Environmental manipulation of the crop is achieved by heavy watering, shading or positioning the logs in areas of different microclimate. The cropping period is 3 to 5 years. A more intensive cultivation technique has recently been developed involving growth on synthetic logs mainly sawdust and other agricultural wastes. Lentinus edodes is largely produced in Japan, China and South Korea. A number of different species are grown including, Pleurotus ostreatus, Pleurotus sajor-caju, Pleurotus cystidus, Pleurotus cystidus, Pleurotus citrinopileatus and Pleurotus flabellatus .
Mushroom production is light dependent.
Some growers operate a 12 hour light cycle using fluorescent lamps. Pleurotus mushrooms are world-wide, China is the major producer. Volvariella volvacea is a high temperature mushroom grown largely in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia e.g. China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Madagascar. This mushroom can be grown on a variety of agricultural wastes e.g. paddy straw, water hyacinth, oil palm, banana, cotton or wood waste. Mushroom production is encouraged by heavy watering, temperature reduction and light.