A farmer in Phu Yen successfully grows black termite mushrooms that taste like ginseng and sell for 250,000 VND/kg.

Currently, Mr. Nguyen Duc Hiep, Xuan Dai ward, Song Cau town ( Phu Yen province) has built an 80m2 mushroom ^farm with a capacity of 9,000 black termite mushroom spawn, with the initial basic construction investment cost of the farm being more than 200 million VND.

Black termite mushrooms are grown in an artificial environment, the temperature is always maintained at 26-28 ⁰ C, humidity is 85% or higher, inside the mushroom growing house is equipped with a cooling fan system, air conditioner misting controlled via smartphone to maintain a suitable environment for mushroom embryos to grow.

From "bloody experience" through many failures, Mr. Hiep said: two very important factors in growing black termite mushrooms are the selection of mushroom spawn and maintaining humidity at around 85%, adjusting the humidity to suit the local climate for the mushroom spawn to develop.

Currently, he harvests black termite mushrooms 3 times a year. Depending on the size and bloom of the mushrooms, the selling price is different.

Black termite mushroom has a selling price ranging from 150,000 VND - 250,000 VND/kg. Grade 1 black termite mushroom is sold for 250,000 VND/kg, grade 2 is sold for 200,000 VND/kg, grade 3 is sold for 150,000 VND/kg.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Hiep, Tan Thanh quarter, Xuan Dai ward, Song Cau town, Phu Yen province with black termite mushroom growing model.

After 4 months of harvesting mushrooms, he will discard the mushroom spawn. He said the discarded spawn still produces mushrooms, but he does not keep them because they are not economically efficient.

After that, he cleaned and disinfected the farm to leave it empty for a month, then continued to import embryos for the next crop. He imported embryos at 20,000 VND/bag.

Each spawn can yield 200g -250g of black termite mushroom. If well cared for, it can yield up to 300g of mushroom/ spawn bag. After deducting the operating costs and spawn, he said: "one word one".

The market for black termite mushrooms is the largest in big cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi , etc. Due to the high demand for black termite mushrooms, Mr. Hiep is always "out of stock".

Mr. Hiep wishes that if he had more funds, he would expand the production scale, increase the mushroom supply to the market and think about buying more machinery and equipment to be able to preserve the products longer, aiming for export.

Readers can refer to, visit and learn about the black termite mushroom growing model. Please contact Mr. Nguyen Duc Hiep, phone number: 0905061266

Black termite mushroom has the scientific name Xerula radicata, some places call it long root mushroom because its roots are quite long and dig deep into the ground.

Not found in nature, black termite mushroom was bred in 2010, then this mushroom was copyrighted with the English name Black Termitomyces Heim.

The reason it is called black termite mushroom is to distinguish it from white termite mushroom, which is termite mushroom in nature that often grows wild in termite mounds in humid areas, often appearing during the rainy season.

To identify black termite mushrooms, you can rely on the following morphological characteristics.

• Height: When mature, each black termite mushroom can be about 10 - 15cm tall.
• Color: The mushroom body is white or ivory with a tendency to darken. The mushroom cap is dark brown, quite small and shaped like a folded umbrella, the mushroom flesh inside is white.
• Shape: The mushroom body is cylindrical in shape and can reach more than 2cm in radius. The roots are long and grow deep into the ground.
• How to grow: Grows singly, although growing in groups but is also a single stem. Rarely seen mushrooms growing together from the same base.

The characteristic of this mushroom is that when eaten, you will feel the sweet taste and it contains many nutrients.

Nutritional composition in 100g of dried black termite mushrooms (According to Delicious Vietnamese Mushrooms Company Limited):

Energy	28 calories
Protein	27g
Fat	2.1-4.6 g
Carbohydrate	26g
Calcium	17 mg
Iron	0.9 mg
Vitamin B1	0.2 mg
Vitamin B2	0.9 mg
Vitamin B3	38 mg

With its nutritional content and a series of essential elements, black termite mushrooms bring many health benefits. Under the rapid development of agricultural companies, this type of termite mushroom is quickly industrialized in many places, but the price of mushrooms is not low.

Source: https://danviet.vn/mot-ong-nong-dan-phu-yen-trong-thanh-cong-nam-moi-den-an-nhu-nhan-sam-ban-250000-dong-kg-20241019224108501.htm