indigenous technical knowledge about the use of...

Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge

Vol. 8 (2), April 2009, pp. 242-248

Indigenous technical knowledge about the use of spent mushroom substrate

MP Sagar1, OP Ahlawat

2, Dev Raj

3, B Vijay

4 & C Indurani

5

1,2,4National Research Centre for Mushroom, Solan 173 213, Himachal Pradesh; 3Department of Post Harvest Technology, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh;

5Directorate of Extension Education, TNAU, Coimbatore 641 003, Tamil Nadu

E-mail: [email protected]

Received 9 January 2007; revised 10 September 2007

The study on indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) about use of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) for agriculture

revealed wide variations in age of the SMS applied in different crops at mushroom grower’s farm and it ranged between 0

month (fresh) to 36 months (old). Similarly, the quantity of SMS applied also varied between a minimum of 4.75 q to

maximum of 1,000 q/ha in field crops and 4-6 kg/plant in apple orchard. The mushroom growers as well as researchers

noticed yield enhancement and lower incidence of diseases in agricultural and horticultural crops along with changes in soil

physical conditions on using SMS as manure. On the basis of empirical data and experience gained during the process of

verification and refinement of ITKs about use of SMS as manure in crops, it is concluded that SMS should be decomposed

for at least 12 months using scientific methods of composting such as natural weathering in pits, aerobic recomposting and

anaerobic recomposting instead of disposing off in open on road side. Similarly, the doses of recomposed SMS for various

crops should be worked out on the basis of total nutrients (NPK) requirement of the respective crops and the nutrients status

of SMS. The recomposed SMS should be used singly as basal application or in combination with inorganic fertilizers.

Keywords: Indigenous technical knowledge, Spent mushroom substrate, Manure

IPC Int. Cl.8: A01K61/00, A01K63/00

The ancient societies had made remarkable

discoveries and innovations without any aid of

scientific knowledge. The ancient societies used to do

experiment with flora and fauna to cater their day to

day needs. The knowledge gained through such

experimentations transferred from one generation to

another still exists today giving birth to locally

adoptable technologies, which are termed as

indigenous technologies or traditional knowledge or

indigenous technical knowledge. Traditional

knowledge refers to the knowledge, innovations and

practices of indigenous and local communities around

the world. The creators or followers of traditional

knowledge are unaware about scientific logics behind

the practices. Indigenous knowledge can make a

significant contribution to sustainable development

and provide a basis for development of highly

adoptable and cost effective scientific innovation

provided they are documented, verified and refined by

blending scientific knowledge. The documentation

and accessibility of indigenous knowledge helps

farmers to adopt integrated farming practices. The

Centre for Indigenous Knowledge for Agriculture and

Rural Development, Iowa, demonstrated that

harvesting of crabs from the bunds of rice fields, an

indigenous food production technique in a south

Indian village, contributed significantly to the protein

intake of marginal farming household1. Collection and

documentation is first step towards protection of tacit

indigenous knowledge in the era of globalization and

Intellectual Property Right2.

High tech-mushroom units follow standard

package of practices of mushroom cultivation but on

the other hand, the seasonal mushroom growers use

quasi-standard package of practices for mushroom

cultivation mainly due to incomplete expertise, cost

effectiveness, lack of awareness and on the spot

advisory services and have come out with their own

local practices. The blending of local knowledge with

scientific one can make the mushroom cultivation

more profitable as the growers modify practices as per

their convenience. Non-availability of technologies on

a specific aspect has also motivated practitioners to

adopt their own invented practices. In mushroom

cultivation, this fact is more relevant. Thousands

tones of waste obtained from mushroom cultivation

commonly known as spent mushroom substrate

(SMS), is being dumped on the road side and __________

*Corresponding author

SAGAR et al.: INDIGENOUS USE OF SPENT MUSHROOM SUBSTRATE

243

awareness/know-how about its proper utilization is

not much available. Mushroom growers are recycling

spent mushroom substrate naturally and using it in

agricultural and horticultural crops as manure at their

own for the last few decades. They have gained a lot

of experience about it and are sharing their

experiences within a specified locality. Collection,

documentation and verification of this experience

based local knowledge about spent mushroom

substrate is of utmost importance to make further

investigations and refinement in local knowledge and

thereby to bring out scientific recommendations.

Hence, in view of the above, the study was carried

out.

Methodology

Collection of indigenous knowledge from diver’s

indigenous sources is time consuming, laborious and

costly process3. Collection of indigenous knowledge

can be attempted in many ways, viz. case study, oral

history, key informant method, observations,

participatory research methods-PRA, RRA, PAR,

etc4. However, keeping in mind the limitations of the

study, open ended structured questionnaire method

was adopted. In order to collect and document the

information about indigenous use of spent compost

(SMS), a questionnaire containing the dichotomy,

open ended questions and dummy tables seeking the

basic and specific information about use of spent

compost and its impact on soil health and physical

structure, crop yield, magnitude of insect, pest and

diseases was developed. Simultaneously, a

comprehensive list of regular button mushroom

growers was prepared covering the states like

Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttaranchal,

Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. Structured questionnaire was

sent to 311 mushroom growers, out of which 72

responded to the questionnaire and of which 56 were

found properly answered. Verification of collected

indigenous technologies about use of SMS was done

from secondary resources and research trials at

NRCM, Solan.

