On October 8, staffs working in Tianping Mushroom Base of Tianping Town, Yuping County, Guizhou Province of China are plunging into the picking, airing and packing work of Agrocybe cylindracea.
Operated in January, 2018, Tianping Mushroom Base carries 22.264 million CNY of gross input and occupies 100 mu of area, up to now, 43 steel-frame mushroom greenhouses that absorb 1.8 million bags have been built within the base.
“From January to now, 5 times of fruiting have been realized, gross mushroom production totaled over 800,000 kg and total production value hit above 6.1 million CNY,” said related principal passionately, continuing that in 2019, Tianping Mushroom Base proposes to expand the scale, annually input 3.8 million bags so as to achieve the projected annual production value of 21 million CNY while it also plans to lead at least 100 masses to embark on this promising industry.

hiitake is an edible mushroom which is mostly used in Japanese and Chinese cooking where it grows naturally. For centuries the mushroom has been grown in the far east and is praised for its healing abilities. Shiitake mushroom contains vitamin B and C, resulting in the increase of the natural resistance of the human body and it is also known to lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
The global Shiitake mushroom market has witnessed constant demand during the last few years and is projected to reach USD 35.4 billion at a CAGR of 15.31% by 2023. Moreover, increasing popularity of Shiitake mushroom in cosmetics is adding fuel to the growth of Shiitake mushroom. High consumption of Shiitake mushroom in Asia Pacific, mainly in China is influencing the market growth since last few years.
Shiitake mushrooms are like Portabella in that they have a meaty flavor and texture and are best cooked. When cooked, Shiitakes release a garlic-pine aroma and have a rich, earthy, umami flavor. It was also a surprise to discover that Shiitake mushrooms are a good source of protein, good enough to replace beef even.
China is hailed as The World’s Largest Mushroom Producer And Exporter. According to statistical data displayed by CIEDATA, from January to June of 2018, China’s gross export on dried mushroom totaled 96,795 tons, up 25.7%. And, since 2014, mushroom export has been revealing a steady growth in China.
On aspect of export value, from January to June of 2018, China’s gross export value on dried mushroom hit 161.593 million CNY, up 37.1%.

Fungi can be used to break down waste plastic and create sustainable building materials, according to scientists from Kew Gardens in London.

The State of the World's Fungi 2018 report – the first of its kind – highlights the aspergillus tubingensis fungus, found in a Pakistani rubbish tip and first documented in 2017. It claims this substance can break down plastic in weeks rather than years.

Researchers say it could be used to deal with the global plastic-waste crisis, which has caused concern in the design industry and beyond.

Aspergillus tubingensis can grow on the surface of plastics, where it secretes enzymes that break the chemical bonds between plastic molecules.

"This ability thus has potential to be developed into one of the tools desperately needed to address the growing environmental problem of plastic waste," reads the report.

For the full report, please click here

What is the absolute moisture content of the air? Or the enthalpy of the air? More and more growers have a handy app that reads out these values. I always ask: “What do you do with this data?” I don’t always get an answer. Because it’s not about the numbers. The best way to understand this is to use a sponge as an example. It’s much clear and you can combine it with the Mollier diagram. Use this link to download the coloured Mollier diagram (pdf).

A sponge?

Air can be compared to a sponge. As air cools, it shrinks. This means its holds less moisture. The same thing happens if you squeeze a wet sponge. So how does this work in the Mollier diagram? Trace the blue line straight downwards and the diagram will literally show you what happens. The temperature drops and the RH rises. Following the lines in the Mollier diagram gives you insight into what happens to the climate. Simply reading values in an app doesn’t give you the same understanding. My philosophy is to draw lines on the diagram. Doing this will teach you much more about the effects on the climate that just reading some figures!

Conclusion: download the Mollier diagram and place it close to the climate controller so you gain a better understanding of what the climate controller does. If this doesn’t work, there are two options:
The basic settings in the climate controller are incorrect. In my consultancy role I often ask: “Why is the growing room climate set this way?” The answer is sometimes: “The computer controls and regulates the climate”. But who controls the computer? You do, so you have to understand how it works! If not, ask your advisor or installer for help.

Or

You don’t understand fully how the Mollier diagram works. For a good, step-by-step explanation take a look at chapter 6 about the Mollier diagram in the Mushroom Signals book. This chapter clearly explains all the principles of how to read and understand the diagram.

Mark den Ouden, Mushroom Office

Master class course 22-27 October is almost fully booked, next course 18-23 February 2019!

