Cordyceps militaris is not a field crop. It is grown indoors in sterile jars on brown rice in a lab-style unit, and the only Indian economic study available says small units lose money and only medium or large units profit. A realistic start needs a sterile culture room, trained staff and tens of lakhs of rupees, plus a buyer for the dried product.

The technology comes from ICAR-Directorate of Mushroom Research (DMR), Chambaghat, Solan, Himachal Pradesh. The figures below are from DMR's own 2024 study of 10 growers. That sample is small and the sampling was by referral, so treat the numbers as indicative, not typical.

What it is and where it can be grown

  • The wild Himalayan "caterpillar fungus" (Ophiocordyceps sinensis, often called Cordyceps sinensis) is a different species that grows on insects at 3,400 to 5,000 m. It cannot be farmed. C. militaris is the cultivable relative, grown in vitro.
  • Because it is indoors, the location is not limited by soil or rainfall. DMR's paper says units are dispersed across India. Power supply, clean water, temperature control and trained labour matter more than climate.
  • ICAR lists its technology as ready for use, with a brown-rice substrate and optimised nutrient solution, and fruiting in 35 to 40 days. The published description does not give temperature, humidity or light settings, so get these from DMR directly (the contact listed is Dr Satish Kumar at DMR Solan) rather than from videos.

Method in brief

  • Substrate: brown rice (30 g per jar in DMR's table) with 35 ml of a nutrient solution. A liquid spawn is made from distilled water, dextrose, yeast extract and peptone with the C. militaris culture.
  • Output: 12 to 14 g of fruiting body per 500 ml jar, per the ICAR technology page. By arithmetic, 1 kg of fresh mushroom needs about 70 to 85 jars.
  • Fresh to dry: in the surveyed units, 25 kg fresh gave about 3 kg dried (about 12 percent), and 700 to 750 kg fresh gave 80 to 90 kg dried.
  • A brown rice substrate gave the most fruiting bodies in the least time in a 2025 trial at an Indian university (Mushroom Research 34(1)), when compared with six other media and agricultural waste.
  • Contamination in jars is the main practical risk; sterile technique, an autoclave, a laminar flow cabinet and a clean culture room are needed. DMR training is the proper start.

Cost and returns: the DMR study

Source: Bijla, Kumar and Sharma, Mushroom Research 33(2), 2024. Costs are per kg of dried mushroom per crop cycle, in thousand rupees.

ItemSmall (under 15 kg dried per cycle)Medium (15 to 50 kg)Large (over 50 kg)
Initial investmentRs 34.2 lakhRs 80.6 lakhRs 1.35 crore
Total cost per kg driedRs 44,790Rs 28,680Rs 22,480
Gross return per kg driedRs 39,000Rs 37,000Rs 40,000
Net return per kg driedLoss of Rs 5,790Rs 8,320Rs 17,520
Benefit-cost ratio (5 years, 5 percent discount)0.84 (not viable)1.874.36
  • The study's actual average output was 4 kg dried per cycle for small units, 23 kg for medium and 85 kg for large ones. Small units were far below break-even.
  • The implied selling price is roughly Rs 37,000 to Rs 40,000 per kg dried (gross return per kg). That is the average the 10 farmers received; it is not a listed market price.
  • Liquid media was the biggest variable cost (about Rs 10,000 per kg dried), followed by brown rice and other raw material; energy cost was Rs 5,420 per kg in small units against Rs 760 in large ones.
  • Note that the abstract states the ROVC as "Rs 12,000, 16,000 and 22,000 per kg per crop cycle"; the table in the same paper uses per-kg figures, as shown here.

Market and selling: be careful

  • The study had no market-demand data for India and called the Indian industry nascent. Buyers would be nutraceutical and herbal companies and exporters; no verified list of Indian buyers or published domestic price index was found.
  • Selling "Cordyceps" for thousands of rupees per gram is a common source of scams. Online training sellers and "buy-back" promoters should be checked for DMR links. Do not pay for spawn or machinery without a written, tested buyer.
  • The food-safety or licensing rules that apply to selling a dried cordyceps product as a supplement or a food in India are not verified here. Ask FSSAI or your district food safety office.
  • Subsidies: some state horticulture or mushroom schemes cover mushroom units. No rate that specifically covers Cordyceps has been verified. See subsidy finder.
💡 Tip: Before building anything, write to ICAR-DMR Solan for training and ask for the list of units already running the technology, then call two of them and ask what they sell, at what price, and to whom.

Sources