Director Agriculture Production & Farmers Welfare, Jammu, K. K. Sharma today distributed the Spawn of A-15 (Hybrid Strain) of Button Mushroom among the farmers here at Spawn Production laboratory TalabTillo.
On this occasion 2.5 quintals of A-15 Button Mushroom Spawn was handed over to Balbir Singh of ChannArorian, Kathua for raising button mushrooms in about 3000 bags.Beside others, Joint Director (Mushroom & Apiculture Development), R. K. Hataishi, Agriculture Chemist, AmanJyoti Sharma, Assistant Agriculture Chemist, Pradeep Sharma, Spawn Production Officer, Krishan Kant Gupta, Assistant Agrostologist, VarinderAmbardhar, MRA Jammu, SPA Jammu and MDA Kathua were also present.
Speaking on the occasion, the Director Agriculture underlined the importance of mushroom cultivation as an essential part of diversified farming besides stressing on promotion of round the year cultivation of mushroom, processing, value addition, branding and marketing of produce for enhancing farmer's income.
He said that with the introduction of this new (A-15) strain of spawn for first time in J&K UT, the mushroom production will get a boom as yield potential of this strain is upto 3.0 Kgs per per bag of 10 Kgs of pre spawned pasteurized mushroom compost bag.
It was informed that the department has set a target of supplying 100 quintals of Spawn (Button, Milky & Dhingri) during the current year, of which 43 quintals has already been distributed till date.Pertinently, 71 quintals of spawn (All varieties) were supplied to the farmers during the previous year by the Spawn Production Section of the department.