Skip to main content

Mushrooms on the rise - in commercial sheds and homes


Mushroom-growing businesses are a good choice, says the Nepal Agriculture Research Council.
While farming may seem a less than ideal business for people with degrees, more and more graduates are seeing the potential for well-researched marketable agriculture. And mushroom-farming is one of the businesses making sense to people looking to work for themselves on the farm.


In Australia, the indoor mushroom-growing market is highly scientific in terms of equipment, fertilizer, and growing conditions – much of which is computerized. Some ultra-modern equipment is not produced in Australia and is only available in Europe. In fact, farmers can check the growth of their mushrooms by iPhone or computer from anywhere in the world. Majestic Mushrooms near Canberra in Australia grows button mushrooms and Swiss brown mushrooms in laboratory-type sheds that look like aircraft hangers. The highest shelves need a stepladder on wheels to reach them. Everything is “clinically efficient” with nothing wasted – stalks are sold as cattle feed and the mixture that the mushrooms are grown in is emptied onto a conveyor belt and sold as compost. However, because the sheds are climate-controlled, there are no “seasons” which means that the owners work full-time on a never-ending cycle. They are power-dependent so the sheds are expensive to operate and any change in the power flow can mean damage to the mushrooms.
Mushrooms are known to have excellent health qualities and are highly nutritious. But even if there is no desire to be a commercial mushroom farmer, they can be grown on a lower-scale simply and effectively. In Nepal, I witnessed families growing mushrooms in their bedrooms, providing nutrition for their children and an income for the household.


The eaten part of a mushroom is the fruit of the fungus which sprouts as spore-producing appendages while the vegetative portion of the fungus remains underground. In Nepal mushrooms were once considered an unhealthy crop, but interest is increasing due to their low cholesterol and low calorie properties. Of thousands of mushroom species in the world, only around 2,000 are edible and about 20 species are cultivated commercially, with only 4 or 5 under industrial cultivation. Currently in Nepal, oyster and button mushrooms are cultivated, but farmers are also considering shiitake mushrooms. The trend over the past years shows an increase in consumption and demand. The Nepal Agriculture Research Council says the commercial cultivation of mushrooms is increasing rapidly in the country.



http://www.goodfood.com.au/good-food/food-news/growing-a-big-business-20130812-2rs5n.html
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...
1 comment
Read more

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...
2 comments
Read more

The Knight in the Panther Skin by Shota Rustaveli (2015 translation): book review

The Knight in the Panther Skin (12th century, this edition 2015) is a recent translation by American poet and author, Lyn Coffin. The author, Shota Rustaveli, is Georgia’s most loved poet. This poem is mammoth, a magnum opus – it is 1,656 verses long, separated by chapters. But readers, don’t give up, because every verse is worth reading. It is akin to 1001 Arabian Knights, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, or Shakespearean poetry. King Rostevan of Arabia has a daughter, Tinatin. She loves the knight Avtandil and he loves her. Verse 368 from Avtandil: ‘The doctor’s could do nothing. A dark twilight on my heart now pressed, I was on fire because of love, but nobody knew or guessed. They blamed my blood. The king decided bleeding my arm would be best; I let it be done to hide the suffering I had not confessed.’ But a knight in panther skin is seen weeping, and subsequently kills the king’s soldiers, sparing the king. Before Tinatin weds Avtandil she r...
Post a Comment
Read more