If you want to start your own mushroom farming business in India, but are unaware about its details, then you are at the right place. In this article we will inform you about what mushrooms are, what are the various requirements for their farming, what are its benefits and costs and all other details.
After reading this article, we are sure that, you will be well versed with all the details of this farming business.
What Are Mushrooms.
Mushrooms are basically a variety of fungi. It is a fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, that is rich is protiens, fibres, antioxidants and vitamins. It is consumed almost in every household on one or the other occasion. There are many varieties of mushrooms, but the commercially viable variety is that of Button Mushrooms.
Why Choose Mushroom Farming Business
You might be wondering as to why we should start mushroom farming and business. If you explore the market, you will find that there is a huge demand for mushrooms.
Mushrooms are very tasty to eat. You can add it to your soup, vegetables, pizzas and can also get them canned for long term use. Its use is getting popular in India with every passing day, especially as people are getting knowledgable and health conscious.
By doing the market analysis, you will also notice that there is a deficit between the production and the consumption of mushrooms. This deficit is huge, and it is where you can find a source of decent living. What makes mushroom farming more lucrative, are the following points.
- Mushroom business is gaining popularity with every passing day. people are turning towards healthy diets and mushrooms are a very cheaper option.
- Mushroom farming and business can be started as a side business. It is one among many such few businesses that do not require you to be present through out the day. It can be started and managed with very minimal efforts.
- You dont need much space for this business. To earn a profit of around 3 Lakh rupees annually, you will need a space of around 1000 sqft.
- This business does not require much investment. You can ideally start with any amount and still generate a good profit.
- It is a hight profit business. For every rupee that you invest (excluding the cost of the shed that you will require), you will more than 1 rupee as a profit.
- Mushroom crop get ready within just 4 weeks. So, you will be able to reap your first crop and get your first income, within just 28 days of the commencement of your business.
- Mushroom farming does not require too much man power. It can be managed by a single person in his spare time.
- You dont need any clearances and licenses from any departement, like pollution checking board or local municipality etc.
- It does not require amenities like electricity, continous water supply etc.
- The materials required for the mushroom, like compost, casing, polythene bags are readily available in the market.
- You wont have to make too much efforts in selling your crop. Once ready, the mushroom crop sells like hot cakes.
Now if you are motivated to start mushroom farming in India, you might now be curious to know “How to Do Mushroom Farming and Business in India” and “what are the various tools/Instruments and raw materials required for Mushroom Farming“. Lets discuss it now.
Tools Required for Mushroom Farming
In order to carry on the Mushroom Farming and business successfully, the following tools/instruments are required:
- Trays
- Water tank
- Water spray pump
- Thermometre
- Weighing balance
- Temperature regulators (ideally AC)
- Gloves
Raw Materials Required
To do Mushroom farming and business successfully, the following raw materials are required:
- Horse dung and Poultry waste
- Wheat and Rice bran
- Oil cakes
- Gypsum
- Peat soil
- Gypsum
- Fertilizers (Urea and Potash)
- Good quality Spawn
- News papers
Now that we have discussed the raw materials and tools required for Mushroom farming, lets discuss now “how to do mushroom farming in India”.
How to Do Mushroom Farming in India?
If you want to start Mushroom farming in India to get a decent income and lead a rich life, then you will have to follow the steps given below:
1. Making Compost For Mushrooms
Compost is a material in which mushrooms are grown. Making compost is the first step for growing mushrooms. Compost making, also called composting, is an outdoor activity and a very important step as the quality of the compost made determines the quality of the mushrooms harvested. The compost is of two types:
Natural Compost
It involves only natural ingredients and is composed of wheat straw, horse dunk, gypsum and poultry manure. All these elements are mixed and then allow to get decomposed on a compost yard. Occasionally water is also sprayed on it, to facilitate the process of decomposition.
Synthetic Compost
It consists of natural ingredients and various chemicals. The natural ingredients include wheat straws and bran, and the chemicals involved are Urea, Ammonium Nitrate, Gypsum etc. Usually, it is not the most preferred one.
The compost in both the cases is said to be ready, when it has turned dark brown. If you dont want to make it yourself, you can buy it directly from market.
2. Filling The Compost In Trays
This is the second step in mushroom farming. In this step, the trays are prepared and Compost is filled in them. At the time of filling the trays, they are first sprinkled with water to make them a little wet. Remember that too dry or too wet trays, both inhibit growth of mushrooms. You can use trays of any size and depth, but depth of around 15 cm is the best choice.
3. Spawning
This is the third step in mushroom farming. Spawning is a process of injecting mushroom mycellium (spawn) in the compost. It is just like sowing the seeds in case of other crops.
