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Oyster Mushroom (Nepal)

Parale Chyau

Description

Oyster Mushroom Farming Technology is the cultivation of oyster mushrooms as a food source, economic source, and as primary compost, to increase the quality of soil and help upgrade living standards of local farmers.

The technology is carried out in Kamalamai Municipality, Sindhuli District, Janakpur, Nepal. The Pennsylvania Department Of Environmental Protection (DEP), other regulator agencies and the community are at charge. Oyster were identified as being both economically viable and suited for local cultivation. Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) and a few private organizations are the major resources centers for supplying the quality spawn to the farmer/growers.

Purpose of the Technology: The main purpose of this document is to provide uniform instructions and operating procedures for the use or disposal of mushroom compost (as soil amendment or conditioner). Another basic purpose is use of mushroom as food and income source for local farmers.

Establishment / maintenance activities and inputs: Best Practices for Environmental Protection in the Mushroom Farm
Community (1997) was developed as a result of realization among authorities of Pennsylvania DEP, to help people to understand that farms are operating according to the highest environmental standards, and will help improve coexistence with nearby residents, through environmental regulation. This implemented a mushroom farm development for specific operations with the natural resource conservation. The member co-ordination, knowledge, and experiences are critical in establishing the practices as workable and rational means to meet the goal of environmental protection and agricultural operation.

Natural / human environment: Mushroom Farm Environmental Management Plan (MFEMP) is designed to prevent pollution or danger of ground or surface water on common health, by helping in maintaining/improving the condition of soil, and prevent the pollution of surface water, groundwater and air, as well, at little or no cost. This technology helps local farmers to increase soil fertility and act as a good income source in small scale.

Location

Location: Sindhuli, Janakpur, Nepal

No. of Technology sites analysed:

Geo-reference of selected sites
  • 85.90972, 27.20924

Spread of the Technology:

In a permanently protected area?:

Date of implementation:

Type of introduction
-

Classification of the Technology

Main purpose
  • improve production
  • reduce, prevent, restore land degradation
  • conserve ecosystem
  • protect a watershed/ downstream areas – in combination with other Technologies
  • preserve/ improve biodiversity
  • reduce risk of disasters
  • adapt to climate change/ extremes and its impacts
  • mitigate climate change and its impacts
  • create beneficial economic impact
  • create beneficial social impact
Land use

  • Other -

Water supply
  • rainfed
  • mixed rainfed-irrigated
  • full irrigation
Purpose related to land degradation
  • prevent land degradation
  • reduce land degradation
  • restore/ rehabilitate severely degraded land
  • adapt to land degradation
  • not applicable
Degradation addressed
  • chemical soil deterioration - Cn: fertility decline and reduced organic matter content (not caused by erosion)
SLM group
  • integrated soil fertility management
SLM measures
  • agronomic measures - A2: Organic matter/ soil fertility

Technical drawing

Technical specifications
It is kept in a room with temperature 22-28 degree.

Location: Room. Sindhuli

Technical knowledge required for field staff / advisors: moderate (Knowledge on preparing substrate, incubation period and harvesting of mushroom and proper use of mushroom compost.)
Technical knowledge required for land users: low (Since land usage is very less.)

Main technical functions: control of dispersed runoff: retain / trap, increase of surface roughness, improvement of topsoil structure (compaction), improvement of subsoil structure (hardpan), increase in organic matter, increase of infiltration, water spreading, improvement of water quality, buffering / filtering water, increase of biomass (quantity)
Secondary technical functions: stabilisation of soil (eg by tree roots against land slides), increase in nutrient availability (supply, recycling,…), increase / maintain water stored in soil, sediment retention / trapping, sediment harvesting

Mulching
Material/ species: straw and spawn
Quantity/ density: 2:1

Construction material (earth): mud in cement
Construction material (stone): stone
Construction material (wood): wood plants
Author: Nabina Karki, Karuna Budhathoki

