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Abstract: Principally, the materials for compost such as rice straw become soft during decomposition and more tightly packed being broken down by micro-organisms after stacking. When the aerobic microorganisms have consumed the available oxygen within the central portion of the pile, the oxygen supply is unable to be replenished because of the lack of ventilation in this portion. The aerobic microorganisms thus cease their activity and the anaerobic organisms become dominant. Immediately, anaerobic fermentation takes place. It should be turned after 3-4 days and usually 4-5 turnings are required to fulfill the equivalent outdoor composting. Even so, it is hard to prevent anaerobic fermentation without ventilation in the central ground area of the pile. Also, the compost on the surface parts of the heap has scarcely been decomposed because it is quite dry and the temperature is low. In order to correct the above deficiency in outdoor composting, scientists have tried to develop an important procedure, the so-called indoor pasterization process or sweat-out. However, it is difficult to get a homogenous quality of compost of the sweat-out process is carried out in the mushroom growing room for the different affection factors between mushroom growing and sweat-out. The mushroom growing room should have enough air space to dismiss the heat formed by mycelial growth and satisfy aeration requirements. According to the Middlebrook & Storey (1950) suggestion, the ratio of the air volume to bed area in the mushroom growing room should be 4 ft3/ft2. On the contrary, this is too much air space for a sweat-out chamber. The more the air space, the greater the heat that might be exhausted. Thus, there is an obvious difference in temperature between the compost chamber and the compost pile encountered if the house does not have good insulation. In other words in our regular house it is impossible to obtain high enough uniform fermentation temperatures to improve compost quality and still eradicate the concealed pests and diseases in the compost. Therefore, a compost fermentation method was needed in which forced air circulation under a simply, hooded air space and with good insulation would achieve the necessary temperature for fermentation and disease and pest control. This method is actually a process of outdoor composting with indoor pasteurization.
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