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.

Linen has been a significant material for textile packaging. Thus, the application of the simple spray-coating method to coat linen fibers with a flame-retardant, antimicrobial, hydrophobic, and anticounterfeiting luminescent nanocomposite is an innovative technique. In this new approach, the ecologically benign room-temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone rubber was employed to immobilize the environmentally friendly Exolit AP 422 (Ex) and lanthanide-doped strontium aluminum oxide (RESAO) nanoscale particles onto the linen fibrous surface. Both morphological properties and elemental compositions of RESAO and treated fabrics were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). In the fire resistance test, the treated linen fabrics produced a char layer, giving them the property of self-extinguishing. Furthermore, the coated linen samples’ fire-retardant efficacy remained intact after 35 washing cycles. As the concentration of RESAO increased, so did the treated linen superhydrophobicity. Upon excitation at 366 nm, an emission band of 519 nm was generated from a colorless luminescent film deposited onto the linen surface. The coated linen displayed a luminescent activity by changing color from off-white beneath daylight to green beneath UV source, which was proved by CIE Lab parameters and photoluminescence spectral analysis. The photoluminescence effect was identified in the treated linen as reported by emission, excitation, and decay time spectral analysis. The comfort properties of coated linen fabrics were measured to assess their mechanical and comfort features. The treated linen exhibited excellent UV shielding and improved antimicrobial performance. The current simple strategy could be useful for large-scale production of multifunctional smart textiles such as packaging textiles.

This paper investigated the impact of the combined use of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) biochar and plant-growth-promoting rhizobia (PGPR) on the growth, yield, and biochemical response of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis). A preliminary study was conducted under greenhouse condition using six treatments (sextuplicate) as control (no addition), T1 (PGPR), T2 (5 g/Kg biochar), T3 (5 g/Kg biochar + PGPR), T4 (10 g/Kg biochar), and T5 (10 g/Kg biochar + PGPR) under greenhouse conditions. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-Zeiss), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), and Fourier’s transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses showed that biochar produced from slow pyrolysis of SMS had advantageous structural, functional, and morphological properties for agricultural use. Results showed that SMS biochar addition aids the acceleration of soil nutrient properties. SMS biochar and PGPR application also significantly (p < 0.05) improved the selected growth, yield, and biochemical parameters of cauliflower. In particular, the highest cauliflower yield (550.11 ± 10.05 g), fresh plant biomass (1.66 ± 0.04 Kg), dry plant biomass (149.40 ± 4.18 g), plant height (22.09 ± 0.14 cm), root length (11.20 ± 0.05 cm), plant spread (28.35 ± 0.18 cm), and the number of leaves (12.50 ± 0.50) were observed in T5 treatment. Similarly, the best values for biochemical parameters and enzyme activities such as total chlorophyll (TC: 3.13 ± 0.07 mg/g), superoxide dismutase (SOD: 79.12 ± 1.29 µg/g), catalase (CAT: 55.70 ± 2.52 µg/g), peroxidase (POD 30.18 ± 0.37 µg/g), total phenolics (TP: 19.50 ± 0.31 mg/g), ascorbic acid (AA: 14.18 ± 0.55 mg/g), and total carotenoids (TCT: 150.17 ± 8.20 µg/100 g) were also recorded in the T5 treatment. The application of SMS biochar and PGPR showed a positive correlation with growth, yield, and biochemical response of cauliflower, as indicated by the Pearson correlation analysis. The findings of this study suggest efficient recycling of mushroom industry waste for biochar production and the use of PGPR to improve nutrient utilization in sustainable agriculture.