What varieties of edible mushrooms should be chosen for high economic returns?

The edible mushroom market has been sluggish this year, and except for some areas, most mushroom growers have seen low production returns. However, most growers still choose to continue edible mushroom production, so which varieties should be chosen this year to safeguard their production returns? The author now organizes his views as follows, for exchange and discussion with the broad community of mushroom growers and edible mushroom enterprises.

I. The market basis for variety selection

The choice of cultivated varieties should be based on the following foundations, rather than blindly following what others say.

Obtain first-hand information through market surveys, or through visits and consultations, then analyze it, and only then can you ultimately arrive at information that suits you. This is the theoretical summary. In reality, for example, if we find that the local market already has oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, tea tree mushrooms, shimeji mushrooms, as well as enoki mushrooms and king oyster mushrooms, and the latter two varieties belong to facility-based production, we can draw this conclusion through analysis: since fresh oyster mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms and the like are not being produced by anyone, can we make a production decision based on this?

Taking Shandong as an example, small-scale growers mostly produce oyster mushrooms, while facility-based production mostly involves enoki mushrooms and king oyster mushrooms. If the investment is small, one might as well produce long-cycle products such as reishi mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms, "doing what others do not do," selling dried goods slowly. Producers with strength can produce flower shiitake and thick shiitake, "doing what others do not have," winning through quality. Large companies or cooperatives should take brand building as the first priority, and can give comprehensive consideration to the above foundations, then select varieties, pair them with corresponding new technologies, and build their own brand. As long as the enterprise's brand is remembered by consumers, product sales will naturally not be a problem.

II. The technical basis for variety selection

Technology is a very important foundational condition, especially for high-grade rare edible mushroom varieties, whose cultivation is technically difficult, with poor stability, poor reproducibility, and low and unstable yields. This year, many people consulted about morel mushrooms, mostly attracted by their high market price. However, this variety currently has two major problems troubling production: first, poor reproducibility, with low and unstable yields - for example, if the previous cultivation yield reached 200 kg/mu, the next time not a single mushroom may appear; second, the variety (or strain) problem - the strain that can be cultivated artificially to fruit is the black strain, and there is no nearly translucent milky-white strain, and the market values of the two differ greatly.

III. The hardware basis for variety selection

This issue is essentially a matter of investment amount. For example, with only tens of thousands of yuan in investment, it is recommended to build greenhouses for seasonal production; if there is money left over, corresponding temperature control equipment can be installed to achieve better production results. At an investment level of several hundred thousand yuan, higher-quality mushroom shed facilities can be built, with temperature, humidity and ventilation control equipment installed. If the investment is several million yuan, it is recommended to carry out zoned production - either investing on one's own or leveraging the appeal of a cooperative; a zone with dozens or hundreds of mushroom sheds will have a very good promotional and driving effect on future marketing. If the investment is tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yuan, it is recommended to carry out facility-based production, with full control of temperature, humidity, air and light - though automatic control is not necessarily required; stage-based computer control can be used to achieve automation within a certain period, rather than full-process one-time automatic control.

IV. Selecting varieties according to the latest technologies

This approach offers broader options: for example, the relatively new technology of "selenium-enriched edible mushrooms" currently covers almost all edible mushroom varieties, and "functional edible mushrooms" also encompasses more than twenty varieties. Within their scope, varieties can then be selected according to one's own strength and market conditions, making the choice more targeted.

V. Specific variety (strain) recommendations

Oyster mushroom: mainly recommend the medium-wide temperature strains 8359 and 2020, which can be used in the medium-high temperature season in northern regions; the medium-low temperature strains 2006 and 83 You can fruit in autumn and winter in the central and northern regions.

Enoki mushroom: for yellow strains, options include Jinza 19 and Huangjin; for white strains, options include Baijin and Baijin No. 3.

Shaggy mane mushroom: large-sized strains mainly include Cc168 and Nongke 258; whitish strains include Cc833 and Dabai Ji; a new strain suited to facility cultivation is the long-stemmed shaggy mane, especially suitable for cave cultivation, with good commercial quality.

Shiitake mushroom: for cultivating flower shiitake, choose "Luhua No. 1"; this strain can also cultivate thick shiitake; for cultivating thick shiitake, choose 1363 and others.

Button mushroom: recommend the "2796" strain from the Fujian Mushroom Spawn Research and Extension Station.

Straw mushroom: for large-sized spawn, choose V23; for medium-sized strains, choose V35 and V42; these large and medium-sized strains are especially popular.

Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus): medium-high temperature strains mainly include Xiaoping No. 1; medium-low temperature strains mainly include the PJ series strains.

Tea tree mushroom: mainly includes strains such as Tea Tree Mushroom 101, Tea Tree Mushroom No. 5 and Tea Tree Mushroom No. 2.

King oyster mushroom: mainly includes strains such as XZ-1 and XB-1.