Solar energy based model for cultivation of oyster mushroom

Cultivation of Oyster mushroom is highly suitable for country like India where climate in most of the parts is tropical and subtropical. Despite simple cultivation technology, scope of cultivation on wide variety of substrates, simple post harvest processing as dehydrated product, the cultivation has not picked up due to difficulties in pasteurization of straw using hot water. Considering that heating water is a cumbersome process and a limiting factor in adoption of the technology, this directorate developed chemical pasteurization technique wherein 10 kg straw is soaked in 100 liter water containing 125 ml formalin and 70 g bavistin for 18 hours, air dried for 3-4 hours after draining out the water and then spawned. The method is time consuming and is based on chemicals with potential hazards of residues and development of resistance in competitor moulds. This communication present a model that requires no use of chemicals is hassle free and consumes very less time. The model uses solar water heaters. The solar radiation incident on the surface of the earth can be utilized for various purposes as in the long run it is economical, non-polluting and easy to use.