The cost of substrates has been one of the challenges for mushroom cultivation. The commonly used substrates for mushroom production are usually expensive. Substrates with a high biomass return that can pose environmental problems can be good alternatives for mushroom cultivation due to multiple advantages. In this regard, the potential use of water hyacinth biomass (a troublesome aquatic weed) as an alternative substrate is worthy of being studied. This study was aimed at evaluating the potential use of water hyacinth biomass for the production of oyster mushroom. The experiment was done in a completely randomized design with nine treatments and four replications. Water hyacinth biomass was supplemented with straw (wheat, Triticum aestivum, and teff or Eragrostis Teff) at a ratio of 1 : 1, 1 : 3, or 3 : 1. The developmental parameters including days elapsed for mycelium invasion (MI), pinhead formation (PF), and the first flush (FH) were monitored. Growth parameters (cap diameter (CD) and stalk length (SL)), a yield parameter (total weight of mushroom yield), and biological efficiency (BF %) were also recorded. Finally, the economic return (ER) of all the treatments was calculated. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the significance of variation between the different parameters on the production parameters. Means were separated using the Tukey test, when F-test from ANOVA was significant at p ≤ 0.05 . It was observed that water hyacinth biomass alone or supplemented with wheat or teff straw provided promising performance on oyster mushroom development, growth, yield, and biological efficiency compared to the costly substrates (wheat and teff straw). Thus, water hyacinth can be considered as a low-cost substrate for mushroom cultivation and a means to control this aquatic weed from rapid spreading.
The recent increasing consciousness for environment sustainability and health hazards is the motive for looking for alternative environment-friendly materials and manufacturing processes. Therefore, environmental compatibility and safety to the health manufacturing process are a worldwide concern. The use of excessive and toxic synthetic dyes in textile and apparel manufacturing processes lineages environment pollution and health hazards to the surroundings where they are sited. Consequently, penetrating for alternative eco-friendly dyes has been initiated in recent times by researchers and development motivators in order to reduce the excessive use of synthetic dyes. In this regard, natural indigo dye from the indigo plant is getting attention, and thus, it is preferred as good as synthetic indigo dye, owing to its inherited dyeing property. With natural indigo dye, it can be achieved eco-friendly dyeing without the application of mordant attaining commercially acceptable fastness properties. Owing to the popularity of blue jeans around the world, especially those that are naturally dyed indigo blue, indigo dye consumption is now rising. Furthermore, currently, natural indigo dye is demanding for functional textile finishing, cosmetics and food colouration, UV protection and deodorizing agents, and other applications. In general, because of its increasing demand and wide applications, natural indigo has become an important cash crop and is traded in the international market with a price range of 35 to 40 USD per kilogram as per its purity level. Indigo dye has therefore been revived with more applications than it had before the advent of man-made colourants. The revival of indigo presents a chance for underdeveloped nations with incorporated economic and social benefits. Ethiopia as a developing country and situated in tropical Africa will benefit from indigo revival because of its potentials with having a suitable climate, a young workforce, enough land resource, and its booming textile and apparel industries.
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