Effect of common foods as supplements for the mycelium growth of Ganoderma lucidum and Pleurotus ostreatus on solid substrates

The transition from a linear to a circular economy is urgently needed to mitigate environmental impacts and loss of biodiversity. Among the many potential solutions, the development of entirely natural-based materials derived from waste is promising. One such material is mycelium-bound composites obtained from the growth of fungi onto solid lignocellulosic substrates, which find applications such as insulating foams, textiles, packaging, etc. During growth, the fungus degrades and digests the substrate to create a web-like stiff network called mycelium. The development of the mycelium is influenced by several factors, including the substrate composition. As food waste accounts for nearly 44% of total municipal solid waste, incorporating food in the substrate composition could be a means to increase the nutrients absorbed by the fungus. In this paper, we study the effects of the addition of food supplements on the growth of two fungal species, Ganoderma lucidum and Pleurotus ostreatus. The substrates, the food supplements, and the mycelia are characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and optical microscopy. Our results show that addition of barley as a supplement significantly boosts the growth of G. lucidum and P. ostreatus. Using a common food as a nutritious enrichment for the development of mycelium is a simple and straightforward strategy to create waste-based mycelium-bound biocomposites for a large range of applications, on-site, therefore promoting a circular economy.

Influence of Substrate Composition and Container Size on the Growth of Tissue Culture Propagated Apple Rootstock Plants

Substrate composition and container size are considered crucial for apple rootstock grown in a plug seedling system. This study investigated the effect of substrate material’s proportion and different container volumes on the growth of apple rootstock (M-9) plants propagated by tissue culture. In substrate composition, three different ratios of peat moss (PM): vermiculite (VL): perlite (PL) at 1:1:1 (S1), 1:2:3 (S2), 3:1:2 (S3) were used. For container size, plants were grown in 1000 mL (C1), 500 mL (C2), and 300 mL (C3) containers filled by 1:1:1 mixture of PM, VL and PL. In both cases, plants were treated eleven weeks in a green house. Our results demonstrate that the plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, shoot fresh weight and root fresh weight of apple rootstock were significantly higher in substrate composition S3 compared with S1 composition. However, chlorophyll content (SPAD) and photosynthesis rate were unaffected by variation of substrate composition. Furthermore, rootstock grown in C1 container showed plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, number of nodes, root length, shoot and root’s fresh and dry weight were significantly higher than those grown in C2 and C3 volume containers. The chlorophyll content and transpiration rate were not significantly affected by the different container volumes. These results suggest that the substrate ratio 3:1:2 of PM:VL:PL and container size 1000 mL were more favorable than other treatments for initial growth and development of the tissue culture propagated apple rootstock plants.

Holocene dust dynamics archives in archaeological ruins in arid and semi-arid environments in the Southern Levant

Ruins of archaeological structures, mainly dating to the Bronze Age till Byzantine period, were investigated in a case study in the Petra region in southern Jordan and in the northern Negev desert in Israel. They are covered by post-abandonment debris sediments which provided the parent material of initial soils now developed on the ruins. Such debris sediments have so far rarely been studied although they likely contain a significant aeolian dust fraction because structures and wall remains may act as effective dust traps. We analyzed different types of archaeological structures: cult sites on hilltops, runoff-irrigated terraces on slopes, and cisterns including associated cleanout mounds. As well, we collected current aeolian sediments in nearby dry marble dust traps. It was expected that the various ruins and location types would matter for sediment properties, but substrate composition in all investigated structures was similar. This suggests that most of the fine fractions of the debris material were primarily supplied by wind whereas fluvial processes only re-distributed aeolian sediments. A major aeolian contribution from local weathered rocks could be observed in the Petra region, but not in the Negev, which seems connected with the geology. In situ pedogenesis in both investigation regions is negligible. The ruins seem to act as current dust collectors, but their sediments cannot directly be compared with the material collected in nearby dry marble dust traps. Analogies to different types of collectors for aeolian sediments can be made: depending on design, dust traps gather aeolian material differently. Standard dry marble dust collectors are characterized by similar size of settling dust samples as compared to average aeolian deposition in the ruins, but are of dissimilar substrate composition with regard to particle size distribution and contents of major and trace elements. Sediments in the archaeological structures in southern Jordan show finer textures and higher contents of most major and trace elements which may indicate preferential fixation of silt and clay against sand in the ruins, whereas sediments in dry marble dust collectors in Jordan are relatively depleted in silt and clay. This could be due to crusts and clast covers because the studied archaeological hilltop structures were found covered by surface crusts and pavements of stones and pottery sherds. These may mirror the effect of desert pavements. In addition, current dust samples suggest that precipitation during aeolian sedimentation, in particular in case of snow, is connected with enhanced deposition of (possibly clay-coated) silt. Sediments in the archaeological structures include material from remote and local sources as well as from “recycled” paleosols. Average hilltop dust accretion rates were calculated as ~ 0.14 mm/year, which is in good agreement with results from dry marble dust collectors. They exceed rates calculated for Pleistocene hilltop loess in the Negev. This seems due to enhanced dust fixation in the archaeological ruins as compared to natural Negev loess soils, underlining a so far rarely considered but important role of sediment fixation mechanisms.

