Sustainable Use of Sewage Sludge as a Casing Material for Button Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) Cultivation: Experimental and Prediction Modeling Studies for Uptake of Metal Elements

Abstract

The present study focused on the use of sewage sludge (SS) as a casing material amendment and the potential uptake of metal elements by the cultivated white button (Agaricus bisporus: MS-39) mushroom. Laboratory experiments were performed under controlled environmental conditions to grow A. bisporus on the composted wheat straw substrate for 50 days. Different treatments (0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 g/kg) of casing material were prepared by mixing garden and dried SS and applied on the mushroom substrate after proper sterilization. The results revealed that SS application was significant (p < 0.05) in accelerating mushroom yield with a biological efficiency of 65.02% for the mixing rate of 200 g/kg. Moreover, the maximum bioaccumulation of selected metal elements (Cu, Cr, Cd, Fe, Mn, and Zn) was observed using the same treatment. Additionally, the multiple regression models constructed for the uptake prediction of metal elements showed an acceptable coefficient of determination (R2 > 0.9900), high model efficiency (ME > 0.98), and low root mean square error (RMSE < 0.410) values, respectively. The findings of this study represent sustainable use of SS for the formulation of mushroom casing material contributing toward synergistic agro-economy generation and waste management.

Spatial Assessment of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTE) Concentration in Agaricus bisporus Mushroom Collected from Local Vegetable Markets of Uttarakhand State, India

“…However, Cd and Pb are not essential nutrients and may harm mushroom growth if present in the substrate at high concentrations. However, these toxic elements may be taken up by mushroom cell walls as a substitute for other elements and to bring chemical equilibrium in the mycelial growth zone [ 4 ].…”

“…A biplot is drawn from the computed covariance matrix, which reflects the coordinates of the original variable and their relation to participating data groups. Due to its high efficiency in estimating spatial and temporal patterns of environmental and agriculture data, PCA has been explored by numerous researchers [ 4 , 28 ]. Similarly, cluster analysis is a useful technique for identifying data groups having the highest or lowest pairwise similarities [ 29 ].…”

“…The close interrelationship between substrates and mushrooms prompts researchers to investigate possible dangers to human health as a result of mushroom consumption. Agaricus bisporus (button mushroom) is considered a strong bio-accumulator of potentially toxic elements (PTE), especially mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) [ 3 , 4 ]. The mushroom usually grows on composted lignocellulosic materials, which can contain considerable levels of PTE [ 5 ].…”

Occurrence and Health Risk Assessment of Cadmium Accumulation in Three Tricholoma Mushroom Species Collected from Wild Habitats of Central and Coastal Croatia

“…Bioaccumulation by living organisms is expressed as the tendency of accumulating a specific quantity of heavy metals from their growing environment [ 35 ]. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) values were calculated as the ratio between the concentration of Cd in mushroom samples and the forest soil.…”

“…Thus, high concentrations of Cd in mushroom edible parts may have adverse effects on human health. Some other studied species that can accumulate Cd are: Agaricus bisporus [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]; A. campestris [ 17 , 26 , 36 ]; A. macrosporus [ 37 ]; Armillaria mellea [ 30 , 38 , 39 ]; Amanita muscaria and A. allies [ 19 ]; Boletus edulis [ 32 , 36 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ]; Cantharellus cibarius [ 40 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]; Cystoderma carcharias [ 49 ]; Macrolepiota procera [ 25 , 26 , 36 , 50 , 51 ]; and Xerocomus badius [ 24 , 30 , 36 , 41 , 52 ]. The concentration of Cd in mushroom species of the genus Tricholoma usually varies in the range of <0.5 to 1 mg/kg [ 17 , 26 , 30 , 36 , 53 ].…”