ICAR-Directorate of Mushroom Research, Solan organized 22nd Annual Workshop of All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Mushrooms in a virtual mode from 8th to 9th June, 2020. Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Honourable Secretary (DARE) & DG (ICAR), chaired the workshop as the Chief Guest and Dr. AK Singh, DDG (Horticulture Science), ICAR, New Delhi presided as the Guest of Honour. Dr. T Janakiram, ADG (Horticulture Science), ICAR, New Delhi presided the inaugural session. Scientists and experts from 32 AICRP centres located in 27 different states and UTs had participated in the event through online mode. At the outset Dr. V. P. Sharma, Director, ICAR-DMR, Solan welcomed all the guests and the experts as well as participants. Dr. Sharma presented the progress and achievements of ICAR-DMR, Solan and AICRP-Mushroom.
During inaugural address, Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & DG (ICAR) commended the efforts made by ICAR-DMR, Solan for doubling the total mushroom production in the country within a short period of five years. He emphasized the need for development of new strains in medicinal mushrooms with high bioactive compounds. The Director General stressed the importance of collaborative research approach with premier research institutes of India in order to study the efficacy of the mushroom bioactive compounds and their role in human immune modulation. He also made a special mention about the employment generation ability of mushroom production activity in view of the reverse migration arisen due to COVID pandemic.
On this occasion, the Director General launched five publications viz., Mushroom Wealth of India; Growing Oyster Mushrooms-A Technical Guide; Shiitake Mushroom- Ek Parichay; Khumbon Ke Rog v Vikar: Pehchan avam Prabandhan; Technologies Developed by ICAR-DMR, Solan for the benefit of farmers, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders in the mushroom industry. Dr. AK Singh, DDG (Horticulture Science) highlighted the nutritional attributes of mushrooms and the need to promote the mushroom consumption to improve the human immunity. Dr. T Janakiram, ADG (Horticulture Science) appreciated the Horti-Millets programme initiated by Dr. Sharma in collaboration with ICAR-IIMR, Hyderabad.
Deliberations were made with the special invitees Dr. N.S. Attri, Ex-Professor, Punjabi University, Patiala and Dr. Manjit Singh, Ex-Director, ICAR-DMR, Solan on the spread of varieties and technologies developed by the institute. The delegates of the meeting also reiterated the importance of mushroom farming to diversify the agricultural practices and addressing the nutritional challenges. Dr. Sharma gave the road map for the future research work needed to strengthen the mushroom science in India. The progress made in increasing the mushroom production and productivity through the research efforts was highlighted and discussed the ways to address challenges faced by the Indian mushroom industry. Two AICRP centres were also facilitated as best performer based on their research and extension activities. Furthermore, Dr. H.S. Sodhi, AICRPM-PAU, Ludhiana and Dr. A. P. Gaikwad, AICRPM-Pune were also felicitated, on the eve of the superannuation. At the end of the session, five new high yielding strains (White button-02, Shiitake-02 and Milky mushroom-01) have been released for commercial use.
