you must combine that grain with the substrate. These bags will be ready to produce mushrooms in about two weeks.
The inoculated bags must be moved to an incubation room. At all times, you must keep the temperature in this room between 21 and 22 degrees Celsius. That temperature allows the mycelium to travel through the substrate and begin to consume it.
As the mycelium colonises the bags, they will begin to turn white in approximately two weeks. The bags must then be moved from the inoculation room to the fruiting chamber. The following four items must be present in this room:
- A temperature that falls within a specific range.
- The humidity level is high.
- Lights with a specific wavelength.
- Carbon dioxide levels are low.
Each bag's face must be pierced with a small hole. This allows the mycelium and substrate to be exposed to fresh air and humidity. After that, the mushroom will begin to expand.
Each of these will provide a lovely bouquet of fresh mushrooms after one week.
After then, it's harvest season!
b) Log cultivation - Log culture is a time-consuming and labour-intensive method of producing mushrooms outdoors. To begin, you must first locate logs and acquire spawns from a tree firm. At the start of the growing season, inoculate these logs with mushroom spores and sawdust mixture. In temperate weather, where there is cold rain followed by sunshine, the logs will sprout mushrooms. Over the next two months, the mushroom will mature and find its way onto store shelves and dinner plates.
Type of mushroom to be chosen – Different species of mushrooms have different product prices, so you'll need to figure out which one best matches your budget. Mushrooms are classified as follows:
- Shiitake, Lion's mane, and Oyster mushrooms are examples of wild mushrooms.
These are both profitable and simple to grow, as well as having some medical properties.
- Mushrooms with buttons
- Paddy straw mushrooms are a type of mushroom that grows in paddy fields.
- Exotic mushrooms such as pink oyster mushrooms are becoming more widely available in supermarkets and grocery stores worldwide.
- Proteins, fibres, and minerals abound in them.
Handling and Care- In the small mushroom business, handling and climate are critical. Mushrooms are sensitive to injury. As a result, they must be properly handled throughout shipping and display in retailers.
Selling of mushrooms - Because the market is critically undersupplied, mushroom prices remain high, and a huge number of cultivators are drawn in. You can load the mushrooms into a vehicle and drive them down to the local marketplace. You might also start an internet store.
Types of Mushrooms
Morel, King oyster, Button, Black Trumpet, Cremini, Shimeji, Matsutake, Maitake, Hedgehogs, Chicken of the wood, Chanterelle, Enoki, Shiitake, Reishi, Wood blewit, Lion's mane, Giant Puffball, Portobello, Oyster
Most grown, cultivated, and consumed mushrooms in India are-
- Buttons- These are mushrooms grown in India
- Oyster- These are mushrooms grown in Mothers plains
- Straw- These are mushrooms grown in temperatures ranging from 35 degrees to 45 degrees celsius.
Different License Requirements for the Business
The different licenses required for the business includes the following-
- GST Registration
- FSSAI Registration
- Trade License
Mushroom Yields in India
Mushroom species produce diverse results. Some produce more, while others produce less. Button Mushrooms produce a total of 10 to 15 kg of mushroom output per square foot if you see them. If you grow mushrooms in a 250 square foot space, you can expect a total harvest of 2,500 to 3,750 kilograms. In India, the other popular mushroom species, the oyster mushroom, yields a total of 12 kg per square foot. The total yield per 250 square feet of oyster mushrooms is 3,000 kg. Button, on the other hand, sells for ₹120 to ₹150 per KG if you look at the cost of a mushroom per kg. The Oyster Mushroom costs around ₹150.
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Cost and Profit Analysis of Mushroom Farming
This section will show you the profit margin for mushroom farming.
In the area below, we have provided detailed information.
- Button mushrooms have a total yield of 10 to 15 kilograms per square foot.
- The yield per 250 square feet is approximately 2,500 kilograms.
- In the market, the cost of a kg of button mushroom is around ₹140-₹165.
- The total cost of 2,500 kgs of button mushroom at ₹140 is now ₹3,50,000.
- Mushroom farming has a total recurring cost of ₹1,60,000.
- Mushroom farming generates a net profit of ₹1,90,000 per year.
Conclusion
- The most significant benefit of this venture is that mushrooms can transform nutritionally worthless materials such as wheat or paddy straw into nourishing delights.
- It also allows for the recycling of agricultural wastes like dung and chicken manure, which would otherwise pollute the environment.
- The mushroom is a parasitic plant with a fungal body that lacks chlorophyll.
- For nourishment, it must rely on other living or dead plants.
- Mushrooms are high in protein, vitamins, minerals, and folic acid, as well as being a good supply of iron for anaemic people.
- Mushrooms have a greater protein content than most vegetables and cereals, ranging from 19 to 35%.
- It has the same protein quality as animal protein.
- We hope that this article has cleared all your concepts about mushroom farming in India.
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