Senior scientific officer Dr. Sosang Longkumer, from ALON MPCS Limited Nagaland has successfully cultivated and produced exotic shiitake mushrooms in Nagaland. Dr Longkumer said that it took a whole year to experiment and achieve the final result.
The shiitake mushroom is an excellent edible and medicinal mushroom which can be easily grown either for commercial purpose or for home consumption. It is also the second most popular and the third most widely cultivated edible mushroom in the world.
The exotic shiitake mushrooms are grown in the natural environment and on wood. “The relentless research, hard work and experimenting on my spawn creation finally comes to fruition. I am so elated to see the exotic shiitake mushrooms in full bloom in Nagaland through my spawns. Hoping this brings a new chapter of shiitake mushroom farming in Nagaland,” stated an elated Longkumer who is currently based in Dimapur.
As reported on morungexpress.com, since the shiitake mushroom is grown in very small quantities in India, the demand for it is mostly made through imports from East Asia. “As a result, the cost of 200 grams of fresh shiitake mushrooms is as high as Rs. 300 (€3.84) in Nagaland,” he said.
Dr Longkumer said that he has no plan of getting into mass production for market consumption but instead he is imparting training to mushroom farmers and students which according him will be “more beneficial for all.”
