Oyster Mushroom Spawn (200Gm)

🍄 Oyster Mushroom Growing Guide
🔹 Common name ➜ Oyster Mushroom
🔹 Scientific name ➜ Pleurotus spp.
🔹 Type ➜ Edible cultivated mushroom 🍄
🔹 Special ➜ Easier to cultivate than button mushroom and can be grown on agricultural waste such as wheat straw.

🌤️ Climate & Growing Time 🇮🇳
📍 Punjab
🌱 Best season: October – March
For commercial production, it can be grown almost year-round if temperature and humidity are controlled.
🌡️ Ideal fruiting temperature: generally 15–25°C, depending on the oyster species/strain.

🌱 Seed / Spawn
⚠️ Oyster mushroom is not grown from seeds.
➜ Use good-quality oyster mushroom spawn.
🌾 Suitable substrates
➜ Wheat straw
➜ Paddy straw
➜ Maize stalks
➜ Other suitable clean agricultural residues
For Punjab, wheat straw is an excellent and easily available substrate.

🧑‍🌾 Basic Growing Process
1️⃣ Prepare the Straw
➜ Cut straw into approximately 2–5 cm pieces.
➜ Soak thoroughly in clean water.
➜ Pasteurize with hot water/steam according to the cultivation method.
✔️ The substrate should be moist but not dripping wet.

2️⃣ Add Spawn 🍄
➜ Mix oyster mushroom spawn evenly through the cooled, pasteurized straw.
➜ Fill into clean polypropylene bags or suitable growing containers.

3️⃣ Spawn Running 🌱
Keep the bags in a clean, dark or low-light area.
🌡️ Generally around 20–25°C, depending on the strain.
⏳ Usually takes around 15–25 days for the mycelium to colonize the substrate.
The bag should gradually become covered with white mushroom mycelium.

4️⃣ Fruiting 🍄
Once the substrate is completely colonized:
➜ Make appropriate openings/slits in the bags.
➜ Move them to a humid fruiting area.
💧 Maintain approximately 80–90% humidity.
🌬️ Provide fresh air exchange.
🌤️ Give diffused/indirect light; complete darkness is not required for fruiting.

🍄 Pinning & Harvesting
Small mushroom pins usually appear after the fruiting conditions are established.

⏳ Depending on strain and conditions, mushrooms can become harvestable within roughly 5–10 days after pinning.

✂️ Harvest
Harvest when the caps are well developed but the edges are still slightly curled.
➜ Twist or cut the whole cluster cleanly.
✔️ Several flushes can be obtained from a healthy substrate bag.
💧 Important Watering Rule
❌ Don’t pour water directly onto developing mushrooms.
Instead:
➜ Maintain humidity by misting the room/walls/floor or using a suitable humidification system.
✔️ Good ventilation is essential because excessive CO₂ can cause long stems and small caps.

🌿 Organic Mushroom Production
For a low-chemical approach:
✔️ Use clean agricultural straw
✔️ Properly pasteurize the substrate
✔️ Use healthy spawn
✔️ Maintain strict hygiene
✔️ Remove contaminated bags immediately
⚠️ Don’t use visibly mouldy or chemically contaminated straw.

⏳ Crop Duration
Generally:
➜ First harvest: around 20–30 days after spawning, depending on strain and conditions.
➜ Total production: commonly around 6–10 weeks, with multiple flushes.
⭐ For a beginner:
Oyster mushroom is generally the easier mushroom to start with.