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Mizoram is a hotspot for wild mushrooms and its diversity, serving as an important source of food and income for rural inhabitants. However, extensive exploration, proper identification, documentation of wild mushrooms and ethnomycological studies are still lacking. An attempt has been made for the mass collection of wild mushrooms from 2018 to 2022 in Mizoram, which has yielded 450 specimens, of which 81 species were identified, consisting mainly of Polyporaceae (20.99%), followed by Agaricaceae (9.88%) and Lyophyllaceae (7.41%). The collected mushrooms include 23.56% edible, 48.44% non-edible and the remaining medicinal, poisonous, and other categories. They originate from various habitats, predominantly wood (67.11%) and soil (29.56%). An interview with 609 respondents from the 'Lusei' and 'Chakma' tribes identified three medicinal species (Auricularia auricula-judae, A. delicata and Phallus indusiatus) and nineteen species for food purpose. The nomenclature of mushrooms depends on the appearance, odour, shape, colour, size, texture and nature of habitat among the tribes and found no well-defined vernacular names at the species level. Consumption of mushroom species is also higher among the Chakma tribe than the Lusei tribe. Mushrooms are collected mostly during monsoon season among the tribes. Price of mushrooms varies depending on species among the tribes. Over 75% of respondents found wild mushrooms declining while 17.24% of respondents did not find a change in wild mushroom populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soils in the north east Indian region are acidic in nature due to high rainfall and proper soil management is required where the common deficiencies like P, Ca and Mg have to be alleviated for a successful groundnut production. To test the effect of lime and phosphorus on groundnut yield and soil health, we conducted a field experiment during kharif season of 2014 and 2015 in ICAR RC NEH, Mizoram center farm (soil pH 5.1) using three levels of lime (0, 500 and 1000 kg CaCO3 ha‒1) and phosphorus (0, 25 and 50 kg ha‒1). Pooled data of lime and P application significantly improved the plant height and dry matter production per plant. Lime application improved number of pods by 14.8% and 26.1%, weight of pods by 19% and 30%, test weight by 5%, 8.7%, shelling percentage by 6.1%, 13% and pod yield by 26.5% and 63%. Lime application significantly raised the soil pH from 5.17 to 5.26 (L500) and 5.4 (L1000), subsequently increasing available nutrients like N, P and K whereas P @ 50 kg ha‒1 improved the available P status. Lime application negatively affect acid phosphatase activity while increasing the activity alkaline phosphatase, arylsulphatase, β‒glucosidase and dehydrogenase by 14.4% and 21%, 4% and 21%, 18.25% and 20.4% and 43.2% while P application decrease the acid phosphatase enzyme activity by 3 and 4.4%. Overall, multivariate PCA analysis suggests that liming has a significant role in improving soil health and groundnut productivity in acidic soil of Mizoram. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]