Cultivation in rainy season

Straw mushrooms are usually grown in Thailand during the cool and hot seasons, following the harvest of rice. The reasons for this are obvious. First, the supply of rice straw is at its height and farmers are free to pursue other activities since their rice crops have been harvested. Second, because of the large number of producers cultivating mushrooms at the same time, supply is high and the market price is low during these seasons. Although it is possible to cultivate straw mushrooms during the rainy season, it is seldom done due to the lack of rice straw and farmer preoccupation with the rice crop. As one might expect, the market price for straw mushrooms is quite high during the rainy season. For example, in Ubon Ratchathani Province, prices may reach B40 or more per kilogram. Therefore, it may be worthwhile to encourage farmers to store rice straw for mushroom cultivation during the rainy season, or to use water hyacinth as the growing substrate. The technique used is the same as that described here, with the additional step of digging small channels between rows of beds in order to allow rainfall to drain away from the cultivation site, lessening the danger of flood damage to the beds. Farmers who are able to cultivate straw mushrooms successfully during the rainy season will be able to earn a good deal of extra income.

Storing rice straw for mushrooms cultivation