Cultivation of Volvariella volvacea, the edible straw mushroom,dates back at least 300 years, originating in southeast China fromwhere the practice spread to other countries of Southeast Asia(Chang, 1977). It is now widely cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical regions using a variety of agricultural residues includingcereal straws, aquatic weeds, oil palm wastes, banana leaves,bagasse and cotton waste (Chang, 1974)