A business in Ho Chi Minh City has ordered scientists to research black termite mushroom cultivation techniques using IoT technology to proactively monitor environmental indicators, thereby reducing the risk of fungal infection and increasing productivity.
Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, owner of the black termite mushroom farm in Cu Chi, said that more than 3 years ago he cooperated with experts and scientists to research black termite mushroom growing techniques using IoT technology. The mushrooms are grown in 20-foot containers. Inside the container, there are temperature, humidity, light, and CO2 concentration sensors to help managers monitor environmental indicators and control equipment to operate appropriately for each stage of mushroom growth.
Black termite mushrooms grown using IoT technology. Photo: NVCC
According to Mr. Tuan, digitizing and storing mushroom growing and care data helps farm owners build traceability tools, aiming to export black termite mushrooms to other countries.
Normally, black termite mushrooms are easily infected with bacteria, affecting their quality, and even spoiling them, making them unusable, causing farmers to lose money. Previously, when using traditional growing methods, Mr. Tuan had to throw away tens of thousands of bags of mushroom spawn because of bacterial contamination. When applying IoT, the fungal contamination decreased, the mushrooms grew stably, and productivity increased. When applying the IoT method, productivity reached 0.22 - 0.25 kg per bag of spawn (normally 1.8 - 2 kg).
In 2022, Mr. Tuan planted black termite mushrooms on a scale of 20,000 bags of spawn, yielding 4.8 tons of fresh mushrooms, reaching more than 1.4 billion VND. "Most importantly, the IoT solution reduces fungal infections, reducing damage to farmers," he said. When applying IoT, it is possible to set up the most optimal environmental indicators, adding indicators on nitrogen concentration, alkalinity... to create an environment similar to mushrooms in nature, helping to increase productivity by shortening care time, increasing the number of harvests per year.
Monitor and set up mushroom farm environmental indicators on your phone. Photo: Ha An
Mr. Pham Van Binh, Director of Agiconnect Company, said that this technology helps farmers manage mushroom farms anytime, anywhere, saving labor, collected data helps manage risks when growing, mushroom yield is stable, not dependent on the weather.
According to calculations, with an investment scale of a 50 m2 mushroom house for about 5,000 - 6,000 bags of spawn, the cost for a set of IoT devices is about 15 million VND. In addition to IoT devices, farmers need to invest in factories, seeds, cooling systems, fans, LED lights, electricity, water, etc. Mr. Binh shared that the total cost for one kilogram of mushrooms is about 113,000 VND for a growing season lasting about 4 - 5 months.
According to Master Phan Huu Tin, Institute of Biotechnology and Environment Research, Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry, black termite mushrooms are a food with high nutritional and economic value, with a price of 180,000 - 300,000 VND per kilogram depending on the type. Regarding cultivation techniques, he said that the sterilization stage is the most important in the process of cultivating black termite mushrooms. Sterilization using a steamer at a temperature of 100 - 121 degrees Celsius helps eliminate all living bacteria in the spawn bag, helping the mushrooms to grow stably. The steaming time at 100 degrees Celsius is about 10 - 12 hours and 5 hours if steaming at 121 degrees Celsius.
Regarding the scale of investment in steaming ovens, Mr. Tin advised farmers to buy ovens with a capacity of 2,000 bags or more. If using a low-capacity steaming oven, they will have to steam many times, which will not take advantage of labor and empty house space. In addition to rubber sawdust as a substrate, black termite mushrooms need to be supplemented with corn bran (5%), soybean bran (5%), and sugar (1%) when packing to have nutrients for rapid growth.
Ha An
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