No abstract

Wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse medium and konara oak logs used to cultivate edible basidiomycetes were treated with ammonium hydroxide to investigate the relationship between the degree of rotting and the effect of ammonium hydroxide treatment on digestibility. Wheat straw was sampled before inoculation and on days 67 and 97 after inoculation with Pleurotus salmoneostramineus . Similarly, bagasse media were sampled before inoculation and on days 47 and 96 after inoculation with Pleurotus abalonus . Konara oak logs were sampled before inoculation and at 2 and 4 years after inoculation with Lentinula edodes . Aliquots of the samples were treated with ammonium hydroxide (NH 4 -N, 3% dry matter) at 45 ° C for 10 days. Ammonium hydroxide treatment increased the in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and gas production (IVGP) of all the samples, except the konara oak samples collected before inoculation. The degree of increased digestibility was largest for the samples collected after short cultivation periods, followed by those collected after long cultivation periods and those collected before inoculation. However, the IVDMD and IVGP values after short cultivation periods were lower than those after long cultivation periods. Ammonium hydroxide treatment is effective at improving the digestibility of white-rotted materials, although the effect is lessened as rotting proceeds.

A field study was conducted to investigate the absorption of various elements into oats and carrots cultivated in brown forest soil after three years' applications of chemical fertilizer and two types of sewage sludge compost mixed with sawdust (SD compost) or rice husk (RH compost). The results obtained in this study are summarized as follows. 1) The application of SD compost led to a significant increase on the concentrations of Mn, Zn, Ag and Ba in oat root, of Zn and Br in oat shoot, of Cl and Zn in oat ears, of Mg, Sc, Mn, Zn, Br, Ba and La in carrot peel, of Mn, Fe, Co and Zn in carrot edible portion and of Na, Sc, Mn, Fe, Co and Sm in carrot shoot. 2) The application of RH compost increased the concentrations of Mn, Zn and Ag in oat root, of K, Cr, Mn, Zn and Br in oat shoot, of Zn and Br in oat ears, of Mg, Mn and Br in carrot peel, of Cl, Mn, Zn and Br in carrot edible portion and of Na, Mn, Zn, Br and Sm in carrot shoot.