Sonepat, March 28 (PTI): Sonepat district in Haryana has witnessed mushroom production of 2,040 metric tonnes against the target of 2,100 metric tonnes for 2006-07, leading for the seventh consecutive year in the country.

Announcing this here today, Deputy Commissioner D P S Nagal told media persons that the production of mushroom in the district was "the highest in the country".

He claimed that more than 75 per cent of Haryana's mushroom is being produced in this district alone.

The credit for starting mushroom production in Sonepat goes to the farmers of Bhadana village, who during 1984 got a short-duration training in mushroom production from Himachal Pradesh, he said.

Today, the mushroom cultivation has been taken up in about 100 villages of the district.

He said the mushroom growers have a ready market in Delhi, where they take the produce to Azadpur market.

About 20 truckloads of mushroom are sent to Delhi every day where NAFED purchases it in bulk for processing units.