CHINA
‘Modern Agaricus growing requires a high technical level and
management levels must be adequate to
cope right from the start’
from Sylvan and CEFA and the ISMS President. The Chinese Mushroom Days were officially opened on 15 November with words of welcome from various officials and branch representa- tives. A central wish expressed in the speeches was that China, and Zhangzhou in particular as the centre of mushroom growing, would develop a greater openness to new technology, marketing and international communication and partnerships. A more ‘down to earth’ approach to guide healthy further development of the ever-expanding sector. On behalf of the foreign guests and the ISMS, Greg Seymour – rightly so – shone the spotlights on the organisers, the many volunteers who made the event possible, and especially the ‘dynamic duo’ Mr Liu and Mr Huang. “They have made incredible efforts behind the scenes.”
Chang, Seymour and Wach Professor S.T. Chang spoke, and not for the first time, on the immense role mushrooms can play in solving global issues relating to the environment (waste processing), the world food supply and health. He hoped that more interna- tional research can be conducted into practical applications of mushrooms, and that mushroom biology would become a standard feature of the university curriculum. ISMS President Seymour invited everyone to travel to the Netherlands in May and June 2016 for the spectacular Mushroom Week, a double bill comprising the Dutch Mushroom Days and the ISMS conference. He clarified the packed programme, which already numbers 250 lectures and poster sessions, which will be presented next year. “Mushroom Week is the perfect opportunity for all producers, scientist and sup- pliers to converge. It looks set to be the ‘greatest week’ the mushroom world has ever seen!” Mark Wach from Sylvan America followed with an interesting speech on the development of mushroom varieties in China since Agaricus bisporus was introduced there in the 1920s. In the 1990s, 75% of mushroom production took place in Fujian, with harvesting often only taking place once during winter. “Cultivation was primitive, but elegant, but a variety was needed that suited the specific conditions.” In the west in the 1980s, the U1 (fresh market) and U3 (processing industry) had become the standard varieties, in China the range included the 8213. In 1989 Dr Wang created the AS2796, a strain combining the good production of western varieties and the good quality of the 8213. This became the standard in the 1990s. “Creating a
16 MUSHROOM BUSINESS
Prof. Jianchun Huang, Deputy Director of the Institute of Edible Fungi of SAAS during his lecture. In next issue, we will report on a visit we made to SAAS in the slipstream of the Mushroom Days.
new variety was a huge undertaking at the time, as all the crosses and descendants had to be cultivated physically!” Western varieties such as the mid-range hybrid A15 were introduced in China, but these strains peaked too short with high production and many mushrooms were left unpicked. The Chinese mushrooms on the contrary gave lower, but better spread produc- tion. Sylvan then proceeded to develop varieties with FMRDS of Dr Wang, for both conventional and modern cultivation systems. The AS2796 was crossed with highly productive western strains, and this resulted in 2007 (after 18 years) in two new varieties, the W192 and the W2000, both of which give 15 to 20% higher production than the AS2796. There are some differences with western varieties. In general, the Chinese market prefers a flatter, less round cap than the west. The A15 is rounder than the W192. The W192 is more suitable for transport without cooling, while according to Wach, the A15 gives slightly higher production in three flushes. “With the emergence of large, commercial mushroom farms comes a growing demand for varieties that combine the qualities of the W192 and the A15. From next summer, Sylvan will be taking new strides with its Chinese partners towards developing new, successful varieties, as we have done for the past 20 years.”
Challenges facing mushroom growing
Prof. Jianchun Huang, Deputy Director of the Institute of Edible Fungi of the Shanghai Acad- emy of Agricultural Sciences then spoke on the challenges facing industrialised Agaricus growing in China. In his view there is still a lack of truly modern, climate controlled mushroom farms in the country, and Dutch-style modern, indoor composting plants. “These systems have been known and promoted since 1988, but except for on a few large, pioneering farms, have not been introduced widely.” The professor listed the obstacles still hampering the sector. For instance, the raw materials are not stable enough and of lesser quality than in other major production
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