A Chinese proverb says: "If you eat morels every year, you can still go uphill at the age of 80." The morel is one of the four most famous edible mushrooms in the world and is considered the "queen of mushrooms" in many places. According to official statistics, morels from China have a share of over 99 percent of the world market. The edible mushrooms are mainly sold domestically, but some are also exported to Europe and the USA.
The province of Qinghai in northwest China is one of China's regions where wild morels can be found, says Sa Wei, head of the edible mushroom research team at Qinghai University, who is also vice director of the university's Institute for New Village Development. The region is very suitable for the cultivation of this edible mushroom because of its rather cold climate on average, says the mushroom scientist. Since morels grow quickly and are easy to cultivate, they are of great importance for the development of sustainable agriculture and poverty reduction in Qinghai province.
Since 2015, a team of doctoral students under the leadership of Sa Wei has been researching how morels can be cultivated in the region in a way that will yield high yields. Initially, the young scientists collected samples of wild morels throughout the province. By isolating tissue and spores from the samples, they then purified a group of mother plants. In order to be able to cultivate a fungus species suitable for artificial cultivation, Sa Wei and her colleagues also used mutagenesis during the cultivation of mother plants. Mutations are artificially created in the genome of living organisms in order to achieve a greater variety and then to be able to select organisms with the desired characteristics. After this step the selected mother plants were tested.
Successful trial
The experiment of the edible mushroom research team at Qinghai University was successful. Now, morel cultivation has developed into a new industry in Qinghai province that can help poor farmers out of poverty. For in spreading morel cultivation, Sa Wei and his colleagues have been thinking about how as many poor families as possible can benefit from it. To achieve this goal, the experts from Qinghai University went to several vegetable greenhouses where the morels were to be grown for agricultural consultations. There the local farmers were able to get advice from the experts, gain more knowledge and try out appropriate cultivation techniques themselves. Through such technical assistance missions, farmers, including many from poor families, were inspired and motivated to cultivate morels. In addition, Sa Wei and his team are ready to answer all questions about morel cultivation around the clock by telephone or Wechat.
In addition to providing scientific and technical support, the Sa Wei team also strives to spread the idea of sustainable development. For example, it has been proposed to reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers. Sa Wei explained that in the short term, the harvest will probably be smaller, but in the long term, the quality of the morels could be improved. This would protect soil conditions and improve the ecosystem. Sustainable development is the way for farmers to lift themselves out of poverty and achieve prosperity.
Ongoing cooperation
In the meantime, the edible mushroom research team at Qinghai University is cooperating with many local companies in the province. The aim is to realize a scientific development of morel cultivation in Qinghai. The morel is now a good opportunity for local farmers and companies in the region to earn money.
Source: German.cri.cn