Evaluvation, propagation and study of life cycle in vitro of Morchella esculanta

Among the edible mushrooms, Morchella esculenta (Pers.) is a highly prized mushroomwhich consists of a short stalk and a conical, pitted, hollow pileus. It is commonly known as amorel or sponge mushroom, or gucchi, etc. It belongs to the class Ascomycetes, order Pezizalesand family Morchellaceae. It is found throughout the world. In jammu and kashmir, it is found in various forests regions under pine vegetation. It is therapeutic in nature; thereforeits medicinal and biochemical properties are under investigation throughout the world, especiallyin regard to treating the hazardous diseases such as cancer, tumors, etc. The present in vitro studywas conducted for the first time. The three media soil and soil extracts Agar and LuriaAgar were used. Mycellial growth was obtained on all these media, but the LA medium showedbetter growth. Microscopic studies had shown pigmentation is most likely due to the secondarymycelium. Among these mycelium ascogenous hyphae are produced that may lead to theformation of ascogonium and antheridium with the dilated tips. The compact mass ofprosenchymatous and pseudoparenchyma tissues was observed.