ISHS Acta Horticulturae 581: IV International Congress on Cactus Pear and Cochineal
OPUNTIA FICUS-INDICA WASTE UTILIZATION |
| Authors: | M.M. Tripodo, R.B. Lo Curto, G. Mandalari, M.R. Zappia |
| Keywords: | SCP, S. cerevisiae, G. candidum, T. viride, cactus pear, waste |
| Abstract:
Opuntia ficus-indica is traditionally cultivated in Sicily that produces over 94% of Italian fruit production. Cultivation is extended over about 7.500 hectares producing about 55.000 t of fruits per year. About 10-25% of fruits cannot be commercialised and are only occasionally utilized as pig feed while generally they are let down on the field giving rise to environmental problems. At our Department studies are in progress, supported by Regione Sicilia, to valorise these wastes by growing microbial cells with the aim of production of food grade yeast and zootechnic feed. To produce food yeast from cactus pear juice a Biostat E Braun 15 litre automatic reactor was used which was modified to run in fed-batch mode. The bioconversion rates observed growing Saccharomyces cerevisiae on juice sugars were similar to that obtained utilizing other sugar sources To obtain a protein-enriched feedstuff starting from fresh peel, two different microorganisms were used in solid state fermentation. After 4-5 days cultivation of Geotrichum candidum on this waste, protein content of the mixture peel/mould reaches 8.1%. Digestibility is also rather high ranging 55 to 65 %. By growing Trichoderma viride a similar protein content in the mixture was obtained, though with a lower digestibility. Results are briefly discussed. | |
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