Establishment and maintenance: activities, inputs and costs

Calculation of inputs and costs
  • Costs are calculated:
  • Currency used for cost calculation: Rupees
  • Exchange rate (to USD): 1 USD = 90.0 Rupees
  • Average wage cost of hired labour per day: 5.00
Most important factors affecting the costs
Labour should be managed properly.
Establishment activities
n.a.
Establishment inputs and costs
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (Rupees) Total costs per input (Rupees) % of costs borne by land users
Construction material
Straw unit 1.0 15.0 15.0 100.0
Container unit 1.0 990.0 990.0
Fuel unit 1.0 125.0 125.0
Stove unit 1.0 770.0 770.0
Plastic unit 1.0 10.0 10.0
Cutting Machine unit 1.0 300.0 300.0
Total costs for establishment of the Technology 2'210.0
Total costs for establishment of the Technology in USD 24.56
Maintenance activities
  1. Method of cutting straw (Timing/ frequency: dry season)
  2. Warming the straw (Timing/ frequency: dry season)
  3. Harvesting the mushroom (Timing/ frequency: dry season)
  4. Maintainance of mushroom (Timing/ frequency: dry season)
Maintenance inputs and costs
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (Rupees) Total costs per input (Rupees) % of costs borne by land users
Labour
Method of cutting straw persons/day 1.0 150.0 150.0 100.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology 150.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology in USD 1.67

Natural environment

Average annual rainfall
  • < 250 mm
  • 251-500 mm
  • 501-750 mm
  • 751-1,000 mm
  • 1,001-1,500 mm
  • 1,501-2,000 mm
  • 2,001-3,000 mm
  • 3,001-4,000 mm
  • > 4,000 mm
Agro-climatic zone
  • humid
  • sub-humid
  • semi-arid
  • arid
Specifications on climate
Name of the meteorological station: DADO Sindhuli, 2010
Thermal climate class: subtropics. Mostly mushroom grow in about 24 degree Celsius.
Mostly mushroom grow in about 24 degree Celsius.
Slope
  • flat (0-2%)
  • gentle (3-5%)
  • moderate (6-10%)
  • rolling (11-15%)
  • hilly (16-30%)
  • steep (31-60%)
  • very steep (>60%)
Landforms
  • plateau/plains
  • ridges
  • mountain slopes
  • hill slopes
  • footslopes
  • valley floors
Altitude
  • 0-100 m a.s.l.
  • 101-500 m a.s.l.
  • 501-1,000 m a.s.l.
  • 1,001-1,500 m a.s.l.
  • 1,501-2,000 m a.s.l.
  • 2,001-2,500 m a.s.l.
  • 2,501-3,000 m a.s.l.
  • 3,001-4,000 m a.s.l.
  • > 4,000 m a.s.l.
Technology is applied in
  • convex situations
  • concave situations
  • not relevant
Soil depth
  • very shallow (0-20 cm)
  • shallow (21-50 cm)
  • moderately deep (51-80 cm)
  • deep (81-120 cm)
  • very deep (> 120 cm)
Soil texture (topsoil)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Soil texture (> 20 cm below surface)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Topsoil organic matter content
  • high (>3%)
  • medium (1-3%)
  • low (<1%)
Groundwater table
  • on surface
  • < 5 m
  • 5-50 m
  • > 50 m
Availability of surface water
  • excess
  • good
  • medium
  • poor/ none
Water quality (untreated)
  • good drinking water
  • poor drinking water (treatment required)
  • for agricultural use only (irrigation)
  • unusable
Water quality refers to:
Is salinity a problem?
  • Yes
  • No

Occurrence of flooding
  • Yes
  • No
Species diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low
Habitat diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low

Characteristics of land users applying the Technology

Market orientation
  • subsistence (self-supply)
  • mixed (subsistence/ commercial)
  • commercial/ market
Off-farm income
  • less than 10% of all income
  • 10-50% of all income
  • > 50% of all income
Relative level of wealth
  • very poor
  • poor
  • average
  • rich
  • very rich
Level of mechanization
  • manual work
  • animal traction
  • mechanized/ motorized
Sedentary or nomadic
  • Sedentary
  • Semi-nomadic
  • Nomadic
Individuals or groups
  • individual/ household
  • groups/ community
  • cooperative
  • employee (company, government)
Gender
  • women
  • men
Age
  • children
  • youth
  • middle-aged
  • elderly
Area used per household
  • < 0.5 ha
  • 0.5-1 ha
  • 1-2 ha
  • 2-5 ha
  • 5-15 ha
  • 15-50 ha
  • 50-100 ha
  • 100-500 ha
  • 500-1,000 ha
  • 1,000-10,000 ha
  • > 10,000 ha
Scale
  • small-scale
  • medium-scale
  • large-scale
Land ownership
  • state
  • company
  • communal/ village
  • group
  • individual, not titled
  • individual, titled
Land use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Water use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Access to services and infrastructure
health

