Vol. 2, Issue 5, Part P (2016)

Abstract
The present agricultural scenario of India has to emerge as an economic power in the world in terms of agricultural productivity by adapting new technologies leading to the economic power of the world. In India, any mushroom is used as a non-traditional cash crop and commonly cultivated species are white button mushroom, oyster, shiitake mushrooms and other mushrooms cultivated in small scale are paddy straw, milky and reishi mushrooms. Though around 20 genera of mushrooms are being cultivated for commerce throughout the world, only four types, viz., white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), oyster mushroom (Pleurotus spp.), milky mushroom (Calocybe indica) and paddy straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea) are grown commercially in India with the white button mushroom contributing about 85% of the country’s production against its global share of about 31 per cent. The production of mushroom is done throughout the year by the environmentally controlled units, but the seasonal growers come into play during the winters and the supply at the local market exceeds causing less profit due to fall in price and spoilage due to market surplus. Mushrooms are highly perishable and get spoiled due to browning, wilting, liquefaction, loss of texture, aroma, flavour, etc, making it unsaleable. Most of the mushrooms, being high in moisture and delicate in texture, it cannot be stored for more than 24 hours at the ambient conditions prevailing in the tropics. There fore it becomes imperative to adopt scientific post harvest management practice to extend its shelf life. This paper is thus aimed at to provide brief information of Post harvest Management practices to be adopted to improve its shelf life and quality.