Radheshyam Bhadhu of Nagaur district, Rajasthan has recently released his video on FTB. He is owner of the brand "Bhadu Agro Farm and Shyam Mushroom".
He starts by wishing all the farmers associated with Krishi Jagran. He has completed his Senior Secondary Education (class 12th) and due to Corona Lockdown has not been able to join colleges, which are closed, to continue his education.
To spend his free time productively he has taken up farming. He said he has access to 100-150 bigha land with two tube wells. Due to coronavirus, many business persons who have returned to their village are now dealing with Agri businesses.
The farms were affected by locusts and hence he shifted to growing mushrooms. Mushrooms are grown indoors hence there is no fear of locusts attack. He said consuming mushrooms is helpful in dealing with Corona, as mushrooms increase immunity.
He has planted black wheat, which he shows us, over 2-3 bigha of his land. So far, the results have been good and he hopes that it continues this way. He owns 7-8 domestic animals which provide him dairy products. They milk their cattle twice a day. Milk that they get one time, they send to dairy for cash while the milk that they get second time they use for other purposes, like making ghee, which can be sold in the market as a value added product. The dung that they get from these cows and buffaloes is used as manure in the farms, as organic fertilizers.
His uncle Laxmi Nath, has made significant contributions in terms of knowledge to Radheshyam. He suggested to Radheshyam that any new crops or techniques that has been successful in his farms, he must inform his fellow farmers and if possible teach them. This will benefit the village community immensely.
His recent experiments with the black wheat have been successful and now he plans to plant these over more of his farm lands. He now shows us how he grows the mushrooms. He uses wheat straw (bhusa called turi) for this. The straw is firstly soaked in water and then put into polybags overnight, treated with formalin, till the straw becomes well moisturised. Then mushroom spawns are put in them and the bags are left unobserved for 20 days in a dark and humid environment. At which point you will see small growths which will become full size mushrooms in a week or so. You can pluck these and use them as your food items.