A villager harvests morel mushrooms. [Photo/jiading.gov.cn]
Anting town in Shanghai's Jiading district has begun the large-scale harvest of its first trial crop of morel mushrooms, grown under the forest canopy.
The greenhouses near Qingshi Bridge are bustling as villagers gather the fresh mushrooms, which resemble small brown umbrellas. Villager Zhang Jianhua, part of the Xiaozhang Agricultural Cooperative, said that they can collect over 80 pounds on a good day.
After harvesting, the morels are sorted, cleaned, and dried to prevent spoilage. The mushrooms, with a water content of 85 percent, are typically sold dried to extend their shelf life from one or two days to one or two years.
The project not only addresses labor needs but also creates local jobs. Zhou Yi, deputy director of the Anting Town Forestry Office, highlighted the success of the "work-for-relief" model, which has created jobs for over 80 villagers since last year's saffron trial.
The organic morel mushroom project uses a green management approach, resulting in no pollution.
The morel mushroom plantation in Anting town. [Photo/jiading.gov.cn]