ISHS Acta Horticulturae 469: International Symposium on Composting & Use of Composted Material in Horticulture
COMPOSTING IN AERATED TUNNELS FOR MUSHROOM CULTIVATION: INFLUENCES OF PROCESS TEMPERATURE AND SUBSTRATE FORMULATION ON COMPOST BULK DENSITY AND PRODUCTIVITY |
| Authors: | R. Noble, R.H. Gaze |
| Keywords: | Agaricus bisporus, cellulase enzymes, odour pollution, recycled compost |
| Abstract:
Odour pollution is a major problem associated with traditional methods of preparing mushroom compost. Two partially enclosed composting processes were compared in terms of mushroom yield, compost density and odour pollution. The processes were a single tunnel system, based on a standard Phase II pasteurisation, and a two tunnel system, where a Phase II tunnel process was preceded by a six day, lower aeration, 'high' temperature phase. There were no significant odour emissions from either the single or 2-tunnel composting systems. The 2-tunnel process resulted in a compost with a higher bulk density and mushroom yield potential than the single tunnel process. The addition of a low rate of cellulase enzyme did not affect the bulk density or mushroom yield potential of the compost. Mushroom yields and bulk densities from the 2-tunnel system, using compost prepared with chopped straw and a proportion of recycled compost, were not significantly different to those obtained from conventionally prepared composts. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