In China, production and marketing of Shiitake mushroom is transformed by cultivation season. For example, in Southern China, intensive marketing time of Shiitake mushroom is from November to next April, however, in northern part, the time starts from September to next June, plus with the marketing time from April to October in high-altitude and cold area, which indicates the year-round marketing. And, as the marketing time and region vary from product to product, price of mushroom products also shows diverse change rules.
From 2012 to 2017, output of Shiitake mushroom ranked first amongst those of all mushroom varieties in China. In previous years, consumption growth of fresh Shiitake mushroom and its desirable market quotation considerably extended the cultivation area, Zhejiang, Fujian, Henan and Hubei Province became “China’s Main Four Production Regions of Shiitake mushroom”.
In recent years, driven by Western Development, Precise Poverty Alleviation and other national policies, large-scale Shiitake mushroom cropping has been expanded to Guizhou, Yunnan, Hebei, Sichuan, Shandong, Shanxi Province and Northeast China, rapid growth on national Shiitake output and surplus primary products flutuate or even decline the market price tendency of Shiitake mushroom.
On aspect of export of Shiitake mushroom products in China, it reveals a steady growth trend. According to data from Chinese Customs, from January to November of 2017, China’s gross export volume of Shiitake mushroom came to 132623.3 tons, average unit price was at 13,949.7 USD per ton, fell by 2,2%. And, from 2014 to 2017, both export volume and export value of Shiitake mushroom showed an sustained growth trend in China.

On September 30, trial cultivation of Pleurotus djamor (Pink Oyster mushroom) launched by R&D Center of Zhejiang University gets succeeded.
“Pleurotus djamor is a kind of rare, edible and medicinal mushroom which also carries ornamental value, and it could be artificially cultivated by straws as carbon source,” introduces Mr. Chen Zaiming, chief expert of Zhejiang University kindly.
Pleurotus djamor is a burgeoning health food which contains high protein and low fat. Compared with Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus djamor is low on moisture and fat, and high in carbohydrate, cellulose and mineral substances.
Related research indicates that mycelia polysaccharide of Pleurotus djamor helps improve the glycometabolism and lipid metabolism of diabetic mice, alleviate the damage to organism caused by oxidative stress and prevent the occurrence and development of diabetic complication.
Mycelia polysaccharide of Pleurotus djamor holds abirritant properties, it could be applied in health food industry and shows broad and bright market prospect.

Now, in Chengdu Huiguyuan Technology Co., LTD which stands in Pingle Village, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province of China, Yellow Enoki mushrooms are in desirable growth tendency.
“Compared with traditional inoculation pattern of solid spawn, liquid spawn inoculation greatly lifts production efficiency,” said Mr. Li Zongtang, general manager of the company warmly, going on that production time for solid spawn is 60 days while it takes 7 days to output liquid spawn. And during the production process, liquid spawn inoculates 10,000 bags each person per day.
Founded in April, 2016, Chengdu Huiguyuan Technology Co., LTD occupies an area of 128.24 mu and carries the gross investment of 120 million CNY. Now, the company sets production, R&D and marketing of edible mushroom into one, products enjoy good market in China. In 2018, the company proposes to broaden its scale, and promote itself into the largest Yellow Enoki mushroom producer which holds the estimated annual output of 30,000 tons and the expected annual output value of over 100 million CNY in Southwest China.

Lin County, Shanxi Province of China lies in Yellow River Valley, and the junction part of Shanxi and Shaanxi Province. It covers 2979 square kilometers, governs 23 villages and towns totalling 631 administrative villages. Besides, Lin County holds over 655,400 of gross population, of which 547,500 engage in agriculture industry.
Mushroom industry began to emerge in 2014 in Lin County, starting from scratch, by now, 12 villages and towns totalling over 2000 population have been encouraged to launch into mushroom growing while mushroom industry has been seen as the NEW ENGINE that leads local masses to increase revenues and grow affluent.
In Lin County, total area for Shiitake farming reaches over 560 mu, annual output on fresh Shiitake comes to 7.5 million kg, annual production value hits 15 million CNY while Lin County has become the largest Shiitake producer in Shanxi Province, China. In addition, in recent years, the county positively relies on its resource advantage on jujube tree to boost Shiitake cultivation, Shiitake mushrooms cultivated via jujube trees contain multiple trace elements required by human body, and they gain popularity by general consumers.
Nowadays, Fenglin Modern Agricultural Technology Co., LTD is the largest mushroom producer in Lin County. The company adopts frame-pattern Shiitake cultivation in fruiting shed. And each fruiting shed generally absorbs 10,000 logs, each 2 logs output 1.5 kg.
“We currently hold 44 high-standard sunlight greenhouses, 33 Shiitake greenhouses, a processing factory of Shiitake log that occupies 1500 square meters, 2 refrigeration houses that cover 200 square meters and 1 spawn room, annual output on fresh mushroom comes to 400,000 kg and 4 million of mushroom logs could be annually processed,” introduces related principal from Fenglin Company detailedly.