MushroomFarming / species profile

Cultivated mushroom species

Explore Button, Oyster, Milky, Paddy Straw, Shiitake and governed specialty systems through species-specific methods and evidence. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Practical explanation + detailed referenceSources & review ↓

Real cultivation photograph. Read its source for location and context; it is not a universal operating specification.MarvinBikolano · CC BY-SA 4.0View full photograph ↗

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Understand the topic

What you need to know.

India grows five mushrooms on a farm scale: button, oyster, milky, paddy straw and shiitake. They differ in the food they need, the temperatures they fruit at, the months they fit without cooling, and how long they keep after picking. This page sets those differences side by side from ICAR-DMR documents, so you can shortlist one or two crops for your region, equipment and market before opening a full crop guide.

Teaching revised 2026-09-24. Source-linked editorial synthesis; this date does not imply independent technical review.

Part 01

Three kinds of food divide the five crops

The first difference is what each fungus eats, because the food decides the yard, the equipment and the skill you need.

Button mushroom is grown on compost: straw and other materials heaped, wetted and turned until partly broken down. The long method takes 28 to 30 days. The short method uses 10 to 12 days of outdoor composting, then about a week of pasteurisation and conditioning indoors. So button needs a composting yard or a compost supplier, and a casing layer on top.

Oyster, milky and paddy straw grow on straw that is only soaked and heat treated, not composted. Paddy straw mushroom manages on uncomposted straw because it needs a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 40 to 60, higher than other cultivated mushrooms. Milky also needs a casing layer. Oyster does not, and the paddy straw beds in the ICAR-DMR bulletin do not use one.

Shiitake is a wood-rotting fungus. It grows on hardwood logs, or on sawdust blocks that need autoclave sterilisation and clean inoculation.

Sources: ICAR-DMR manual, 2011 · ICAR-DMR paddy straw bulletin, 2007

A large rounded stack of pale paddy straw next to a dirt track and palm trees. — A stack of paddy straw beside a field in Tamil Nadu. Straw like this feeds oyster, milky and paddy straw crops after soaking and heat treatment, and button only after composting. Photo: Thamizhpparithi Maari, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source

Part 02

Spawn run and fruiting temperatures, crop by crop

ICAR-DMR gives two bands for each crop: one while the mycelium spreads, called spawn run, and one for fruiting. Milky and paddy straw fruit in heat that would stop a button crop. Where two DMR documents differ, both are shown.

Button22 to 25, then 14 to 18 °CSeasonal folder. The manual's table gives 23 to 25, then 14 to 16.

Oyster, Pleurotus florida25 to 30, then 18 to 22 °CPleurotus sajor-caju fruits warmer, at 22 to 26.

Milky25 to 30, then 30 to 35 °CThe only crop in the table that fruits warmer than its spawn run.

Paddy straw32 to 34, then 28 to 32 °CThe bulletin keeps the covered bed at 30 to 35.

Shiitake22 to 27, then 15 to 20 °CFruiting is strain dependent; the shiitake folder allows 12 to 25.

Sources: ICAR-DMR manual, 2011 · ICAR-DMR seasonal folder · ICAR-DMR shiitake folder · ICAR-DMR paddy straw bulletin, 2007

Part 03

Which months each region offers without cooling

Without cooling, the season is the farm plan. These windows come from the round-the-year chapter of the ICAR-DMR manual and from the DMR seasonal folder. Where the two differ, both are given.

North Indian plains: button in winter, October to February in the manual and November to February in the folder; oyster September to May; milky February to April and again July to September; paddy straw July to September.
Mid hills: button September to March; shiitake October to February; milky April to June; oyster almost all year.
High hills: button and shiitake for most of the year, with oyster in summer. The folder gives button March to November, shiitake December to April and oyster May to August.
Coastal states: oyster, paddy straw and milky in natural conditions all year. The manual gives paddy straw March to November in peninsular India.
Central and western India: milky all year, and oyster in every season except summer.
North-eastern states: button, oyster, shiitake and black ear, also called wood ear, are listed as possible crops.

Sources: ICAR-DMR manual, 2011 · ICAR-DMR seasonal folder

Part 04

How fast each crop turns, and how long it keeps

Crop speed sets how often you need spawn, straw and labour. Shelf life sets how far away your buyer can be. A fast crop that spoils in a day needs a buyer close by.

