FUZHOU Nike Air Force 1 Nere Scontate , July 18 (Xinhua) -- It finally happened: wild grass can now be turned into nutritious and delicious mushrooms. No, it is not witchcraft, but modern agricultural technology, bringing cash and dignity to poor farmers in China and beyond.


The technology enables edible and medicinal fungi to grow out of chopped grass or herbal plants, in a similar way that some fungi grow from trees. The herbaceous herbs are called "Juncao."


The idea was the brainchild of Lin Zhanxi, 75 Nike Air Force 1 Alte Scontate , a professor with Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, who came up with the technique more than 30 years ago.


The Juncao Technology Project was launched at the UN headquarters in May and has been supported by China-UN Peace and Development Trust Fund. The project will help developing countries prevent soil and water loss, while combating poverty and malnutrition.


FROM LAB TO FARM


Lin's journey researching Juncao started in the spring of 1983 when he visited Changting county in eastern China's Fujian Province.


He was shocked by what he saw -- excessive deforestation, water and soil losses and poor people.


Lin remembers it like it was yesterday. A biting cold wind swept through the cracked walls of a simple adobe house as a family huddled for warmth.


"Uncle Lin, I'm so hungry. Could you give me some sweet potato chips to eat?" a child asked.


Lin could not sleep that night. "Surely, there must be a way to save these poor people and their environment?" he asked himself.


An idea suddenly struck him Nike Air Force 1 Basse Scontate , "What if wild grass could somehow be harnessed for food?"


Returning to university, he started researching growing edible mushrooms from grass. Traditionally, mushrooms were cultivated in sawdust, which meant cutting down many trees, damaging the environment.


After three years of arduous research not to mention lots of innovation, Lin saw the world's first Juncao mushroom sprout from a bottle filled with forked fern and other ingredients.


However Nike Air Force 1 Donne Scontate , encouraging farmers to use the new mushroom-growing technology was not going to be easy.


In Youxi county in 1988, Lin broke his ribs in a traffic accident, but he left hospital only four days after surgery to convince 27 local households to pilot his new technology.


The residents, like most people, had no idea that mushrooms could be cultivated from wild grass. Many thought Lin was nothing more than a fraud and a cheat.


"I promised that I would compensate them if they lost money," Lin said. "If Youxi county Nike Air Force 1 Uomo Scontate , which boasted rich forest, could grow mushrooms from grass, other places would follow suit."


The Youxi trial was a success. By 1995, the number of households participating Lin's project had increased from 27 to more than 4,200.


THE MUSHROOM EFFECT