Mushroom Compost (mushroom + compost)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Optimization of extraction of bulk enzymes from spent mushroom compost

JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 7 2003
Avneesh D Singh
Abstract The profiling of ligninase, hemicellulase and cellulase of Pleurotus sajor-caju after inoculation of spawn in bags containing sawdust was done at monthly intervals for a period of 6 months. Xylanase (EC 3.2.1.8) was produced throughout the 6 months studied with the productivity range from 5.60 to 7.51 U g,1. Cellulase (EC 3.2.1.4) and ,-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.21) productivities were highest at 4 months, producing 3.31 U g,1 and 121.13 U g,1 respectively. Laccase (EC 1.10.3.2) productivity was highest at 2 months with a value of 7.59 U g,1. Lignin peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.14) productivity was highest at 5 months with a value of 206.20 U g,1. Total soluble proteins were highest at 4 months with a value of 0.139 mg cm,3. The profiling of lignin peroxidase in 5-month-old spent mushroom compost was monitored over a period of 10 months. It was observed that lignin peroxidase was produced throughout the period but productivity was variable. The average lignin peroxidase productivity ranged from 30 to 110 U g,1. The activities of the enzymes extracted in tap water at pH 8.4 were comparable to that extracted in 50 mmol sodium citrate buffer at pH 4.8 and distilled water at pH 5.2 at 4 °C using an incubator shaker at 200 rpm for 18 h. The optimum extraction time was 1 h using an incubator shaker at 4 °C. When an incubator shaker was used, there was no significant difference in the recovery of xylanase, cellulase and laccase at different pH values at 4 °C and 28 °C. No significant difference was observed in the recovery of ,-glucosidase using an incubator shaker at different pH values at 4 °C although the enzyme recovery was slightly higher at pH 8.12, with a value of 29.27 U g,1. The optimum extraction of ,-glucosidase was at pH 4 at room temperature using an incubator shaker. For the lignin peroxidase enzyme, the optimum pH for extraction was 6 at 4 °C and pH 7 at room temperature using an incubator shaker at 200 rpm for 1 h. Homogenization for 8 min at 8000 rpm using tap water at pH 4 had an advantage over the use of the incubator shaker for the extraction as high titers of enzymes were recovered. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry [source]


Hydrogen Peroxide and Calcium Chloride Added to Irrigation Water as a Strategy to Reduce Bacterial Populations and Improve Quality of Fresh Mushrooms

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 6 2005
Naveen Chikthimmah
ABSTRACT The quality and value of fresh mushrooms are often diminished by the presence of high bacterial populations that cause a brown, blotchy appearance. The objective of the present research was to evaluate the addition of hydrogen peroxide and/or calcium chloride to irrigation water as a means to reduce total bacterial populations on fresh mushrooms. Crops were grown using commercial mushroom growing practices except for the addition of 0.75% hydrogen peroxide and/or 0.3% calcium chloride irrigation water added to the crop starting 11 d after the casing layer was applied on top of mushroom compost. Irrigation water without the added treatments acted as the control. Mushrooms were aseptically sampled from the production beds for enumerating bacterial counts. Total aerobic bacterial populations were determined by standard microbiological plating procedures. Mushroom whiteness (L -value) and color (delta E) after harvest and postharvest storage were measured using a Minolta chromameter. Harvested mushrooms were separated by treatment and weighed to record yield. Mushrooms irrigated with water (control) had 7.3 log colony-forming units (CFU) of aerobic bacterial populations per gram of fresh mushroom tissue. Compared with the control, irrigation with 0.75% hydrogen peroxide and 0.3% calcium chloride reduced the bacterial populations on fresh mushrooms by 87% (6.4 log CFU/g). Irrigation with hydrogen peroxide and calcium chloride significantly enhanced mushroom whiteness after harvest as well as after 6 d of postharvest storage at 12 °C. The irrigation treatments did not have a significant effect on crop yields; hence, the addition of hydrogen peroxide and calcium chloride to irrigation water was demonstrated to have good potential as a practical strategy to reduce bacterial populations and to improve the quality of fresh mushrooms. [source]


A mini-bag technique for evaluation of fungicide effects on Trichoderma spp in mushroom compost

PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE (FORMERLY: PESTICIDE SCIENCE), Issue 4 2004
Salem O Abosriwil
Abstract An in vivo technique was developed to observe colonisation of mushroom compost by Trichoderma spp. Isolates of T harzianum (Th2), T harzianum (Th1), T koningii (Tk) and T viride (Tv) were artificially introduced into compost using a mini-bag system. Wheat grains, colonised by Trichoderma spp, were placed centrally on a layer of compost at the bottom of 1-litre polythene bags which were then filled with 350 g of spawned or un-spawned compost, and partially sealed. After 14 and 21 days incubation at 27 °C, the bags were assessed for recovery of Trichoderma from middle and top zones using a needle stab re-isolation technique and a visual colonisation scoring system. Visible green mould contamination, similar to that observed in practice, developed within 21 days. The visual colonisation scoring was reliably related to the re-isolation success. In this evaluation, Trichoderma spp showed considerable differences in their relative abilities to colonise spawned and un-spawned compost, with Th2 isolates being consistently superior to the other isolates of Th1, Tk and Tv in colonising spawned compost. This technique was employed to evaluate the effects of fungicides on the colonisation of mushroom compost by three Trichoderma spp: Th2, Th1 and Tk, using 1-litre and 5-litre mini-bag systems. Aqueous suspensions of benomyl, carbendazim, thiabendazole, prochloraz and prochloraz + carbendazim incorporated into the compost at 50 mg litre,1, or applied to spawn at 50 mg kg,1, reduced the colonisation by Trichoderma spp. Prochloraz and prochloraz + carbendazim were superior to benomyl, carbendazim or thiabendazole in reducing compost colonisation by Th2, Th1 and Tk, with Th2 being the most persistent type, capable of colonising treated compost in the presence of all five fungicides. The prochloraz + carbendazim mixture, not normally used in mushroom production, was equal to or better than prochloraz alone. The incidence of green mould colonisation by Th2 was as extensive in the 5-litre compost bags as in the 1-litre bags, but colonisation by Th1 and Tk was more apparent in the 5-litre bags. The in vivo mini-bag evaluations using wheat grain Trichoderma inoculum and needle stab re-isolation procedures proved an efficient method for studying colonisation and screening for effectiveness of fungicides applied to mushroom compost or spawn. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry [source]


Eradication of Plasmodiophora brassicae during composting of wastes

PLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 4 2006
L. Fayolle
Survival of infectious inoculum of the clubroot pathogen Plasmodiophora brassicae was assessed following bench-scale flask composting experiments and large-scale composting procedures. Clubroot-affected material was provided by artificial inoculation of Chinese cabbage or naturally infected Brussels sprout and cabbage roots. Both sets of diseased material were used in flask experiments, and the latter in large-scale windrow and aerated tunnel experiments. Municipal green wastes, onion waste and spent mushroom compost were evaluated in flask experiments with varying temperature, aeration and moisture conditions. Green wastes were used in larger-scale composts. Within the limits of a Chinese cabbage seedling bioassay, both temperature and moisture content were critical for eradication of P. brassicae spores extracted from composted clubroot-affected residues. Incubation in compost at 50°C for 7 days or 1 day at 60°C with high moisture levels (= ,5 kPa matric potential or 60% w/w moisture content) eradicated inoculum from artificially inoculated Chinese cabbage roots. In large-scale windrows and aerated tunnels, the pathogen was eradicated from naturally infected brassica wastes after 6,7 days at 54,73°C. [source]


Revegetation of Pb/Zn Mine Tailings, Guangdong Province, China

RESTORATION ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2000
Z. H. Ye
The Lechang lead/zinc mine is located in the north part of Guangdong Province, southern China. The tailings residue from the extraction of lead/zinc ores was permanently stored in tailings ponds, which required revegetation to reduce the environmental impact. A field study was, therefore, conducted to evaluate the effects of different ameliorants, including: (1) pig manure (PM); (2) mushroom compost (MC); (3) burnt coal residue (BC); (4) fly ash (FA); and (5) surface soil on the growth of Agropyron elongatum (tall wheat grass), Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda grass), Lolium multiflorum (Italian ryegrass), and Trifolium repens (clover) in the tailings residue. The results from the core profiles indicated that adding FA (10 cm) or BC (15 cm) as a barrier layer between the cover soil and the tailings could increase pH, compared to the treatment with soil only. C. dactylon grew well and had a high cover (90,100%) in all the treatment plots except the control plots without any amendment. A. elongatum and L. multiflorum had a higher cover when grown in plots covered with a barrier layer using FA or BC (both with surface soil), than those grown in plots covered with surface soil only. Treatment plots receiving a thicker soil cover (30 cm) had a better dry weight yield than those with a thinner soil cover (15 cm), regardless of the barrier layer. The results from this study indicate that the use of either 15 cm BC or 10 cm FA as a barrier layer with surface soil, or the use of 38 tonnes PM/ha and 6 cm MC, were effective for the revegetation of Pb/Zn mine tailings. C. dactylon was the best species among the four species used for revegetation. Key words: reclamation, Pb/Zn mine tailings, burnt coal, mushroom compost, fly ash, Bermuda grass, Italian ryegrass, clover. [source]