The Sustainable Use of Cotton, Hazelnut and Ground Peanut Waste in Vegetable Crop Production

Abstract

The environmental burden from crop production byproducts is gradually increasing and necessitates the sustainable management of waste towards a circular economy approach. In the present study, three byproducts (cotton ginning waste (CGW), ground hazelnut husks (GHH) and ground peanut husks (GPH)) were evaluated in lettuce cultivation. For this purpose, the tested materials were incorporated in soil at two different rates (25% and 50% of total substrate volume) while a control treatment (no addition of byproducts) was also considered. Fresh weight per plant and total yield was the highest for the GHH50% treatment. The highest fat, protein, carbohydrates and energy content were observed for the CGW25% treatment. Chemical composition also differed among the tested byproducts where CGW25% treatment had the highest total tocopherols, sugars (sucrose, fructose, trehalose and total sugars) and organic acids content. The most abundant fatty acids were α-linolenic, linoleic and palmitic acid in all the tested treatments, while the highest antioxidant activity was observed for the GHH50% treatment. Regarding polyphenols, phenolic acids content was the highest in the GHH treatments, whereas flavonoids were the highest for the CGW25% treatment. No cytotoxicity against the PLP2 non-tumor cell line was observed, whereas only the GPH50% treatment showed moderate efficacy against HeLa, HepG2 and MCF-7 cell lines. The tested extracts also showed moderate antibacterial activities and only the extracts from the CGW50% treatment were more effective than the positive control against Trichoderma viride. In conclusion, the present results showed the great potential of using the tested byproducts as soil amendments for vegetable crops production, since they may improve the nutritional parameters, the chemical profile and the bioactivities of the final product. The suggested alternative use of the tested byproducts not only will increase the added value of crops but will also alleviate the environmental burden from bulky agroindustry byproducts.

Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Activity of Lettuce Grown in Different Mixtures of Monogastric-Based Manure With Lunar and Martian Soils

“…According to Wamelink et al (28), the better performance of the Martian simulant compared to the Lunar one could be due to better water-holding capacity; however, the increased rates of manure (> 30%) probably exaggerated the water content and had negative effects on lettuce plants grown in both simulants. Similar results were also observed by Petropoulos et al (65) who also associated the differences in water content of lettuce plants to the differences in water-holding capacity of the substrates tested. The results of our study are in accordance with the findings of Duri et al (16) who also suggested that the amendment of Martian regolith with 30% of compost was the most realistic in terms of crop performance and compost availability in space conditions, whereas the 30:70 (Martian regolith/compost) gave the best overall results.…”

Application of an alkali destruction technique and natural deep eutectic solvent for greener extraction from peanut shells: optimization and extraction kinetics study

“…Peanuts, an annual legume that has a high nutritional value, are widely planted all over the world. 1,2 Peanuts represent a commercially important raw material that can be made into cooking oil, candy, and peanut butter, among others. 3,4 The peanut shell is a worthless agricultural by-product of the peanut, which is commonly used as the fuel for heating, cooking, and as a cheap livestock feed.…”