From forest to lab: Kashmir’s prized Gucchi mushroom gets a cultivation fix

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Srinagar: A prized forest delicacy among the world’s most expensive mushrooms is collapsing in the wild even as scientists in Kashmir say they may have found a way to cultivate it.Gucchi, or morel mushroom, has seen output fall sharply across Jammu and Kashmir—from around 2,000 quintals in 1991 to just 88 quintals in 2018—as erratic snowfall, shifting rainfall patterns and forest degradation disrupt the fragile ecological conditions it depends on.It is primarily found in the foothills and forested belts across districts including Poonch, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban, Anantnag, Bandipora, Kupwara and Pulwama.In Kashmir’s higher forests, collectors describe damp pine floors layered with decaying needles and logs—exactly the moisture-rich microhabitat where the mushroom once emerged reliably in spring. That seasonal rhythm, they say, has become increasingly erratic.At the same time, global competition is intensifying, with countries such as China advancing morel cultivation techniques and putting additional pressure on prices.Now, researchers at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST-K) say they have successfully standardized cultivation of Gucchi under controlled greenhouse and open-field conditions, a breakthrough in a species long considered nearly impossible to farm.“This is a game-changing breakthrough,” said SKUAST-K vice chancellor Nazir Ahmad Ganai.

“This innovation marks a paradigm shift from dependence on uncertain wild collection to a controlled, scalable production system. It opens new opportunities for farmers, youth and entrepreneurs and contributes to ecological conservation.”But scientists say the achievement came only after years of