New Innovative Shiitake Cultivation Technology in Morioka, Japan Improves Quality and Production Efficiency

Recently, an agricultural planning project in Morioka City, Japan has implemented an innovative new model for characteristic shiitake mushroom cultivation. It adopts the rarely-seen hanging mycelium-block cultivation method for standardized shiitake production. Through technological innovation, it solves pain points of traditional cultivation, achieving multi-fold improvements in shiitake quality, yield and work efficiency, and injecting new vitality into the development of the local specialty edible-mushroom industry.

The production base was renovated from an idle apple-storage warehouse, with around 25,000 hanging mycelium blocks installed to realize large-scale cultivation. This cultivation system was developed by corporate representative Noboru Sasaki, who has been engaged in shiitake mycelium-block cultivation since 1992. Aiming at the drawbacks of traditional rack-based cultivation — including poor ventilation, frequent pest infestations, and unstable quality and yield — he created the hanging-cultivation technique drawing on the principles of scallop aquaculture.

With this technology, five mycelium blocks are strung onto 1.7-meter glass-fiber rods, leaving a 20-centimeter gap between each block. This setup prevents physical collision among mushroom blocks while ensuring clean and sufficient airflow, effectively curbing pest outbreaks and enhancing shiitake quality. Meanwhile, the hanging design eliminates the need for bending over during harvesting, greatly reducing labor intensity and markedly boosting planting efficiency and total output.

In addition, the project has released a 30-second promotional short video. Adopting a fighting-game style, the clip popularizes delicious shiitake-cooking methods and expands product promotion channels.

Noboru Sasaki stated that he will keep exploring innovative cultivation technologies in the future, steadily supply safe and high-quality shiitake mushrooms, fully safeguard food quality for consumers, and support the high-quality development of Morioka City’s specialty agricultural brands.

(Source: news.yahoo)