Paula Fabiana S, Tatti Enrico, Abram Florence, Wilson Jude, O'Flaherty Vincent
Microbiology, School of Natural Sciences and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland; Research and Development Department, Monaghan Mushrooms, Tyholland, Ireland.
Microbiology, School of Natural Sciences and Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland; Research and Development Department, Monaghan Mushrooms, Tyholland, Ireland.
J Environ Manage. 2017 Jul 1;196:476-486. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.03.038. Epub 2017 Mar 24.
Over three million tonnes of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) are produced in Europe every year as a by-product of the cultivation of Agaricus bisporus. The management of SMS has become an increasing challenge for the mushroom production industry, and finding environmentally and economically sustainable solutions for this organic residue is, therefore, highly desirable. Due to its physical properties and nutrient content, SMS has great potential to be employed in agricultural and horticultural sectors, and further contribute to reduce the use of non-renewable resources, such as peat. However, SMS is often regarded as not being stable and/or mature, which hampers its wide use for crop production. Here, we demonstrate the stabilisation of SMS and its subsequent use as organic fertiliser and partial peat replacement in horticulture. The stabilisation was performed in a laboratory-scale composting system, with controlled temperature and aeration. Physical and chemical parameters were monitored during composting and provided information on the progress of the process. Water soluble carbohydrates (WSC) content was found to be the most reliable parameter to predict SMS stability. In situ oxygen consumption indicated the main composting phases, reflecting major changes in microbial activity. The structure of the bacterial community was also found to be a potential predictor of stability, as the compositional changes followed the composting progress. By contrast, the fungal community did not present clear successional process along the experiment. Maturity and quality of the stabilised SMS were assessed in a horticultural growing trial. When used as the sole fertiliser source, SMS was able to support Lolium multiflorum (Italian ryegrass) growth and significantly improved grass yield with a concentration-dependent response, increasing grass biomass up to 300%, when compared to the untreated control. In summary, the results indicated that the method employed was efficient in generating a stable and mature product, which has a great potential to be applied in horticulture. This study represents a step forward in the management of SMS residue, and also provides an alternative to reduce the use of peat in horticulture, alleviating environmental impacts to peatland ecosystems.
欧洲每年作为双孢蘑菇栽培副产品产生超过300万吨的废弃蘑菇培养基（SMS）。SMS的管理已成为蘑菇生产行业日益严峻的挑战，因此，为这种有机残留物找到环境和经济上可持续的解决方案非常必要。由于其物理性质和养分含量，SMS在农业和园艺领域具有巨大的应用潜力，有助于进一步减少泥炭等不可再生资源的使用。然而，SMS通常被认为不稳定和/或未成熟，这阻碍了其在作物生产中的广泛应用。在此，我们展示了SMS的稳定化及其随后作为有机肥料和园艺中部分泥炭替代物的用途。稳定化过程在实验室规模的堆肥系统中进行，温度和通气可控。堆肥过程中监测了物理和化学参数，并提供了有关该过程进展的信息。发现水溶性碳水化合物（WSC）含量是预测SMS稳定性最可靠的参数。原位氧气消耗表明了主要的堆肥阶段，反映了微生物活性的重大变化。细菌群落结构也被发现是稳定性的潜在预测指标，因为其组成变化跟随堆肥进程。相比之下，在整个实验过程中真菌群落没有呈现出明显的演替过程。在园艺种植试验中评估了稳定化SMS的成熟度和质量。当用作唯一肥料来源时，SMS能够支持多花黑麦草（意大利黑麦草）生长，并以浓度依赖性反应显著提高草产量，与未处理对照相比，草生物量增加高达300%。总之，结果表明所采用的方法能有效地产生一种稳定和成熟的产品，该产品在园艺中有很大的应用潜力。这项研究代表了在SMS残留物管理方面向前迈进的一步，也提供了一种减少园艺中泥炭使用的替代方法，减轻对泥炭地生态系统的环境影响。
