Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 28: To create awareness among the masses on the importance of wild edible mushrooms, a Wild Edible Mushroom Calendar 2022 was released today by Prof Manoj K Dhar, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Jammu, in presence of Er Kireet Kumar, Director In-charge, GB Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment (GBPIHE), Uttarakhand, and Nodal officer, NMHS.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Dhar exhorted upon researchers to take up research initiatives to address the area-specific challenges confronting the common masses in Jammu & Kashmir and exploring their solutions.
“This calendar is an innovative idea in generating awareness regarding the availability of wild edible forest resources of mushrooms and can help alleviate the nutritional deficiencies and ensure food security for the population dwelling in the hinterlands”, said Prof Dhar.
With an expertly-designed layout by Syed Azhar and Dr Tahir, Project fellows, and supervised by Prof Yash Pal Sharma, the mushroom calendar portrays twelve unique, fresh, and original photographs of the wild edible mushrooms growing in diverse habitats of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Conveying his pleasantries through virtual mode, Er Kireet Kumar expressed his satisfaction with the overall productive outcome of the NMHS project sanctioned to Prof Yash Pal Sharma (Principal Investigator), Department of Botany, JU and Prof Rupam Kapoor (Co-P I), Department of Botany, the University of Delhi for working on the mandate of the joint NMHS project successfully.
Earlier, Prof Yash Pal Sharma informed that the calendar has been prepared under the aegis of the National Mission on Himalayan Studies Project “Database Development on Diversity and indigenous knowledge on mushrooms towards their cultivation and conservation in Trans Himalayan District of Kargil” to sensitize general masses regarding the wild edible mushroom utilization.
Mushrooms are fast becoming popular especially in the field of food, medicine, and the entrepreneurial arena and therefore, for diversification, their collection and identification from wild woodlands is the need of the hour, said Prof Veenu Kaul, Head, Department of Botany.
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