Screening of high economic value mushroom varieties

Oyster mushrooms are screened and cultivated at Lam Dong Center for Science and Technology Application.

Research has shown that they contain compounds with antioxidant, anti-cancer and antibacterial properties, which play an important role in preventing and supporting the treatment of many cardiovascular diseases, blood lipids, detoxifying and protecting liver cells. Therefore, edible and medicinal mushrooms are increasingly becoming valuable resources for medicine and the food processing industry.

There are about 2,000 species of edible mushrooms in the world, of which 80 delicious, medicinally strong mushrooms are selected for artificial cultivation. In Vietnam, mushroom cultivation is increasingly developing with popular cultivated mushrooms such as: black fungus, straw mushroom, button mushroom, oyster mushroom, shiitake mushroom, enoki mushroom, lingzhi mushroom, cordyceps, termite mushroom... Lam Dong is a place with rich biodiversity with 3 climate zones according to different altitudes from less than 500 m to more than 1,000 m above sea level, with high humidity, high rainfall, many precious mushroom species distributed in nature. At the same time, it is also very suitable for developing year-round cultivation of edible and medicinal mushrooms, especially mushrooms with high medicinal properties and economic value such as: lingzhi, cordyceps, lingzhi, and yunzhi mushrooms... Currently, the whole province has about 115 hectares of mushroom cultivation with an output of nearly 4,500 tons/year, but still cannot meet domestic consumption and processing needs, especially medicinal mushrooms that are mainly grown in Lam Dong.

However, the mushroom farming industry is currently facing many challenges, especially the problem of seed degeneration. Although current mushroom varieties have been developed and widely used, after a period of cultivation of 8 - 12 crops (equivalent to about 3 - 5 years), their quality and productivity decrease significantly.

Faced with that situation, to ensure sustainable development in mushroom cultivation, Lam Dong Center for Science and Technology Application has chaired the grassroots science and technology task "Screening and exploiting some edible and medicinal mushroom species of economic value". The project has been implemented since November 2023 with the goal of preserving, selecting and exploiting mushroom varieties of economic value, in order to develop sustainable mushroom cultivation in the province. Based on 91 edible and medicinal mushroom varieties being preserved, after more than 1 year of implementing the project, a group of experts, technicians and scientists from Lam Dong Center for Science and Technology Application have evaluated, screened and retained mushroom varieties with potential for development in production. The evaluation criteria include: stable cultivation ability, high economic value, commercial development potential, indigenous origin and biodiversity value.

Through evaluation, up to now, the Center has screened and retained 60 varieties of edible and medicinal mushrooms. These varieties have been isolated and cultured on improved PDA medium to ensure the preservation of fungal gene sources for research, training and providing mushroom varieties to individuals, businesses and production facilities in and outside the province in need. In particular, PDA (Potato Dextrose Agar) medium is a common microbial culture medium made from potato starch and dextrose; this is also a versatile medium for fungi that can be supplemented with acid or antibiotics to inhibit bacterial growth.

Master Nguyen Nhu Chuong - Deputy Director of Lam Dong Center for Science and Technology Application affirmed that the screening results are an important step in increasing mushroom production, while contributing to improving the quality and productivity of mushroom varieties. The project "Screening and exploitation of some edible and medicinal mushroom species of economic value" will contribute to the development of mushroom cultivation in Lam Dong, increase economic value for the community, and at the same time preserve and promote the value of biodiversity, and conserve the gene source of indigenous mushroom species.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/kinh-te/202504/sang-loc-giong-nam-gia-tri-kinh-te-cao-bac4a3c/