Enhancement of Cottage Mushroom Cultivation in Tropical and Subtropical Regions with IoT and AI Applications

Commercial mushroom cultivation at the cottage level is a popular form of self-employment in rural areas of many tropical and subtropical countries. Although large-scale mushroom production is adequately mechanized and advanced, cottage-level cultivation has received insufficient attention. As living organisms are involved, continuous and careful human attention is imperative in mushroom cultivation to ensure optimal living conditions and superior output. Furthermore, many stages in the production process are carried out manually, resulting in high production costs, subpar sanitation, and, ultimately, an inability to sustain the enterprise. Human involvement can have detrimental effects in various aspects of mushroom cultivation, can be reduced through suitable mechanization and automation, along with the application of artificial intelligence (AI), and IoT technologies. Substrate preparation and filling transparent polythene bags are among the most labor-intensive activities of oyster mushroom cultivation. When sawdust is used as the main ingredient of the substrate, the separation of the finer particles through sieving and use in the mixture will improve the growth of mycelium by promoting the decomposition. Therefore, an integrated continuous operating system with sawdust sieving, ingredient mixing, and mixture filling into polythene bags was introduced to improve productivity by reducing time and labor. The actual capacities of sieving, mixing, and filling machines were 200 kg/h, 300 kg/h, and 81 bags/h, respectively. Sterilization of the prepared substrate is crucial to avoid the growth of uneconomical fungi available in raw material. The centralized steam sterilization system is possible to develop with automation and IoT technology to increase its performance and reduce human involvement. The new system can maintain the required conditions accurately throughout the process. As the total duration of the process is more than 4 h, operation and monitoring with IoT allow farmers to engage in other activities. Maintaining the optimum environmental conditions during the different growth stages of mushrooms is essential to achieve the maximum possible yield by avoiding disease and stress conditions. The integration of IoT technology facilitates continuous real-time monitoring of conditions within the mushroom shed and allows for remote operation of controlling systems. This capability reduces the need for frequent entry into the shed, thereby minimizing the risk of contamination. Moreover, the development of an AI system for the accurate detection of the optimal harvesting stage and the implementation of mechanical harvesting processes can further reduce human involvement. In conclusion, the strategic deployment of mechanization, automation, artificial intelligence, and IoT technologies can effectively enhance productivity and efficiency at the cottage-level mushroom industry.