The Mushroom Cultivation Facility, Department of Botany, Maitreyi College was established in July, 2023 for cultivation of Mushrooms at a small-scale unit. The unit has been established as Skill Center, equipped to train students as well to support skilled enhancement courses (SEC), titled, “Mushroom Culture and Technology- I and II”. A Summer Training Program to provide Hands-on Exposure was organized from July 28- August 29, 2023.
The mushrooms currently being raised include white oyster mushrooms, pink oyster mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms and button mushrooms.
A start-up initiative known as, Chatraka: The Mushroom Haven, has been started to explore the entrepreneurial aspects of this skill enhancement course. Pleurotus ostreatus, the white oyster mushroom, also known as pearl oyster mushroom, is an edible mushroom consumed as a delicacy in Japan, China and Korea. Pleurotus djamor var. roseus is an edible mushroom, belonging to the family Pleurotaceae in the order Agaricales. It is commonly called roseus mushroom, pink oyster or salmon pink oyster because of its pink sporophore, large sized fruit bodies and delicious flavour. Pleurotus eryngii is also called as Kabul Dhingri and King Oyster mushroom because it is considered as the best of all Pleurotus species due to its splendid consistency of thick stem and cap, and longer shelf life than any other Oyster mushrooms..
