ASPIRE Research Institute for Food Security in the Drylands

Small Scale Urban Mushroom Production

Objectives

• Characterizing biologically efficient natoive and exotic fungal agent for biodegrading the biowaste generated abundantly in the country currently and expected to increase in the future.
• Desert truffles as native edible fungi for domestication under simulated in vitro condition and its suitability as potential recycling agent apart from other fungal sources.
• Identifying suitable substrate for efficient recycling and value addition in the form of quality edible mushrooms and as organic manure for soil enrichment and nutritious ruminant feed.

Group Members

• Dr. Shyam S. Kurup, Group Leader / PI 
• Malu Kishorkumar, Research Assistant / Ph. D. Student
• Dr. Priya Sreedharan, Post-Doctoral Researcher

Edible Mushrooms From Date Palm Waste 

An adult date palm not only produces fruits, but also between 20 and 40 kg of pruning waste per year. Since this material is very hard, economically feasible valorization opportunities are scarce. ​

ARIFSID’s Mushroom Team successfully cultured edible mushrooms on an organic substrate based on chopped date palm waste. This produced edible mushrooms and converted the date leaves into a material that could be used as soil amendment or animal feed.

Date palm pruning waste (left) was chopped in to pieces and used as a filling for mushroom grow bags (right)

Calocybe spp. Milky mushroom successfully grew in this substrate and formed fruiting bodies

Use of Spent Mushroom Waste as Organic Fertilizer  

After harvest of the mushrooms, spent mushroom waste remains in the growbags. We conducted field experiments to test whether this material could be used as an organic fertilizer for chickpeas and melons.

Spent mushroom waste (top)can be mixed with sandy field soil to improve water and nutrient retention characteristics

Exploring Mushrooms' Healing Potential 

Our team also grows mycelia of edible mushrooms in vitro to study their enzymatic profiles and abilities to produce nutraceuticals or medicinal compounds.

We collaborate with

• The growth substrates group, the insect farming group, and the nutraceuticals group to develop multi-level paths for organic waste material recycling
• The foodscaping group to integrate small-scale mushroom farming systems into urban living environments
• The antimicrobial residues group to make sure that waste recycling into mushrooms occurs in a safe way.