Assessing reuse of degraded Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.) P. Kumm. substrate

Abstract

In this article, the agronomic viability of reusing spent Pleurotus ostreatus substrates (SPS) previously used in a mushroom crop is studied using two commercial nutritional supplements at two different doses. After physical and chemical characterization of the substrates, we evaluated the quantitative production parameters in a single growing season. The best agronomic performance was observed with substrates supplemented with Calprozime^® at doses of 20 and 10 g/kg, providing high values of biological efficiency (BE) at 41.8 and 35.0 g/100 kg substrate, respectively, much like the commercial substrate used as a control for most of the parameters considered. If SPS could be available at low cost, then it could be integrated into new formulations and methodologies, thus helping to diminish the environmental impact of the waste produced during mushroom cultivation as well as limiting the grower’s dependence on straw and decreasing the environmental impact of its accumulation.