Paddy straw cycle4 to 5 weeksFirst harvest 9 to 10 days after spawning. Sold on the day of harvest; hold at 10 to 15 °C, never at 4 °C.

Oyster cycle45 to 60 daysFresh oyster keeps 24 to 48 hours at room temperature.

Button cycle80 to 100 daysIncluding compost preparation, for the same quantity of straw as oyster.

Milky shelf life3 to 4 daysIt keeps its colour and look for that long.

Shiitake blocks to first harvest80 to 100 daysOn wood logs, 8 to 12 months. Shiitake is also traditionally dried.

Sources: ICAR-DMR paddy straw bulletin, 2007 · ICAR-DMR manual, 2011

A market stall with brown shiitake in a clear bag and small straw mushrooms in a red basket among vegetables. — Fresh shiitake in a plastic bag and straw mushrooms in a red basket at a vegetable market on Peng Chau, Hong Kong. Photo: Peachyeung316, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source

Part 05

Match the crop to your equipment, skill and buyer

Temperature narrows the list. Equipment, skill and the buyer finish it. Choose the crop that your weakest link can still support.

IfYou have no composting yard and no supplier of pasteurised compost.: ThenLeave button for later. It needs compost, a casing layer and a cool cropping room.
IfYou cannot sterilise bags in an autoclave or spawn them in a clean room.: ThenDo not start shiitake blocks. Grow a straw crop, or in the hills try shiitake on hardwood logs, which take 8 to 12 months to the first harvest.
IfYour buyer is several hours away without refrigerated transport.: ThenAvoid paddy straw, which is sold on the day of harvest. Milky keeps 3 to 4 days and travels better.
IfYour summer months stay between 30 and 35 °C.: ThenLook at milky, which fruits in that band, and at paddy straw in the humid months.
IfYou are a first-time grower with an ordinary shed.: ThenOyster is the forgiving choice. The manual says it grows on a wide range of agricultural wastes and temperatures and is less prone to diseases and competitor moulds.

Sources: ICAR-DMR manual, 2011 · ICAR-DMR paddy straw bulletin, 2007

Part 06

Mistakes that come from treating all mushrooms alike

Common mistakeCopying a protocol from another region or another crop.

Do this insteadUse the method written for your species and season. A hill button routine does not fit a coastal paddy straw bed.

Common mistakePutting paddy straw mushrooms in the refrigerator with the button crop.

Do this insteadHold paddy straw at 10 to 15 °C; at 4 °C it digests itself, which the bulletin calls autolysis.

Common mistakeReusing button casing for milky.

Do this insteadMilky casing is soil and sand limed to a pH of 7.8 to 7.9, more alkaline than button casing.

Common mistakeTreating oyster as one crop.

Do this insteadRecord the species. Pleurotus florida and Pleurotus sajor-caju fruit in different temperature bands.

Common mistakePlanning shiitake as a seasonal crop on the plains.

Do this insteadICAR-DMR's calendars give shiitake no plains season. There it needs a cooled room.

Sources: ICAR-DMR manual, 2011 · ICAR-DMR paddy straw bulletin, 2007 · ICAR-DMR seasonal folder

Keep exploring

Every part of this topic.

Choose the stage, material or decision you need to understand next.

Button Mushroom knowledge system

A governed field manual for Agaricus bisporus biology, compost, crop management, climate, hygiene, diagnostics and farm engineering.

Oyster mushroom knowledge system

Choose a Pleurotus species and method before reading cultivation advice. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Milky mushroom knowledge system

Learn Calocybe indica as a distinct warm-season, cased cultivation system. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Paddy straw mushroom knowledge system

Learn Volvariella as a fast, warm cultivation and post-harvest system, not generic oyster farming. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Shiitake knowledge system

Choose log or sterile sawdust-block cultivation before reading process guidance. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Specialty mushrooms in India

Classify cultivated species as established, developing, niche, experimental or insufficient evidence without price hype. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Compare cultivated mushroom systems

Compare climate class, method, substrate treatment, casing, skill, post-harvest sensitivity and India readiness without fake scores. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Cultivated mushroom varieties in India

Trace official variety names to institutional records without implying supply, superiority or regional fit. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Go deeper

Technical reference, records and tools.

