On October 10, 2020, the on-site meeting of the "Research and Demonstration of Comprehensive Utilization of Fungus Chaff," a Regional Key Project of the Science and Technology Service Network Initiative of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (STS) which is undertaken by scientists of the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was held in Xiuyan Manchu Autonomous County.

More than 20 people including Ma Yuehong, deputy president of the Shenyang Branch of CAS, Guo Xiuyin, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of the Shenyang Branch of CAS, Xu Yan, secretary of the Party Committee of the Institute of Metal Research, CAS, Fang Yunting, deputy director of IAE, Wang Xugao, head of the Science and Technology Division of IAE, Prof. Yuan Haisheng and Associate Prof. Zhang Yulan from IAE, and others from the Party Committee of the Shenyang Branch of CAS attended the meeting. The meeting was chaired by Wang Xugao.

First of all, Fang Yunting, on behalf of IAE, thanked the leaders of the Shenyang branch of CAS for their long-term support and introduced the progress of the STS project. Afterwards, Prof. Yuan Haisheng, PI of the project, reported on the implementation of the project in detail, focusing on the research and demonstration work done since the start of the project as well as the next work plan of the project. "The edible fungus industry, as a poverty-alleviation industry implemented during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, has greatly developed. However, large amounts of fungus cultivation medium become wastes after the products being harvested, which not only cause a great waste of resources but also cause the flourish of moulds and pest insects, leading to serious pollution to the environment such as water bodies. So, the treatment of fungus chaff has important research significance and may bring good economic benefits," Yuan Haisheng said. During the meeting, leaders at all levels gave high praise and earnest expectations to this research and demonstration project, especially the innovative ideas in ecological protection and harmonious development of ecological industries, and conducted in-depth exchanges with experts on the progress and next plan of this project. Leaders and expert from the CAS Shenyang Branch and IAE also conducted a field investigation to the shiitake (mushroom: Lentinus edodes) cultivation and post-harvest processing base, as well as the fungus chaff fermentation - earthworm breeding base in Chaoyang Town. Thanks to the technological poverty alleviation model of China, the scale of the shiitake cultivation in Chaoyang Town has continued to expand, and the economic benefits have been significantly improved this year.

The holding of this on-site meeting laid a good foundation for promoting the progress of this research and demonstration project, and provided valuable experience for clarifying the goal and development direction of scientific and technological service.