Spawning can be done in many ways. In order for the spawning to be successful, the following conditions must be met:
- The compost should be maintained at room temperature (around 25C). Any variations in temperature can be disastrous for the mushroom crop.
- Moisture content in the compost should also be maintained. It should neither be too wet nor too dry.
- Once you are done with spawning, cover the trays with newspaper to maintain the temperature and the moisture content in the compost.
4. Casing
The casing in mushroom cultivation refers to the addition of loose surface soil on the compost. Casing is normally a mixture of garden soil and rotten cow dung, ideally maintained at zero ph. It is sterilized to kill insects, nematodes and molds in it.
Casing in mushroom farming is done after two weeks of spawning. The casing mixture should have following properties:
- It should be disease free. Since mushrooms are very delicate and prone to various kinds of fungal diseases, hence it must be ensured that all materials, including the casing material, and space as well must be free from all kinds of diseases.
- The casing material should have good water retention capacity. Without it, the mushrooms wont be able to colonize the tray.
- It should be loose and sandy. If it is not so, the mushrooms wont be able to grow suitably.
- The casing material should ideally have neutral ph or in the worst case,slightly basic ph. It should never be acidic in nature.
After casing, the temperature of the trays needs to be maintained at 24-25 degree Celsius for three days, after which it must be allowed to come down to 18 degree Celsius.
Within few days of casing, you will see your trays brimming with mushrooms. Now is the time for harvesting these mushrooms. So lets discuss the next step, which is Harvesting the Mushrooms.
5. Harvesting Mushrooms
After about 2 weeks of casing, mushrooms will be fully grown in your trays and now you have to harvest the crop. Remember that the mushrooms are not simply pulled out of the tray. Rather they should be held by head and then twisted, and they will come out of the soil.
6. Mushroom Processing
After mushroom harvesting, the next step is the processing of mushrooms. The freshly harvested mushrooms are washed in cold water and then blanched for about 30 minutes. They are then dehydrated and packed, and sent to the market.
It is very important to know that the mushrooms should not be refrigerated at all and if possible, they should be pre-treated in a salt water solution to prevent discoloration.
7. Marketing of Mushrooms
This is the last step in Mushroom farming and Business. The crop must now reach the customers in a quick possible time as uncanned mushrooms have a very short shelf life.
The best possible ways, in which mushrooms can be marketed are:
- Use the power of Social Media to inform people that your produce is ready.
Provide your contact details on social media and provide home delivery services. In this way more and more people will connect with you and you will sell your produce like hot cakes.
- Connect to the nearby food delivery chains. They can help you a lot in selling your produce.
- Talk to the grocery stores in your nearby town.
In order to attract the local grocery stores towards helping you in selling your crop, you should pack your produce in boxes of all feasible weights.
- Find sources who can take your such mushrooms which cant be sold in grocery stores for human consumption.
If your mushrooms have discoloured or malformed, such crop can be sold in grocery stores, but can be dried for poultry consumption.
- Connect to any local Canning company.
Since mushrooms have a very short life and are hence canned for long term use. If you have any canning company in your 50 km radius, then you will not need to sell your crop anywhere else. They will buy your entire crop at reasonable rates.
Cost To Start Mushroom Farming Business
The annual cost of a successful Mushroom Farming business ideally depends upon the level at which it is done. To run a successful and feasible mushroom business, the following costs will be incurred:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Shed/Building (25’×25′) | 1 Lakh Rs |
| Tools/equipments | 1 Lakh Rs |
| Operational Cost | 0.5 Lakh Rs |
| Total Cost | 2.5 Lakh Rs |
In addition, you should have a piece of land also, where you can establish your shed/building to run a successful mushroom farm.
Earning from Mushroom Farming
The earning from mushroom farming ideally depends upon the quality of mushroom spawn, variety of mushrooms, color of mushrooms, procedure of harvesting and number of batches produced etc.
The rough estimates of earnings from Mushroom farming are given below;
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Returns per batch | 1.5 lakh Rs |
| No of batches | 4 |
| Total returns from 4 batches | 5 lakh Rs |
The interesting point is that you can do all this in a span of just 3 to 4 months. That is in this short span, you can earn a profit of more than 2.5 lakh Rupees.
This was all about starting mushroom farming in India. We hope this article will be helpful for you.
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FAQs
Yes, Mushroom farming is very profitable in India. In fact, it is a small investment and high profit business, requiring very less space and manpower.
The shelf life of mushrooms is 3 to 5 days and it must be sold within this time. Otherwise it will discolor and dry and wont be suitable for human consumption.
It ideally depends upon the level of farming that you want to do. The smallest yet profitable mushroom farming business will require a space of 600 sqft.