Mushroom industry prospers in Guiyang and Gui'an

On Feb 21, Zhou Xun, manager of Guizhou Mingwei Agricultural Technology Co, arrived at the edible mushroom cultivation base in Baiyun district of Guiyang, Southwest China's Guizhou province, to guide villagers in cultivating tricholoma matsutakes (a type of edible fungus).

"The ecological environment here is excellent, and the mushrooms grow in a natural state. They have a great taste and can rival wild mushrooms," Zhou Xun said.

In recent years, Guiyang City and Gui'an New Area have accelerated the implementation of edible mushroom supply and demonstration base project. Last year, they completed the construction of a vegetable production base with standardized facilities, thus increasing the city's vegetable self-sufficiency rate to 62 percent.

"Tricholoma matsutakes are characterized by their beautiful color, fresh taste, and tenderness. They are highly praised as a high-end delicacy in major hotels and are a popular mushroom variety in hotpot restaurants. Our products are mainly sold to Nanjing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, and are well received by consumers," Zhou added.

Zhou explained that cultivating tricholoma matsutakes does not require any fertilizers, as they grow under conditions close to the wild, with purely natural nutrients.

"We are closely connected with the Guizhou Institute of Biology and the Guizhou Edible Fungi Engineering Technology Research Center, and in the future, we will continue to expand our production scale and introduce other rare mushroom varieties," Zhou said.

An official from the Guiyang bureau of agriculture and rural affairs said that this year, Guiyang and Gui'an will establish 60 edible mushroom demonstration bases.