The cultivation experience of Huang Qinghe, a large-scale edible mushroom grower

    In Xiting Village, Xinglin, Jimei, Xiamen, there is a large-scale edible mushroom grower who uses cold-storage cultivation technology to make it possible to produce enoki mushrooms (Flammulina velutipes) all year round. 

    Huang Qinghe began growing mushrooms in the production team starting in the 1970s. After the household contract responsibility system was introduced, he began cultivating edible mushrooms on his own. Over more than 30 years, he has grown many edible mushroom varieties such as tea tree mushrooms (Agrocybe aegerita), pig stomach mushrooms, and shaggy mane mushrooms (Coprinus comatus), but in the end, he chose to use cold-storage cultivation for out-of-season enoki mushrooms. 

    Mushroom grower Huang Qinghe: Fewer people grow out-of-season enoki mushrooms, the yield is relatively uniform, and the economic returns are relatively high. 

    Enoki mushrooms are a low-temperature variety of edible mushroom, and the normal cultivation season is from December to February of the following year. Using cold-storage cultivation technology, Huang Qinghe makes it possible to produce enoki mushrooms all year round. Each year, the out-of-season enoki mushrooms he cultivates can reach more than 1 million bags, with an output value of nearly 3 million yuan. Of course, there is another important reason Huang Qinghe chose out-of-season cultivation of enoki mushrooms: the industry requires a relatively small land area. Under the very tight land-use conditions in Xiamen, Huang Qinghe believes that developing out-of-season enoki mushroom cultivation has great "money prospects."