Biotransforming the Spent Substrate of Shiitake Mushroom (Lentinula edodes Berk.): A Synergistic Approach to Biogas Production and Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Fertilization

Abstract

Agro-wastes, such as crop residues, leaf litter, and sawdust, are major contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, and consequently a major concern for climate change. Nowadays, mushroom cultivation has appeared as an emerging agribusiness that helps in the sustainable management of agro-wastes. However, partial utilization of agro-wastes by mushrooms results in the generation of a significant quantity of spent mushroom substrates (SMS) that have continued to become an environmental problem. In particular, Shiitake (Lentinula edodes Berk.) mushrooms can be grown on different types of agro-wastes and also generate a considerable amount of SMS. Therefore, this study investigates the biotransformation of SMS obtained after Shiitake mushroom cultivation into biogas and attendant utilization of slurry digestate (SD) in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crop fertilization. Biogas production experiments were conducted anaerobically using four treatments of SMS, i.e., 0% (control), 25, 50, and 75% inoculated with a proportional amount of cow dung (CD) as inoculum. The results on biogas production revealed that SMS 50% treatment yielded the highest biogas volume (8834 mL or 11.93 mL/g of organic carbon) and methane contents (61%) along with maximum reduction of physicochemical and proximate parameters of slurry. Furthermore, the biogas digestate from 50% treatment further helped to increase the seed germination (93.25%), seedling length (9.2 cm), seedling root length (4.19 cm), plant height (53.10 cm), chlorophyll content (3.38 mg/g), total yield (1.86 kg/plant), flavonoids (5.06 mg/g), phenolics (2.78 mg/g), and tannin (3.40 mg/g) contents of tomato significantly (p < 0.05) in the 10% loading rate. The findings of this study suggest sustainable upcycling of SMS inspired by a circular economy approach through synergistic production of bioenergy and secondary fruit crops, which could potentially contribute to minimize the carbon footprints of the mushroom production sector.

Growth and Yield of Kale, Swiss chard, Amaranth, and Arugula microgreens in response to different growing medium substrates

“…Moreover, the presence of MC2 in the media may provide more readily available nutrients for the plants compared to MC1. In support of this, higher levels of nutrients including N, C, P, Ca have been reported in Shiitake mushroom compost compared to White oyster mushroom compost by Hernández et al 18 and Kumar et al 29 In addition, PCA results suggested that growing media made from MC2 were better for the improvement of plant growth and yield performance in all tested microgreens (Figure 4). In agreement with our results, it previously shown that application of mushroom compost enhanced germination rate and seedling growth in cucumber and lettuce plants.…”

“…DOI: 10.15406/hij.2022.06.00263 nutrients for plants that may explain the observed higher germination and plant height in these media. 29 PCA analysis results validated T4 and T5 enhancement of microgreens plant performance compared to other treatments (Figure 2). As a result, T4 and T5 were selected for further investigation in the Experiment 2.…”

Suitability of Co-Composted Biochar with Spent Coffee Grounds Substrate for Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Fruiting Stage

“…Increased salinity causes osmotic stress and ion imbalance, as well as oxidative stress and metabolic abnormalities [30], thus, causing stunted growth. Herrera et al [31] reported that the excess of soluble salts in municipal solid waste compost used at doses higher than 30% in growing media lowered the development of tomato seedlings. Similarly, Kumar et al [32], studying the effect of spent mushrooms digestate with a slightly high EC value on tomato germination, noted a decrease in seed germination and seedling stem and root length overcoming the optimal dilution of 10%.…”

“…A compost addition of up to 30% in growing media has been reported to improve total pore space and organic matter content, promoting root development [43]. Moreover, compost nutrients and phytohormones induce root tip proliferation, improving root volume [31]. Similar to the effect reported for compost addition, the use of biochar in growing media increases root length and amount of root air, leading to an extension of root surface area and, consequently, to an increased capacity of water and nutrient absorption [44].…”

Valorization of Coffee Pulp in the Production of Pleurotus pulmonarius in Rural Communities of Colombia

“…Recently, Huang et al reported the preparation of a liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) using Hypsizygus marmoreus MSM and the evaluation of its efficiency in the cultivation of pak choi. Similarly, Kumar et al reported the biotransformation of Lentinula edodes MSM into biogas and the utilization of the slurry digestate as a fertilizer in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crop.…”