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Abstract: For centuries the straw mushroom (Volvariella volvacea (Bull, ex Fr.) Sing) (1, 3, 4) has been considered a delicacy by the Chinese. In warm and moist summer, the fungus grows and produces its fruiting-bodies on its natural habitat, the rice straw left over in the field after harvest. Growth of straw mushrooms to any commercial extent has been a recent event in Taiwan, following the success in cultivation of the common mushroom. By the conventional method, the mushroom beds may be constructed in any convenient place outdoors which is either partially shaded or fully exposed. It is important to keep the mushroom bed away from ants, millipedes, rodents and other harmful pests (2, 6). When a suitable site is selected, the first thing is to build a soil base, 70-80 cm wide, conforming to the average length of the rice straws. The straws are folded in the middle and arranged on the soil base with the butt and tip ends toward the centre. Each layer should be about 15 cm thick. The straw bed should be sufficiently packed in order to keep the moisture at about 75%. When the first layer is completed, pieces of spawn about the size of the thumb a r e inserted into the straw bed about 7 to 10 cm deep from the border and about 15 to 20 cm apart. The bed is then overlaid with a second layer of rice straws. The same procedure is repeated, but each layer gradually decreases in width until the fifth and last one. By then, the bed should be about 80 cm high. All the rice straws used for filling have been previously soaked in water and piled up with a high water content for a few days.
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