Xiangshan used invasive plant for mushroom growing medium
- Details
- Category: Ningbo District
- Published: Tuesday, 15 January 2013 09:37
Ningbo's Xiangshan County recently succeeded in using solidago canadensis, an invasive plant, for growing medium for mushrooms. In the past year, Xiangshan County used more than 100 tons of the plant for agricultural use.
Solidago canadensis was introduced to China as an ornamental plant in 1935, and then it escaped into the wild. Due to its fast growth and prolific reproduction, it kills other vegetation and endangers local ecosystems and plants. Therefore, it is known as "eco-killer" and "flower king". In recent years, local governments started to give manpower and financial support in the prevention and control of the invasive plant.
In 2010, the Plant Protection Station of Xiangshan County began to explore the ecological prevention and control test on solidago canadensis. Their test showed that the plant is non-toxic and the protein it contains is as high as 22.28 percent in April and more than 12 percent in July. It can be used as livestock feed for rabbits, sheep, and cattle. However, the measure did not solve the environmental threaten brought by solidago canadensis completely.
The Plant Protection Station of Xiangshan County established a mushroom breeding base which used solidago Canadensis as growing medium for mushrooms last year,. They successfully produced a variety of the mushroomed in the base.
Data form the Plant Protection Station show that solidago canadensis can be used as an alternative to cotton seed hulls as mushrooms medium. Mushrooms even grow faster in it than conventional cotton seed hulls medium and are good in both size and taste. The total mushroom yield in the new method was nearly the same with conventional method.
According to a technologist in the Plant Protection Station, cultivating mushrooms in solidago is much more profitable. Conventional cotton seed hulls is priced at 3 yuan per kilogram while the crushed solidago stem cost only 1.5 yuan per kilogram, saving 50 percent in cost.
Take a mushroom breeding base in Daxu Twoship. The base, with 15 mu (2.47 acre) in area, needs an average yearly consumption of dry medium material of 60 tons. If using solidago instead of cotton seed hulls, it can save 90,000 yuan in cost and 20 million yuan as pest prevention and control. Besides, it can reduce environmental harm caused by chemical pest prevention and control.
The Plant Protection Station of Xiangshan County will continue to test their mushrooms cultivation in solidago medium. It will strive to discover appropriate medium materials ratio and promote the method in Ningbo.
