Department of Botany, St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous) Jakhama conducted a one -day Skill Development Workshop on mushroom cultivation on September 25.
64 students from 1st and 3rd semesters of the department of Botany along with four students from the department of Commerce (5th semester) attended the workshop.
The students were accompanied by two faculty members from the department of Botany. The workshop was organized by department of Botany, SJC (A) Jakhama in collaboration with Dr. Sosang Longkumer, director, Konger Agritech, Aoyimkum, Dimapur who is a frontrunner of Mushroom production in Nagaland.
Dr. Sosang was the instructor while Dr. Toshinungla Ao, assistant professor, department of Botany, St. John’s College, Dimapur was the resource person. The workshop welcome note was addressed by Asha Singh, Assistant Professor, department of Botany following which Dr. Longkumer emphasized on the importance of mushroom cultivation and its prospects among the emerging entrepreneurs.
Dr. Toshinungla, an accomplished mushroom taxonomist spoke about the diversity of mushrooms available in Nagaland. She briefly highlighted the identifying characteristics of edible and non-edible mushrooms and also mentioned the nutritional benefits and medicinal values of mushrooms. The attendees had intensive hands-on experience on learning how to prepare oyster mushroom cylinders.
A field visit to a private mushroom farm at Aoyimkum, Dimapur was made to witness the mushroom cultivation, production and processing unit. The workshop concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Kizukala Jamir, Assistant Professor, department of Botany, SJC(A), Jakhama.