Solan  -  The  Mushroom City of India

ICAR-Directorate of Mushroom Research is located in Solan city of Himachal Pradesh, endeared as the gateway of Himachal Pradesh, the mountainous wonder of Solan city is famous for its cultural splendor, excellent picnic spots, numerous old temples and seasonal vegetable crops. Being quite industrialized, Solan is widely popular for its mushroom cultivation and bearing the title of “Mushroom City of India”. Considering the contribution of this city and endeavor of ICAR-DMR towards mushroom research, development, cultivation and popularization of mushroom, the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh declared Solan as Mushroom City of India on 10th September, 1997 during the Indian Mushroom Conference organized jointly by the DMR and Mushroom Society of India.

Historical Profile of DMR

The National Centre for Mushroom Research and Training (NCMRT) came into existence at Solan (later renamed as National Research Centre for Mushroom) in 1983 during the VIth Five Year Plan under the auspices of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR, New Delhi) along with an All India Coordinated Mushroom Improvement Project (AICMIP) at six Centres at various Agricultural Universities in five States with its headquarter at Solan.  The Centre was formerly inaugurated on 21st June, 1987 by Dr. Gurdial Singh Dhillon, the then Union Minister for Agriculture and President of ICAR Society.  It was upgraded to Directorate of Mushroom Research (DMR) on 26th December, 2008.  It was established with the objectives of undertaking research on all aspects of mushrooms and also to impart training to the trainers and growers. Presently, All India Coordinated Research Project on Mushroom (AICRPM) has its 23 Coordinating and 9 Cooperating Centres in 27 States of the country with the mandate to make survey in the regions, to collect new types of mushrooms, to undertake research and examine the adaptability of mushrooms and their different strains in different agro-climatic zones of the country and to test the developed technology of ICAR-DMR.

In the past 37 years of its existence, the Directorate has made significant contribution in the field of mushroom research and development in the country.  By the concerted efforts of the scientist of ICAR-DMR Solan, mushroom productivity in the country has almost doubled while production has registered a six fold increase. Currently ICAR-DMR is working on collection, identification, conservation and genetic characterization of mushroom germplasm, development of high yielding varieties, improvements in the production technologies of different edible mushrooms, technology developed for newer specialty mushrooms, integrated pest and disease management, post harvest technologies for various mushrooms and imparting trainings to the trainers, entrepreneurs, growers, unemployed youths, women growers etc.