Vitebsk region forestry enterprises plan to harvest about a ton of oyster mushrooms this year

May 24, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. Forestry enterprises of the Vitebsk region plan to harvest about one ton of oyster mushrooms this year. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by Oleg Gritskevich, leading engineer for secondary forest use and auxiliary agriculture of the Vitebsk Regional Production Forestry Association (PLHO). The first batch of mushrooms will be harvested by forestry workers as early as the beginning of June. The total harvest of the current season is expected to be around one ton, said Oleg Gritskevich, noting that there is demand for this product: trade and public catering enterprises in the region have shown active interest in supplying domestic oyster mushrooms. "In the autumn, we will analyze the results of the work on growing oyster mushrooms, based on which plans will be developed to increase the area of existing and establish new industrial plantations of these mushrooms for 2012," the interlocutor added. Industrial plantations for growing oyster mushrooms were first established in the Vitebsk region in 2010 in the Lepel (0.5 ha), Surazh (0.3 ha), and Liozno (0.5 ha) forestry enterprises. Special locations with sparse stands and suitable soil were chosen for their placement. Mushroom spawn for oyster mushroom production was purchased from the Institute of Forest of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (Gomel). Regular watering and protection of mushrooms are carried out by forestry workers. -0-