Cancer, Alzheimer’s, HIV: J&K govt introduces foreign mushrooms to help patients combat deadly diseases

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir government has introduced exotic medicinal mushrooms to help patients combat deadly diseases.

From Japanese Shiitake to America’s Reishi mushroom, the department of agriculture in collaboration with SKUAST is launching a project to introduce high-yielding strains in Jammu and Kashmir.

This is a part of the Rs 41.645 crore `Promotion of year-round mushroom cultivation project’, which envisages increasing the production by more than four times.

As per officials, the agriculture department of Jammu and Kashmir has completed field trials of the cultivation of Shiitake.

 “Recently an agreement was done between experts from Japan with Mushroom institute Palampur in Himachal Pradesh. The Mushroom institute provided blocks and trials for medicinal mushrooms were conducted successfully,” said Krishan Kant, Spawn Production Officer, Department of Agriculture, Jammu.

Currently, only three varieties of mushrooms are grown in Jammu and Kashmir. These include button, dhingri and milky mushrooms.  The price of these three varieties ranges between Rs100-150 per kilogram.

However, a kilogram of dried Shiitake mushroom costs over Rs3000. Shiitake mushrooms are the second most commonly eaten mushrooms in the world. Lentinan and other chemicals in shiitake mushrooms might stimulate the immune system.  This mushroom is considered useful for diseases like HIV/AIDS, the common cold, the flu, and cancer.

Similarly, the Reishi mushroom is useful for Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, diabetes, and cold sores.

Moreover, under the project, the administration has targeted to increase mushroom output from 2100 MT to 7800 MT in five years.

 “The aim is to double the productivity of existing farmers and increase the return per unit. We are targeting a three times increase in several growers from 2570 to 6610. As many as 768 new enterprises are also being created in the process to ensure the sustainability of the interventions,” the project document said.

The project also focuses on the round-the-year cultivation of mushrooms in Jammu and Kashmir.

 “Under the project, 26 pasteurized compost-making units, 10 spawn production labs, and 72 controlled conditioned cropping rooms (2000 bags capacity) will be established in three years. For the promotion of mushroom cultivation in non-traditional areas subsidized 1.5 lakh pasteurized compost bags will be distributed among mushroom growers,” it said.

KK Sharma, Director Agriculture, and Farmers Welfare, Jammu, who is implementing the project in collaboration with SKUAST said it will benefit 1700 entrepreneurs and generate hundreds of jobs.

 “Mushroom is an important cottage industry in rural areas. It leads to the economic betterment of small and marginal farmers, landless laborers, and women. Lack of availability of pasteurized compost and unorganized market were the major constraints in mushroom production and this project is going to address them in a significant way,” he said.