Influence of the substrate composition on the yield and nutritional value of the fruiting bodies of the edible mushrooms Pleurotus citrinopileatus and Cyclocybe aegerita

Purpose. To reveal the influence of the substrate compositions on technical indicators and the chemical composition of the fruiting bodies of the golden oyster mushroom and poplar mushroom. Methods. The experimental design included cultivation of two species of wood-decay fungi Pleurotus citrinopileatus Singer (strain 2161 IVK) and Cyclocybe aegerita (V.Brig.) Vizzini (strain 2230 IVK) on three variants of substrate composition. Laboratory, laboratory-production methods for evaluating the effectiveness of growing technology, chemical composition of the obtained raw materials, statistical methods of analysis were applied. Results. The structure and composition of substrates affect the technological characteristics of the culture, physical and chemical properties of fruiting bodies. The shortest fruiting cycle of 35.2 ± 1.7 days was determined for C. aegerita under growing conditions on SC1 substrate which formula included «straw, husks, pellet, rapeseed, corn, and CaCO3» in the ratio of 30: 40: 70: 20: 20: 1. The highest yield (170.5 ± 15.2 g per 1 kg of substrate) in the experiment was determined for P. citrinopileatus on the SC1 substrate composed of «straw / pellets / rapeseed / corn / CaCO3» in the ratio 40: 90: 20: 25: 1. Fruiting bodies of P. citrinopileatus obtained from the SC3 substrate composed of «pellets / rapeseed / corn / CaCO3» in the ratio 60: 110: 20: 30: 1 had the highest protein content – 22.47 ± 0.19%, and fruiting bodies from the SC1 substrate had the least amount of proteins – 17.38 ± 2.60%. Fruiting bodies of C. aegerita contained more lipids than those of P. citrinopileatus, but the factor of the influence of the substrate composition on the total amount of lipids for some cultivars was insignificant. The largest amount of endopolysaccharides was isolated from the fruiting bodies of C. aegerita (6.81 ± 0.41%) cultivated on SC3 substrate, and the smallest in the SC1 variant (1.38 ± 0.25%). The content of endopolysaccharides in the fruiting bodies of P. citrinopileatus had less variability from 2.54 ± 0.54 (SC3) to 4.72 ± 0.61% (SC1). Conclusion. Substrate compositions significantly affect the biological efficiency of cultivars and the content of nutrients in fruiting bodies of the studied species. The obtained results enable producers of mushrooms to predict the production efficiency and quality of grown mushrooms in accordance with the use of available raw materials.

Effects of Nitrogen Supplementation With Wheat Straw on Productivity of Pleurotus Djamor (Rumph. Ex FR.) Boedijn

The present experiment was conducted in order to prepare a suitable substrate composition using wheat straw and also to ascertain the effect of various levels of nitrogen supplementation on the yield and biological efficiency of Pleurotus mushroom. The strain DMRP-205 of Pleurotus djamor was used in the study. Among different treatment combinations, maximum biological efficiency of 75.11% was recorded in T2 with 0.5% of urea supplementation. It was also observed that, though the higher nitrogen supplementation does not increase the yield proportionately, it has significant effect on the spawn run period, cropping duration and colour intensity of the basidiocarp. The study necessitates the nitrogen supplementation at optimum levels (0.5%) to realize the maximum yield in P. djamor cultivation. Bangladesh J. Bot. 50(2): 227-233, 2021 (June)

Sifat Fisik Wafer Berbahan Silase Limbah Sayur Kol dengan Jenis Kemasan dan Komposisi Konsentrat yang Berbeda

This research aims to know the physical quality of color, aroma, texture, density, and absorption of water and know the best type of packaging in wafers resulting from vegetable waste silage cabbage. This study used a Complete Randomized Design (RAL) factorial pattern (4×2) with 2 replication. Factor A consists of concentrate composition, A0=silage of cabbage waste 100% : A1= silage of cabbage waste 75% + 25% rice bran: A2 = silage of cabbage waste 50% + 50% rice bran : A3 = silage of cabbage waste 25% + 75% rice bran and factor B consists of B0 = Bag packaging type and B1=Plastic sack packaging type. Observed parameters include color, aroma, texture, density and water absorption. The results showed that there was interaction (P>0.01) between different types of packaging and substrate composition. No interaction (P>0.05) color, density, water absorption and texture. The composition factor of the substrate has a effect (P<0.01) on color, aroma and texture, but has no effect (P>0.05) on water density and absorption. Packaging type factors have a noticeable effect (P<0.01) on color and aroma, but have no effect (P>0.05) on density, water absorption and texture. It can be concluded that the treatment that gives the best results is the substrate composition of 25% cabbage vegetable waste + 75% rice bran and the type of jute bag packaging for 14 days of storage can maintain the physical quality of the wafer resulting from the silage of cabbage vegetable waste