Improved cage method

improved cage method

Select dry, fresh and hand-threshed paddy straw free from moulds and leafy portion.
Make 25 cm long and 10 cm thick bundles @60 bundles for each cage (Bed).
Soak the bundles in boiling water for 20-30 minutes followed by cooling and draining off excess water.
Disinfect the cage and polythene sheet with 2% formalin or dettol solution.
Arrange ten straw bundles uniformly in the cage as the bottom layer and put some spawn grains over and inside the bundles. Put up a second layer of ten bundles over the first and spawn as before. Repeat this till six layers of bundles are achieved or till the entire cage is filled.
Spray 0.1% Malathion and 0.2% Dithane Z-78 solutions all over the bed. Cover with polythene sheet and bind securely with a binding thread.
Keep the spawned cages in a room or under a shed for spawn run. A warm place with temperature around 30°C is helpful for better spawn run.
Remove the polythene sheet after the spawn run is complete. Maintain high humidity in the bed and room till pinheads appear.
Pinheads appear within 10-15 days after spawning. Harvest mushrooms at the egg stage.
Continue water spray for the next flush of mushrooms to appear within a week or so.