What edible mushrooms can be cultivated on sugarcane, and the uses of sugarcane bagasse for growing mushrooms

In Chengmai, Hainan, there is a company that grows edible mushrooms on sugarcane!

"This is the oyster mushroom, crisp and fresh in taste, hailed as the finest of mushrooms," said Wang Zehong, the company's manager, snapping a mushroom off a substrate log while recalling: "In the past, all edible mushrooms on Hainan Island were transported from the mainland, at high cost, and once summer came, with even higher temperatures, plus their poor shipping tolerance, edible mushrooms were rarely seen on the market."

Seeing a business opportunity, Wang Zehong began trying to grow edible mushrooms locally.

"Unlike traditional edible mushroom cultivation, our substrate logs are made from sugarcane bagasse," Wang Zehong said, grabbing a handful of sugarcane bagasse and explaining: "Hainan is a sugarcane-producing region. We use the sugarcane bagasse left after sugar extraction and sawdust, fermenting them together to make mushroom substrate bags."

"We can produce mushrooms at any time, and different varieties of mushrooms. Mushrooms shipped in from the mainland are nowhere near as fresh as ours!" Wang Zehong said proudly when talking about his mushrooms.

Now, Wang Zehong's fresh mushrooms are welcomed by the local market. Next, Wang Zehong is preparing to expand the factory and continue to scale up production.