Yizhou mushroom boosts farmers' income

Yizhou district in Hechi city has focused on characteristic planting and breeding industries in recent years, making full use of idle fields in winter and summer, Guangxi Daily reported on Jan 17.

The district has actively introduced and promoted advanced edible mushroom cultivation techniques, establishing several mushroom cultivation demonstration bases that integrate variety selection, planting production, and demonstration promotion. These bases also offer valuable employment opportunities for locals.

"This field is planted with wine caps (Stropharia rugosoannulata). It is cold-resistant and does not require greenhouses, utilizing idle winter fields for cultivation," said Mo Wenxi, head of the demonstration base in Dali village, Luoxi town, Yizhou district. 

"This cluster of wine caps weighs about 350 grams and sells for 7 yuan ($0.96) per kilogram. Currently, the output of the base reaches 1,000 to 3,000 kilograms per day," Mo said.

The demonstration base in Dali village currently has 20 mu (1.33 hectares) of mushroom cultivation, with a total production of over 50,000 kg and an estimated sales income of over 500,000 yuan. Seven residents work daily at the demonstration base, and during peak harvest times, over 20 villagers are hired to help with the harvest.

As of now, Yizhou has established two winter idle field mushroom cultivation demonstration bases. Statistics for the first three quarters of 2024 show that Yizhou's vegetable (including edible mushrooms) production reached 603,900 metric tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.85 percent, with edible mushroom production reaching 25,700 tons.