Studies on Cultivation Technology of Tricholoma crassa (Berk) Sacc.

Tricholoma (Fr.) Quel is well recognised genus of the family Tricholomataceae containing about one hundred species. In India, only four species of Tricholoma. Of these, T. cremoriceps Berk. and T. gigantium Masse were reported from West Bengal and T. melaleucum (Pers.) Fr. and T. subpulverulentum (Pers.) Fr. from Kashmir. However, the utilization has definitely increased with the acquisition of more knowledge about the edible and poisonous species of mushroom and technological advancement of its cultivation. Out of 2,50,000 species of fungi, there are about 10,000 species of fleshy macro fungi and only a handful are lethal. About 2000 species from more than 30 genera are regarded as prime edible mushrooms, but only about 80 of them are experimentally grown, 20 economically cultivated and only 5 to 6 have reached on industrial scale in many countries. In India, mushroom cultivation has great potential due to favourable weather conditions, abundant cheaper agro-waste as well as cheaper availability of labour. Today it is much more encouraging with an overall increase in production by five times during the last decade.