JU Correspondent :
A mushroom researcher also PhD fellow of Jahangirnagar University, Mohammad Anwar Hossain, has identified the largest wild edible mushroom of the Asia and successfully cultivated for first time in Bangladesh in a personal mushroom farm.
The researcher in a press conference at JU Journalist Association disclosed it on Wednesday.
He said, experimental reproduction of the mushroom after maintaining its cultivation practices for more than one and half year beside the university campus. He identified the new species Giant Mushroom Macrocybe gigantia (Massee) Pegler & Lodge as a wild edible mushroom from Balukhali remote area of Rangamati hill district in July, 2012. He was conducting his PhD under supervision of Prof. Abul Khair on mushroom taxonomy.
Mohammad Anwar Hossain is also a researcher of National Mushroom Development and Extension Centre, Savar, Dhaka. Prof Abul Khair has recognized the identification and cultivation terming that, it’s a positive task in the field of mushroom research since long he has been engage in researching and cultivating mushroom.
Local hill people and the research have found huge mushrooms that are available after starting monsoon rain and continuous to grow before arid winter.
The umbrella type cap or pileus of gigantic mushroom is 10-30 cm wide, convex to flat, white to grayish white, glabrous, margin entire and incurved. Gills beneath the cap notched, crowded of several lengths, grayish white. Stipe central, 15-50 × 4-8 cm, solid, white, glabrous. Spore print white, spores ovate, hyaline, smooth, 6-7 × 4-4.5 µm.
This species is highly choices mushroom of China. They collect it from nature and consume with fried rice or soup. It is rich in essential amino acid, vitamin and minerals, he added. “I’m facing huge obstacle in researching mushroom in the country as researchers and governmental support in very poor” adding the task will help farmers as a profitable business” Earlier, he made success in cultivating milky mushroom in business purpose.
