Commercial cultivation
Recently Director Agriculture Production and Farmers Welfare Jammu S. Arvinder Singh Reen inaugurated the first harvest of the Shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes), here today at the Shiitake lab of the Spawn Production Office, Krishi Bhawan.
The Directorate of Agriculture Production and Farmers Welfare Jammu has successfully initiated the commercial cultivation of Shiitake mushrooms for the first time in the region. The Spawn Production Laboratory at Talab Tillo Jammu has successfully achieved spawn production and spawn run, following the protocols established by the Directorate of Mushroom Research, Chamba Ghat, Solan (H.P). Additionally, 1,000 ready-to-fruit blocks have been procured from District Project Manager-JICA, ODA Palampur, and are being supplied to progressive mushroom growers and DCTCs across the Jammu Province to encourage commercial cultivation of Shiitake mushrooms. Fruit initiation in these blocks has also been successfully achieved across the Jammu division.
The programme was attended by Deputy Director Central Dr. Ashwani Sharma, Agriculture Chemist Dr. Aman Jyoti Sharma, Spawn Production Officer Verinder Dogra, Mushroom Development Officer Raghubir Pal Kochar, SMS-RL Dharmesh Vaid, SMS-SDL Kewal Krishan Sharma, along with the staff from the Spawn Production and Mushroom Development Offices.
This groundbreaking project is poised to pave the way for sustainable agricultural practices, increased employment opportunities, and a prosperous future for the mushroom cultivation industry in Jammu and Kashmir.
