UBP Karawang Reawakens Straw Mushrooms in Karawang
Mushrooms had become a leading commodity in Karawang about two decades ago, even though Karawang was once a center for this commodity, in 2007 with production reaching 48,247 tons. This is supported by the abundance of straw or straw as a growing medium for this mushroom.
Along with its development, this commodity is getting dimmer until now there are only a few mushroom kumbung and it was recorded that in 2019 its production only reached 12,700 tons. This has attracted the attention of UBP Karawang in the context of implementing the tri dharma, which is committed to increasing the productivity of edible mushrooms with a touch of technology.
The seriousness of UBP Karawang is evidenced by the establishment of a collaboration (MoU) between the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science and the Center for Post-Harvest Research and Development on June 6, 2021 at the Karawang Post-Harvest and Rice Quality Laboratory. As a follow-up to the MoU, research was conducted on the application of Internet of Things (IoT) technology to mushroom cultivation in the Srijaya Poktan kumbung, Banyusari District, Karawang by involving lecturers and students of the Informatics Engineering Study Program.
The study focused on conditioning the factors present in kumbung to support fungal growth controlled via the internet. To gain support from various interested parties, on Tuesday, December 7, 2021, a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was held with the theme “Development of Productivity and Quality of Local Commodities of Merang Mushrooms through the Application of the Internet of Things (IoT)” which was attended by the Directorate General of Horticulture, Ministry of Agriculture. , Center for Research and Development of Post-Harvest Agriculture, Department of Agriculture of Karawang Regency and Srijaya Farmers Group.
“We hope that this activity can provide benefits to the community, especially the mushroom farmers so that they get the widest possible access to be able to increase productivity by applying technology,” said Dr. Hanny Hikmayanti, M.Kom as Chair of the Research and Community Service Institute as well as Chair of the FGD Committee. .
The FGD activity was carried out with high enthusiasm from the participants. At the end of the event, as recommended by the Formulating Team, a declaration was made as a joint commitment to establish synergy between interested parties in order to develop and increase the productivity of edible mushrooms in Karawang.
“The follow-up to this declaration is the establishment of the Mushroom Center at UBP Karawang, as a forum for mushroom research and development in terms of various existing scientific aspects. We have six faculties that will be pushed in that direction. For example, it turns out that the fungus contains ergothioneine which is useful for medicine. We have a Faculty of Pharmacy, of course, we will carry out further research in that direction,” said the Chancellor of UBP Karawang, Prof. Dedi Mulyadi SE., MM. The mushroom center that was established was under the coordination of the Research and Community Service Institute (LPPM) UBP Karawang.
Met separately, one of the speakers at the FGD who has also implemented IoT technology in his kumbung, Tani Suryadinata from the Srijaya Poktan said that he was greatly helped by the existence of educational institutions that pay attention to mushroom farmers.
“I have just seen that only UBP Karawang really has a high commitment to restore the glory of straw mushrooms in the Regency. Karawang. I personally feel the support for IoT technology from UBP Karawang, only in the grip of an Android cellphone anywhere can control the conditions of kumbung mushrooms such as temperature, humidity, and others. The results obtained with IoT are better than conventional methods,” he concluded. (wins)
