Abstract:
Mushroom cultivation is an eco-friendly, sustainable venture that is best suited for Sri Lanka. However, despite the availability of substantial research in this field, some people are reluctant to start mushroom cultivation as a business venture due to several reasons including pest and diseases, lack of knowledge about the production process and market opportunities, etc. Hence, the current study was carried out to assess the present status of mushroom cultivation, insect pest damage, and mushroom market status in the Matara district. Eighty farmers from 175 registered farmer lists deputing the 16 divisional secretariat divisions in Matara district were directly interviewed and structured questionnaires were employed to collect the primary information related to the study. According to the findings, the majority of farmers (65%) cultivated Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus), whereas only 5% cultivated Abalone (Pleurotus cystidiosus). It was found that 52.5% of the farmers surveyed were male and 47.5% were female. Moreover, their economic and educational backgrounds were also taken into consideration in this study. The minimum monthly income of the farmers from mushrooms was Rs. 5,000 while the maximum was Rs. 68,125. The majority of the selected group (80%) is engaged in retail while 18.7% are traded in the wholesale and retail business. Significantly, mites were the major pest observed during this study. The highest number of mite-infested media bags (47.34%) was reported from Walipitiya divisional secretariat division. Also, Collembolans (26.3%), beetles; Cyllodes bifacies (waker) (19.3%), Sciarid fly (Bradysia paupera) (15.45%), and Phorid flies (Megaselia helterata) 16.9% were recorded. In conclusion, this study identified pest infestation, lack of knowledge, scarcity of sawdust, shortage of quality seeds, lack of initial capital and supervision, and poor marketing strategies as the major problems associated with the mushroom industry in the Matara district.
