About the Book

Diseases of crops caused by pathogenic organisms or by abiotic factors play an important role in production, productivity and quality of produce. Mushroom is a macro fungus and vulnerable to be attacked by a variety of microorganisms like fungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodes alike other agricultural or horticultural crops. It is sensitive to abiotic factors like temperature, humidity, light, oxygen and CO2 concentration. India grows mainly five varieties of mushrooms viz., white button, paddy straw, oyster, milky and shiitake mushrooms. Of these, button mushroom is still predominantly grown and accounted for about 73% share of total mushroom production followed by paddy straw, oyster, milky and shiitake mushrooms. Button mushroom is grown seasonally in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Predesh, Uttrakhand, etc. and also grown commercially under completely controlled climatic conditions. Under controlled conditions, commercial growers take lots of precautions, maintain good hygiene, and produce the crop by short method of composting. On the other hand, seasonal cultivation of button mushroom is very common by long method of composting attracting several disease problems caused by fungi, bacteria and nematodes. There are competitors moulds which are present in the substrates, spawn, and compost also. These contaminants create huge problems in spawn production even after sterilization as a result, the vegetative growth of mushroom fungi is either slow or completely arrested by these contaminants leading to reduced yield and quality of mushroom crop. There are biotic or abiotic stresses inflicting other cultivable mushrooms in different stages of their cultivation in India and abroad. There is one example where one of the biggest commercial unit of button mushroom (50,000 tons per annum) in Punjab i.e. Agro Dutch was almost closed down due to improper management of diseases. So, both biotic or abiotic factors are responsible for considerable losses in spawn deterioration, yield, quality and shelf life of mushrooms after harvest. In view of the scanty information available on various diseases, disorders or insect pests influencing mushroom growth and development under Indian conditions, the present book on "Compendium of Mushroom Diseases" is attempted to compile the detailed information on various fungal, bacterial, viral and nematodes diseases, competitor moulds, abiotic disorders, insect pests of different mushrooms with coloured pictures in relation to their symptoms, causation, effect of environmental conditions and integrated management of diseases in India. We would like to extend our gratitude to all the contributors involved in writing different chapters of this important book and also Indian Phytopathological Society, New Delhi for publishing during its Platinum Jubilee Celebration. The present book would be extremely useful to the readers, researchers, students, extension workers, entrepreneurs and mushroom growers in integrated and timely management of the diseases, disorders, insect pests of mushrooms. Your opinion/kind suggestions are most welcome if you find any query/lapses.

Contents

         Introduction (1-2)

1. Contaminants of mushroom spawn - Ajay Singh (3-8)
2. Parasitic fungi of button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) and their management - R.P. Singh and K.K. Mishra (9-19)
3. Competitor moulds of button mushroom and their management - Nirmala Bhatt (20-29)
4. Bacterial diseases of mushrooms - Dharmesh Gupta (30-33)
5. Virus Diseases of Button Mushroom and Management - Susheel Kumar Sharma, Konjengbam Sarda Devi, Neeta Pathaw, Harvinder Kumar Singh, Shwet Kamal and Dharmesh Gupta (34-44)
6. Diseases and competitor moulds of paddy straw mushroom - Kailash Behari Mohapatra (45-52)
7. Diseases of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus spp.) - Harvinder Kumar Singh, Sandeeep Kumar Pani, Susheel Kumar Sharma, C.S. Shukla and M.P. Thakur (53-63)
8. Diseases of milky mushroom and their management - Chandrashekara C. and Meera Pandey (64-67)
9. Nematode Problems of Mushroom and their Management - Archana U. Singh (68-75)
10. Hygiene and sanitation package for clean and safe mushroom cultivation - Meera Pandey (76-85)
11. Abiotic disorders of mushroom - M.P. Thakur and Harvinder Kumar Singh (86-94)
12. Integrated Management of Mushroom Diseases - Manjit Singh (95-107)
13. Spent mushroom substrates (SMS) - a potential source of bio-agents for plant diseases management - O.P. Ahlawat, Sudheer Kumar and Pradeep Kumar (108-124)
14. Insect pests of mushrooms and their management - V.K. Dubey and S.S. Shaw (125-132)