Uncertainty in availability, makes ‘guchhi’ hunting a difficult occupation in Himachal
Guchhi (Morchella esculenta) are one of the most expensive edible mushrooms. They are primarily found in Jammu, Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and are usually picked by local people, between the months of March and May, to support their income.
With rising temperatures leading to less moisture in the soil, the natural growing conditions of guchhi are reducing, leading to a decrease in the availability of the mushrooms.
Locals also say that there has been a visible seasonal shift in its availability. Previously the mushrooms were found from January onwards, until April. But now, for past five-six years, people get it only from March to June.
Methods to artificially grow these morel mushrooms are being experimented, as locals worry about the loss of their extra income, and the loss of a fungi that is closely tied to their tradition.
Magical mushroom: Scaling up Ganoderma lucidum cultivation will benefit farmers, users
Ganoderma lucidum is a medicinal mushroom in use for centuries to heal diseases like diabetes, cancer, inflammation, ulcer as well as bacterial and skin infections. In India, however, the potential of the fungus is still being explored.
It is considered one of the most important medicinal mushrooms in the world since its chemical constituents exhibit numerous medicinal properties. They have earned it monikers such as “mushroom of immortality”, “celestial herb” and “auspicious herb”. It is globally also known as “red reishi mushroom”.
Unlike normal mushrooms, the peculiar character of this one is that it grows on wood or wood-based substrate only. The mushroom is shiny red-brown in colour and naturally grows on wood. It prefers broad-leaved tree species like acacia, poplar, oak, maple, melia, eucalyptus, hevea, tectona and grewia.
Attempts are being made to popularise this mushroom for business and livelihood, by cultivating it on wood logs and sawdust. Earlier it was only collected from the wild but its increasing demand pushed the attempts to artificially cultivate it. Awareness regarding Ganoderma is spreading and the demand of this mushroom has pushed many countries, including India, to produce it on a large scale and manufacture its products. Its current production, however, is not sufficient to meet its increasing demand, and thus there is a need to cultivate this mushroom on a large scale.
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India lost 39 tigers so far this year, MP tops with 14 deaths
Tiger state Madhya Pradesh has lost 14 tigers in the last four months in different wildlife habitats of the state, including four between April 1 to 4. Of the total tigers reported dead, 10 had lost their lives within the earmarked area of tiger reserves, while four were reported dead outside the area.
Ajay Dubey, a wildlife activist, said that due to the absence of accountability of the field officers, MP has been reporting the maximum number of deaths of tigers. He claimed that during the summer, the number of deaths of tigers or other wild animals witnessed a sharp increase due to various reasons.
Due to extreme weather during the summer, patrolling by forest officers decreases. As during autumn, visibility in the forest increases many times more than other seasons due to the fall of leaves. Another reason is that during the summer wild animals would be found near water ponds which provides ample opportunity for poachers to target animals.
‘Now or never’: UN report suggest growing forests, eating less meat to avoid climate extremes
Drastic cuts to fossil fuel use. Growing forests and eating less meat. These are just some of the actions needed in this decade to contain global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial temperatures, a major report by the U.N. climate science agency said Monday.
Despite climate change warnings issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 1990, global emissions have continued to rise in the last decade, reaching their highest point in history.
At this point, only severe emissions cuts in this decade across all sectors, from agriculture and transport to energy and buildings, can turn things around, the report says. Even then, governments would also need to bolster efforts to plant more trees and develop technologies that could remove some of the carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere after more than a century of industrial activity.
👉 Zee News
LG Manoj Sinha addresses first Zonal Convention on Natural Farming at SKUAST-Jammu
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha addressed the first Zonal Convention on Natural Farming at SKUAST-Jammu. The two-day convention on the theme “Natural Farming: A National Priority for Human Health and Ecological Restoration” will focus on the major thrust areas of environmental safety, public health and agricultural sustainability towards ensuring growth and prosperity of the farming community.
The Lt Governor said that J&K UT is giving major impetus to natural and organic farming and has registered a record increase in terms of area covered under organic certification in a sustainable manner.
Today, J&K is amongst the major organic producing States/UTs in the country. We are methodically developing a robust ecosystem by extending financial assistance, technological and marketing support for better realization of prices to farmers, the Lt Governor added.
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