The department of environmental science (DES) of Bangalore University has set its eyes on mushroom cultivation on its 1,100-acre campus in Jnana Bharathi.
The main objective is to give practical training to its students in cultivating the edible fungi. But of course, it gives additional income as well.
"The idea came when I visited colleges in the northeast as an evaluator with the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).The colleges there generate income by growing many varieties of mushroom. Our campus is already full of edible mushroom that grow during the Ayudha Pooja and Vijaya Dashami season. I have asked the DES to start a project to grow mushrooms throughout the year," said KK Seethamma, the university's registrar.
For now, the DES has worked out just the basics. "All we require is dry grass worth Rs 100 and a bottle of spawn seeds that cost Rs 15-20 to grow one kilogram of mushroom, which can fetch us Rs 150-200 in the market," DES chairperson N Nandini said. The department's laboratory grows mushroom with wastewater to treat samples of the polluted Vrishabhavathi river. "Mushroom is a great purifier because it has qualities to absorb heavy metals. Of course, these aren't edible," she said.
"Mushroom can be grown easily .Correctly done, the university can harvest one tonne mushroom in half an acre," said Prasad MP, a mushroom expert who heads citybased biotech research facility Sangenomics.
Once the plan takes off, the university's immediate market would be locals living near the campus and boarders. "The mushroom venture can become an entrepreneurial avenue for students," Botany professor D Anusuya said.
Milky mushrooms are grown during summer season and button mushroom in winter season. Oyster mushroom can be grown throughout the year. There are about 1,500 varieties of edible mushroom of which about 600 are medicinal. The oyster mushroom is the easiest to grow and highly suitable for Indian climate.
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