Small Chinese town bets on mushroom to become prosperous

At the greenhouse of Luju Family Plantation in Juancheng county of Shandong province, rows of mushroom sticks are neatly arranged, with the dense "heads" of oyster mushrooms peaking and the small-umbrella-like layered mushroom caps stretching open, fresh and plump.

The Lu Mushroom Family Plantation, owned by Liu Shuguang in Tucheliu new village under Yinma town, displayed the vitality of life during the cold winter days.

Uncovering a black plastic film in front of him, Liu revealed rows of "dormant" mushroom sticks, saying "These mushroom sticks grow well around the Spring Festival holiday, selling a price twice as much as the ordinary prices".

Having been devoted to the cultivation and sales of oyster mushroom since 1996, Liu not only focused on their cultivation and sales, but also on the production and operation of their strains, making him rich as a well-known mushroom grower with these two businesses.

Years of planting experience have enabled Liu to have a thorough understanding of every aspect of oyster mushroom cultivation, covering careful control of temperature, humidity and lighting in his greenhouse, and the growth rhythm of the mushrooms. With a keen insight in the market, he can sell for the best price.

Juancheng, which is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Heze, administers two sub-districts and 15 towns with a total population of over 923,000. The county's regional GDP reached some 31 billion yuan ($4.36 billion) in 2024, a rise of 6.5 percent year-on-year.

Back in 2023, the county's total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery hit 6.516 billion yuan, an annual increase of 4.5 percent at comparable prices.

Liu noted that in Yinma town, the local residents are promoting the mushroom industry to boost their cash income.

Stressing that high-quality bacterial strains are the key to a bountiful harvest of oyster mushrooms, Liu can strictly control the selection of materials from the beginning, using locally abundant corn cobs and cotton husks as the main raw materials. Through a series of processes such as careful proportioning, mixing, bagging and sterilization, his high-quality bacterial strains are produced.

He not only used these strains himself but also sold them to nearby regions, winning widespread praise from the customers.

It has been learned that in Juancheng, the number of agricultural processing enterprises with an annual sales income of at least 20 million yuan each reached 105 by the end of 2024.

Please contact the writer at hanjingyan@chinadaily.com.cn.