Agronomic Qualitative Viability of Spent Pleurotus Substrate and its Mixture with Wheat Bran and a Commercial Supplement

Abstract

In this study the agronomic viability of Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.) P. Kumm., is studied by reusing the spent substrates previously used in crops of the same mushrooms. After the physical and chemical characterization of the substrates, we have evaluated the qualitative production parameters in one growing season. As base material, the experiment was arranged with wheat straw (WS) and spent Pleurotus substrate (SPS) to generate prepared substrates, alone and mixed with different proportions of wheat bran (WB) and the commercial supplement Calprozime®. With the substrates supplemented with 300 g of WB + 120 g Calprozime®, we obtained generally higher ash (8.43%) and protein contents (24.75%) in the mushrooms. These substrates also achieved acceptable breaking strength values (Bs) (182.25 N) and compression energy (CE) (944.63 mJ) in the harvested mushrooms. In turn, these substrates promote lightness (60.31) and yellow‐blue (b*) (12.93) chromaticity of the harvested mushrooms. Consequently, these composts degraded by Pleurotus ostreatus formulations could be a low cost substrate, selective and balanced nutrient for the growth and development of the oyster mushrooms. Practical Applications Substrates supplemented with 300 g of wheat bran (WB) + 120 g Calprozime® could be integrated through new formulations and methodologies while lowering production costs and reducing the environmental impact of unusual waste. Spent Pleurotus substrate (SPS) is considered to be environmentally unfriendly, undesirable, and presents a solid waste disposal problem for mushroom growers. If SPS could be easily available at a low cost it could be integrated into new formulations and methodologies, diminish the environmental impact of the waste produced during mushroom cultivation, limit the grower's dependence on straw, and decrease the environmental impact of its overgrowing accumulation.

Production and composition of Pleurotus ostreatus cultivated on Lithovit®-Amino25 supplemented spent substrate

“…The mushroom nutritional value may be improved as by applying nano-amino at spawning; proteins increase with the highest dose used, and essential amino acids with the lowest one. A similar improvement in mushroom protein content was reported on substrates based on wheat straw and SOS, enriched by protein-rich additives, wheat bran, or commercial additives (Picornell-Buendía et al 2016a , b ).…”

“…However, SMS may not produce excellent mushroom yield by itself because of the reduction in nutrients due to their subsequent utilization by mushroom mycelium (Sharma and Jandaik 1985). Recycling of such substrate through amendment with nutritional supplements, especially protein-rich ones, to help further mushroom production is a practical choice to adapt to the high volume of this waste material (Pardo-Giménez et al 2011;Pardo-Giménez et al 2012;Picornell-Buendía et al 2015, 2016a.…”

“…On an industrial scale, P. ostreatus is grown on cereal straw, mainly wheat straw (Rühl and Kües 2007 ). However, in many regions of the world, wheat straw is becoming less available and expensive (Masevhe et al 2015 ; Picornell-Buendía et al 2016a ).…”

Supplementation in mushroom crops and its impact on yield and quality

“…When the SMS from P. ostreatus is supplemented with a protein-rich product, such as commercial supplements (Calprozime ® , Champfood ® or Promycel 600 ® ), the total nitrogen content in the substrate increases, and consequently, the values of the crude protein content and the neutral detergent-soluble fraction (Picornell-Buendía et al 2016a ). Substrate formulations with material based on wheat straw and spent Pleurotus substrates supplemented with wheat bran and the commercial supplement (Calprozime ® ) have shown good agronomic performance for P. ostreatus , with supplemented mixtures producing mushrooms of higher protein and ash content (Picornell-Buendía et al 2016b ). In addition, quantitative parameters, such as good biological efficiency (BE), high quantity of mushrooms and an excellent unit weight of the fruiting bodies have been achieved with this supplemented SMS when employed to re-grow P. ostreatus (Picornell-Buendía et al 2015 ).…”

Spent coffee grounds influence on Pleurotus ostreatus production, composition, fatty acid profile, and lignocellulose biodegradation capacity

“…The expensive importation and acquisition of commercial substrate had previously led to the use of locally available agro-industrial wastes (Abou Fayssal et al, 2020;Naim et al, 2020aNaim et al, , 2020bSassine et al, 2007;El Sebaaly et al, 2018a, 2018c, 2018b in mushroom production. At industrial scale, P. ostreatus is cultivated on cereal straw, mainly wheat straw (Labuschagne et al, 2000), which is becoming less available in many world regions causing constraints for oyster production (Picornell-Buendía et al, 2016).…”