The Chinese have quietly achieved a breakthrough in the free cultivation of morels

As one of the four famous mushrooms in the world, Morchella is expensive in the international market. The production of wild Morchella is extremely limited, and large-scale collection has caused some genetic resources to be on the verge of extinction. However, thanks to the scientific research team of the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China has made breakthroughs in the high-yield and stable-yield technology of artificial cultivation of Morchella, and China can now eat the cheapest Morchella in the world.

Edible value of morels

Morels have a unique taste and flavor, and contain 18 kinds of amino acids, including 8 essential amino acids that the human body cannot synthesize.

Its rich nutritional ingredients and important medicinal value make Morchella a "natural, nutritious, and multifunctional" health food. Due to the extremely limited production of wild Morchella, the demand for it in the domestic and foreign markets exceeds the supply, and large-scale collection has led to the extinction of some genetic resources.

my country starts systematic research on fungi

To promote the protection and sustainable use of many important fungi including morels, the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has launched a systematic study of large fungi in southwest my country.

After nearly half a century of discipline construction and talent cultivation, an important team of domestic and international mycology research has been formed. The research covers fungal systematics, fungal developmental biology, biogeography, fungal chemistry, conservation biology, and domestication and cultivation of rare fungi.

Since 2007, researchers have continued to collect, evaluate and select excellent strains of Morchella germplasm resources in my country, and have obtained more than 8,920 strains.

The study found that China is the global modern species diversity center of the genus Morchella, and screened out more than 30 high-quality and high-yield core germplasms of Morchella, including "Kunzhi No. 1" and "Kunzhi No. 2". The study also proved that 14 species such as Morchella tiliacea and Morchella liumei were all heterothallic, revealing the complex life history of Morchella.

Kunming Institute of Botany publishes relevant patents and papers

The study also found that unstable yield was caused by the rapid degeneration of the strain. By utilizing the specificity of the mating type gene, an innovative early "1+1 mating type gene" detection technology was proposed to determine whether the production strain was degenerating, solving the problem of detecting high-yield and stable-yield strains of Morel.

Through the continuous efforts of scientific researchers, fruitful results have been achieved in the research of Morchella, and 19 related articles have been published. 33 national invention patents have been applied for, 12 national invention patents have been authorized, and 2 provincial and ministerial science and technology awards have been won. These theoretical and technological innovations provide a solid theoretical foundation and strong technical support for the high-yield and stable-yield cultivation of Morchella.

Creating a new cultivation and management model for morels

In order to resolve the contradiction between supply and demand of morels, protect morel resources, and achieve sustainable development and benefit sharing, the scientific research team creatively proposed new planting and management models of "spring sowing and summer harvest", "summer sowing and autumn harvest" and "autumn sowing and winter harvest".

The mushroom success rate of field cultivation has been increased by 20-30%, and the cultivation cycle has been shortened from 120-180 days to 60-100 days, achieving efficient cultivation of Morchella in the field all year round. Recently, the research team has also achieved success in factory cultivation of Morchella, creating a new way to utilize this type of resource.

Large-scale cultivation of morels

Morels have now been cultivated in a standardized and large-scale manner. Currently, the area of ​​morel cultivation is growing continuously in Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu, Guizhou, Chongqing and other provinces and cities in my country.

The total number of demonstration plantings in the country has reached more than 16,800 mu, with economic benefits of more than 150 million yuan, effectively contributing to the "industrial poverty alleviation" and "rural revitalization" of remote mountainous areas. The project has been well received by local governments, enterprises and farmers, and has significantly reduced the picking of wild morels.