poor
good
education

poor
good
technical assistance

poor
good
employment (e.g. off-farm)

poor
good
markets

poor
good
energy

poor
good
roads and transport

poor
good
drinking water and sanitation

poor
good
financial services

poor
good

Impacts

Socio-economic impacts
Crop production
decreased
increased


Mushroom Compost usage

fodder production
decreased
increased


Leftover straw

fodder quality
decreased
increased


Richer in nutrients than dry hay

demand for irrigation water
increased
decreased

expenses on agricultural inputs
increased
decreased


Little to no cost required

farm income
decreased
increased


Mushrooms sold widely as food source

diversity of income sources
decreased
increased


Recreational method, provides options for farmers

economic disparities
increased
decreased

workload
increased
decreased


1 or 2 individuals are enough.

Socio-cultural impacts
food security/ self-sufficiency
reduced
improved


Cheap and easy way for earning money

health situation
worsened
improved


Mushroom compost used instead of chemical fertilizers

recreational opportunities
reduced
improved


Good way to utilize time, gain profits

SLM/ land degradation knowledge
reduced
improved

situation of socially and economically disadvantaged groups (gender, age, status, ehtnicity etc.)
worsened
improved

livelihood and human well-being
reduced
improved


It has helped to increase knowledge

Ecological impacts
soil cover
reduced
improved


Provide nutrients to plants

nutrient cycling/ recharge
decreased
increased


Composting

biomass/ above ground C
decreased
increased


Composting

plant diversity
decreased
increased


Mushroom: edible fungi

pest/ disease control
decreased
increased


Alternative mushroom composts

Off-site impacts
damage on neighbours' fields
increased
reduced

Cost-benefit analysis

Benefits compared with establishment costs
Short-term returns
very negative
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
very positive

Benefits compared with maintenance costs
Short-term returns
very negative
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
very positive

Yes, this technology can give both short-term returns and long-term returns.Positive result because it is the best type of production for the environment and economic resources.

Climate change

Gradual climate change
annual temperature increase

not well at all
very well
Climate-related extremes (disasters)
local rainstorm

not well at all
very well
Answer: not known
local windstorm

not well at all
very well
Answer: not known
drought

not well at all
very well
general (river) flood

not well at all
very well
Answer: not known
Other climate-related consequences
reduced growing period

not well at all
very well
Answer: not known

Adoption and adaptation

Percentage of land users in the area who have adopted the Technology
  • single cases/ experimental
  • 1-10%
  • 11-50%
  • > 50%
Of all those who have adopted the Technology, how many have done so without receiving material incentives?
  • 0-10%
  • 11-50%
  • 51-90%
  • 91-100%
Number of households and/ or area covered
3 households covering 32 percent of stated area
Has the Technology been modified recently to adapt to changing conditions?
  • Yes
  • No
To which changing conditions?
  • climatic change/ extremes
  • changing markets
  • labour availability (e.g. due to migration)

Conclusions and lessons learnt

Strengths: land user's view
  • It is used as vegetable.
  • Waste water management
  • It is used as manure
  • Good income source
Strengths: compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
  • Erosion and sedimentation control
  • Surface water and stormwater management
  • Economic purpose
  • Nutrient management for substrate utilization
  • Integrated pest management
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: land user's viewhow to overcome
  • Place for growing All locals do not have spare rooms or sheds for mushroom cultivation. This proves to be a huge disadvantage as they require dark room and moist conditions.
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: compiler’s or other key resource person’s viewhow to overcome
  • Less theoritical knowledge Locals should be made aware about growing technologies that can help increase their quality of life.
  • Place for growing Rooms or shed may not always be available. Providing darkness during can be a problem.
  • Seasonal problem Room temperature required is 20-30 degree Celsius.

References

Compiler
  • Sabita Aryal
Editors
Reviewer
  • David Streiff
  • Alexandra Gavilano
Date of documentation: Jan. 14, 2014
Last update: May 31, 2019
Resource persons
Full description in the WOCAT database
Linked SLM data
Documentation was faciliated by
Institution Project
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareaAlike 4.0 International