Spawn production in Iran
By Magda Verfaillie, Mycelia
About two years ago we met the chairman of the Iranian mushroom grower's association, Mr. Mohammad Entessari from Sadaf Mushrooms, a representative of the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Ali Arjmandi and a number of growers at the last edition of the Mushrooms Days in Den Bosch. After a fascinating discussion, they invited us to come to
Mushrooms have been successfully cultivated for years in
Following intuition
We left for a week, fully loaded with course material and practical knowledge. On the first day a visit was planned to a number of growers annex spawn laboratories. This gave us an idea of how mushroom growing takes place in
Our impression of the local approach to mushroom growing was far from negative. Taking into account the lack of information available about how to organise a commercial spawn laboratory, the growers had intuitively made many of the right decisions. Certain important rules weren't taken into consideration, or incorrectly interpreted due to lack of experience. This mainly concerned behaviour and general hygiene during the production process.
Attentive audience
Two days were filled by a course about applied microbiology, attended by around 30 researchers and farm managers, from all corners of the country. The participants had submitted their questions beforehand. We have never instructed such an attentive and interested audience before! We were also pleasantly surprised by the (often university) levels of education of the participants. They asked very critical and relevant questions, and our answers translated into Farsi (Persian) were noted down from right to left.
The purely theoretical sessions addressed subjects such as the micro-biological aspects of mycelium production and drawing up guidelines and regulations for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), but the lessons were mainly aimed at practical information that could be implemented immediately. We explained in detail the various stages of production: multiplying and storing mother cultures, preparing nutrient mediums, carrying out various stages of production efficiently and using our sterilisable and breathing Microsac.
We also discussed the (re)organisation of rooms and zones for a correctly functioning spawn laboratory, sterilisation techniques and the technical aspects of creating over pressure. The programme of lessons was very intensive - from 7 o'clock in the morning until 7 at night. Luckily we were able to take a breather while the interpreter was translating. Never the less, we had the impression that all the participants were very satisfied.
Friendly
After the sessions were finished, we travelled around accompanied by Mr. Ali Arjmandi of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Ministry of Agriculture is now considering organising an international congress about mushroom growing. This seems an excellent idea and a good opportunity to show the world just how far
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