PLEUROTUS OSTREATUS.
*Mushrooms are fleshy, spore-bearing reproductive structures of fungi.
*For a long time, wild edible mushrooms have played an important role as a human food.
*Mushroom production is completely different from growing green plants.
*Mushrooms do not contain chlorophyll and therefore
depend on other plant material (the “substrate”) for their food.
*Mushroom, a protein-rich wonder food which does not have any publicity as it deserves.
*It is this precious vegetable that would solve the problem of protein malnutrition in our country.
*Coffee pulp, either as a sole substrate or supplemented with other organic materials, can be used as a substrate for growing the edible mushrooms Pleurotus, Lentinula, and Auricularia.
*Four types of mushrooms viz., white button, oyster, paddy straw and milky mushrooms have been adopted by farmers/ entrepreneurs at marginal and commercial scale in different parts of the country at present.
*Mushroom cultivation is a well-established and profitable biotechnological process carried out worldwide on a large or small scale.
*From a production standpoint, the white button mushroom has the highest growth rate and potential for production.
*Cultivated mushrooms are edible fungi that grow on decaying organic matter, known as a substrate.
*Mushrooms have a high nutritional value and are high in protein.
*They are also a good source of vitamins (B1, B2, B12 and C), essential amino acids, and carbohydrates but are low in fat
and fibre and contain no starch.
*It is also known to have medicinal values and certain varieties of mushrooms can inhibit
growth of cancerous tumor.
*Many by-products from agricultural production and food processing can be used as growing media in mushroom production.
*The market for mushrooms continues to grow due to interest in their nutritional and health benefits.
*The market for mushrooms has been expanding in recent years.
*The trend is away from the canned product toward fresh and dried mushroom sales.
*Currently, oyster mushrooms are currently being produced in Tanzania for the dried export.
*Mushroom cultivation is a good example for the use of forestal not-timber resources.
*As mushrooms become increasingly popular, consumers are searching for more and more variation within them in terms of colour, texture and shape of cap/length of stalk. The recent increase in demand for brown, oyster and shiitake mushrooms reflects this trend.
*Small-scale mushroom production is now being carried out in many rural and suburban peasant communities throughout the country.
*The mushroom production was sold directly by mushroom growers to retailers who marketed it directly to consumers.
*Mushrooms have been valued throughout the world as both food and medicine for thousands of years.
*Mushrooms are gradually becoming popular as they are rich in minerals and vitamins and very low on fat and sugar.
*Mushrooms are very popular in most of the developed countries and they are becoming popular in many developing countries like Tanzania.
Mamaland Mushroom Farm(2015).
E-Mail:-Mamalandmushroomproject@gmail.com,
Phone:+255682757566.
Twitter/Facebook/Linkedin/Google+:Mamaland mushroom farm. Blog:Mamalandmushroomproject.blogspot.com
Fight Back Against Malnutrition,Save Lives. Mushroom is Therapy. #Mushroom_Is_Therapy.
