Mushroom Proposal

Soilless Agriculture: Culturing and Cultivation of Mushrooms

Submitted by: Sujith Santhosh (Junior, Computer Science major, Chemistry, Art, &Music minor)

Supporting faculty member: Bradley E. Sturgeon, Chemistry

Introduction

According to F. Zadrazil, the controlled production of fungi is paralleled in the insect world where termites live mainly by cultivation of fungi. They unlock indigestible vegetable matter and use the products of decomposition as their main source of nourishment. It has been pointed out that nearly half of world’s production of plant residues remain unused; these can be used in a profitably way through the cultivation of mushrooms. These delicious and nutritious fruiting bodies serve as source of food and at the same time, mushroom compost serves to fortify the soil. Thus, the present day problem of finding an alternate protein source and the recycling of natural waste can be met in an effective manner by the cultivation of mushrooms. Mushrooms are considered as delicacy as well as a good supplementary item of food. From the nutritional point of view, they are in between meat and vegetables. They provide high quality proteins and are low in calories. We propose to culture and cultivate mushrooms on the Monmouth College campus for local consumption. We are requesting $1,000 start-up to purchase supplies to initiate this ongoing project.

Experience and Equipment

I (Sujith) have worked on a similar project before coming to Monmouth College at the Kerala Agricultural University, India under the supervision of Dr. S Estelitta among others. I’ve worked with both the production of mushrooms, as well as a few research areas of interest. The facility that I was helping with had three separate rooms: 1) the location of a laminar flow hood and autoclave, 2) the spawn storage room, and 3) the production area. The process requires four job functions who will be in charge of: 1) spawn culture, 2) quality control, 3) storage, and testing, and 4) cultivation and marketing. The crew that I worked with, had three members and I have experienced each stage of the process. In the initial stages of the project, Dr. Estelitta and others at the university have agreed to help educate our team here at the college if the proposal is funded. This would be a great opportunity to network on a global scale. Having seen the good production rate and having found a handful of research articles on the health benefits of mushrooms, we would like to propose this project dedicated to culturing and cultivation of mushrooms at Monmouth College. In terms of equipment, the Department of Biology has a laminar flow hood and an autoclave required for the preparation of spawns (we have not yet talked with Biology about the use of the equipment). The storage of the spawns require a cool place, preferably at 24 degree Celsius. For cultivation, there are some shelving units and space that is available with the Department of Chemistry (discussed with Sturgeon).   The other materials that would be required are as follows (approximate):

• Bunsen burners (for inoculation)

• Methylated spirit (for sterilization of the space)

• Petri dishes

• PDA mixture

• Test tubes and similar glassware

• Inoculation needle

• Grains (for ex: wheat, for spawn preparation)

• Calcium carbonate (for spawn preparation)

• Plastic drip bottles (for spawn storage)

• Various trays and plasticware.

Project Timeline

• 3-4 days for preparation of the mother culture

• 3-4 days for inoculation and mass multiplication

• 10-15 days for storage of inoculated bottles

• 8-10 days for casing

• 10-12 days for cultivation

The cultured spawns can be used as mother culture to spawn a new batch of spawns. The time estimate from preparation to first batch of cultivated mushrooms would be about a month. The product can be potentially distributed to the café after quality control and maybe even distributed to local businesses.

Thank you for your consideration,

Sujith Santhosh

sujithisathome@gmail.com

Works Cited

M, Nair C., Suharban M, Gokulapalan C, Geetha D, Girija V, Usha V, and Mary Ukkuru. Mushrooms. Ed. Nair C. M. 2nd ed. Mannuthy: Kerala Agricultural UP, 1994. Print.