Mechanization in Indian Mushroom Industry - Status and Future perspectices

摘要

Mushroom cultivation, a lucrative agro based activity was initiated in India in late sixties, but mechanization and engineering support extended to this activity in India is negligible. The Indian mushroom industry comprises of large number of seasonal growers and a few export oriented commercial units with partially mechanized facility and complete environmental control facilities. The seasonal growers chiefly depend upon the seasonal conditions prevailing outside during winters for crop raising with use of low cost production system which contributes significantly to the total output of mushrooms in the country. They not only contribute to Indian mushroom production, but importantly they make the availability of good source of nutrition at consumer's doorstep. The mushroom growers either adopt manual operation or mechanized operations for crop raising right from compost preparation to post-harvest processing, depending upon the size of the mushroom farm & technology adopted and earn benefits according to the system they follow. Mechanization is the process of involving various machineries to reduce the labour cost, do timely operations and maintain the quality of the produce to fetch excellent benefits. This article explores the present Status of mechanization in production and processing of mushroom in India and the future thrust areas for a mechanized mushroom industry.