Detailed crop-stage information, parameters, diagrams and specialist tools are kept together below. This material retains its source conditions and review limits.

Open the complete technical reference

Crop guide

Cultivated mushroom species

Explore Button, Oyster, Milky, Paddy Straw, Shiitake and governed specialty systems through species-specific methods and evidence. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Open the crop map Compare systems

Spawned straw mushroom bags kept on a wooden shelf next to a bamboo onion-storage rack inside an adivasi (tribal) house, Odisha, India. — A low-cost home mushroom unit with spawned straw bags, Odisha. Photo: Soumendra Kumar Sahoo, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source

No context-free setpoints
No profit promises
Species comes first
No medical marketing

System relationships

Conceptual crop diagrams

Each diagram shows sequence and boundaries without inventing dimensions, setpoints or wild-species identification cues.

Species decision contextFit emerges from linked constraints, never a single temperature or online price.

01
Location
Stage 1 has its own material, hygiene, environment and evidence checks.
02
Season
Stage 2 has its own material, hygiene, environment and evidence checks.
03
Species and strain
Stage 3 has its own material, hygiene, environment and evidence checks.
04
Method
Stage 4 has its own material, hygiene, environment and evidence checks.
05
Substrate
Stage 5 has its own material, hygiene, environment and evidence checks.
06
Infrastructure
Stage 6 has its own material, hygiene, environment and evidence checks.
07
Market
Stage 7 has its own material, hygiene, environment and evidence checks.

Original conceptual diagram. Not an identification image, equipment drawing or operating recipe.

Species post-harvest chainHarvest maturity and deterioration risks differ by species.

01
Harvest stage
Stage 1 has its own material, hygiene, environment and evidence checks.
02
Gentle handling
Stage 2 has its own material, hygiene, environment and evidence checks.
03
Grade
Stage 3 has its own material, hygiene, environment and evidence checks.
04
Cool or dry
Stage 4 has its own material, hygiene, environment and evidence checks.
05
Pack
Stage 5 has its own material, hygiene, environment and evidence checks.
06
Transport
Stage 6 has its own material, hygiene, environment and evidence checks.
07
Verify quality
Stage 7 has its own material, hygiene, environment and evidence checks.

Original conceptual diagram. Not an identification image, equipment drawing or operating recipe.

Canonical learning map

8 distinct routes for this crop system.

Button mushroom knowledge system

Compost, crop cycle, climate, engineering and crop-health intelligence for Agaricus bisporus.

Oyster mushroom knowledge system

Choose a Pleurotus species and method before reading cultivation advice. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Milky mushroom knowledge system

Learn Calocybe indica as a distinct warm-season, cased cultivation system. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Paddy straw mushroom knowledge system

Learn Volvariella as a fast, warm cultivation and post-harvest system, not generic oyster farming. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Shiitake knowledge system

Choose log or sterile sawdust-block cultivation before reading process guidance. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Specialty mushrooms in India

Classify cultivated species as established, developing, niche, experimental or insufficient evidence without price hype. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Compare cultivated mushroom systems

Compare climate class, method, substrate treatment, casing, skill, post-harvest sensitivity and India readiness without fake scores. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Cultivated mushroom varieties in India

Trace official variety names to institutional records without implying supply, superiority or regional fit. Evidence, method and India-context boundaries remain visible.

Trace the boundary

Evidence and limitations

institutional · tier AResearch programmes

Current institutional scope for cultivated and specialty mushroom research in India.

Research scope does not by itself establish a farm recommendation, commercial readiness or strain-specific operating range.

Open primary source

regulatory · tier AFood Safety and Standards Advertising and Claims Regulations

Governance boundary for food advertising, nutritional statements and health claims in India.

The platform provides cultivation education, not product claim approval or legal advice. Current amendments and product classification still require verification.

Open primary source

Read the evidence

Sources & review.

Editorial update: 2026-09-03. Independent technical review is not recorded for this entry.

Research programmes ↗
ICAR Directorate of Mushroom Research
Food Safety and Standards Advertising and Claims Regulations ↗
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

Reading a source is not the same as applying its instructions to every farm. Confirm species, strain, crop stage, system, region and publication date. Old chemical recommendations are not current-use instructions.

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