Results and discussion

Mushroom growers knowledge in use of spent

mushroom substrate (SMS) on various crops and its

impact on yield were recorded. The data reveal

that SMS was used as manure in different crops

(Figs. 1-7), viz. capsicum (Capsicum annuum),

tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill), cauliflower

(Brassica oleraecea), pea (Pisum sativum L. var.

hortense), potato (Solanum tuberosum L), ginger

(Zingiber officinale), garlic (Allium sativum L), wheat

(Triticum aestivum), paddy (Oryza sativa), maize

(Zea mays L) and apple (Malus pumila). Wide

variations were recorded in age of SMS applied in

different crops and it ranged between 0 months (fresh)

to 3 yrs old. Available literature on use of SMS show

that it should be used after suitable pre-treatments like

rapid salt leaching, and weathering in open for 2-3 yrs

for growing vegetables, fruits, saplings, ornamental

shrubs and other horticultural crops5,6

. Similarly,

quantity applied also varied between a minimum 4.75

q to maximum 1,000 q/ha in field crops and 4-6 kg/

plant in apple. Presently, there is no standard rule for

SMS application in crops. Different researchers have

applied different doses of SMS in different crops. In

Turf grass and Rye grass, SMS was applied @ 50

tons/ha7. In nutrient deficient soil, SMS was

incorporated @ 100, 200 & 400 tons (fresh

weight)/acre annually in corn crop8. In lettuce,

cabbage, cauliflower, beetroot, silver beet, beans,

potatoes and celery crops, SMS application was done

@ 11 tons/ha before sowing or transplanting as basal

application and additional 6.6tons/ha as a mulch in

silver beet and cauliflower9. SMS was used up to 320

tons/ha in crops like sweet corn, cabbage, potato,

etc10

. These studies indicate that there were no set

rules for application of SMS in various crops in the

past. Mushroom growers had noticed positive impact

of SMS on yield of different crops. Almost all the

respondents reported enhancement in yield of above

mentioned crops due to use of SMS as manure

(Table 1). Sweet corn and cabbage yield were

increased by using SMS without adding any inorganic

fertilizer, and yield of potato was increased

irrespective of fertilizer11

. Incorporation of SMS has

also showed significant positive effect on corn grain

yield12,13

. The addition of SMS as manure for

cultivation of Capsicum annuum, spring broccoli,

autumn broccoli and aubergine crops has also given

higher yield over the control14

.

Majority of the farmers (38.89%) noticed decrease

in incidence of insect, pests and diseases in the crops

manured with SMS (Table 2). About 5% farmers

reported no incidence of insect, pests and diseases. No

change in the magnitude of diseases due to use of

SMS was noticed by 11% farmers, while 5% farmers

reported increase in incidence. These view points of

mushroom growers can be verified with the help of

INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL 8, No. 2, APRIL 2009

244

available studies. Besides impact on yield of field and

horticultural crops, SMS also plays vital role in

disease management in crops. The application of SMS

as top dressings and soil amendments promotes a

population of antagonistic microorganisms (crop

friendly microorganism), which interfere with the

activities of pathogenic fungi. Aged composts, on

recolonization with mesophilic bacteria, heterotrophic

fungi, or actinomycetes, mitigate plant diseases as

well14-17

. Compost stimulates a natural disease

defence system in plants18-19

. The disease

suppressiveness of SMS against damping-off disease

(Phythium ultimum) was evaluated and addition of

SMS @ 25-100% to perlite significantly provided


245

effective control of damping-off disease in tomato.

Tomato seedling survival was approximately three

folds higher (55-63%) than that of 100% perlite

medium (21%) in the presence of Phythium ultimum

Table 1 — Indigenous use of spent compost in crops and its effect

on various aspects of crop production

Name of crop Age of SMS Quantity

q/ha

Impact

on yield

6 months 100-125 Increased

6 months mixed with

FYM

125 Increased


12 months 375 Normal

24-36 months 25-37.5 Increased

Capsicum

(N=6)

24 months 250 Increased

0-6 months 100 Increased

6 months mixed with

FYM

125 Increased


2-6 months 12.5 Increased

12 months 156.25 Normal


18 months 437.5-500 Normal


Tomato

(N=13)


5-6 months mixed

with FYM

125 Increased



Cauliflower

(N=4)







Ginger

(N=6)

18 months 37.5-50 Increased

1 month 312.5 Increased


Garlic

(N=3)




6 months 25-37.5 Increased


4 months 12.5 Increased





12 months 12.5-37.5 Increased


Wheat

(N=13)


Table 1 — Indigenous use of spent compost in crops and its effect

on various aspects of crop production — Contd.

Name of crop Age of SMS Quantity

q/ha

Impact

on yield





4-6 Months 75-100 Increased

6 Months 150 Increased

6 Months 25-37.5 Increased








Maize

(N=15)




12 months 12.5-37.5 Increased





Paddy

(N=8)






Potato

N=4)






Pea

(N=4)


1 month 5 kg/plant Normal

5 months 4 kg/plant Increased

Apple

(N=3)

8-12 months 4-6 kg/plant Increased


246

pathogen of said disease20

. The organic amendment of

soil with SMS has been found to help in restricting

the root knot infestation of tomato plants21

. The

aqueous extract of the SMS provided statistically

significant inhibition of the pathogen of apple scab

disease (Venturia inaequalis). Similarly, the extract

was also found effective in inhibition of shoot blight

disease of red pine and the conidial germination of

Cochliobolus carborum causing disease in maize22

.

The weekly or bi-weekly application of

spreader/sticker amended SMS extract, starting from

green tip to petal fall of apple tree has also

been reported to reduce the scab affective leaf

area23

. The lowest wilt disease incidence and highest

yield of aubergine has been recorded from the plots

applied with SMS+paddy straw (1 ton/ ha +2 tons/ ha)

along with recommended dose of NPK as compared

to FYM (10 tons/ ha) and poultry manure (1.4

tons/ha)24

.

Spent compost also plays a role in improving the

physical and chemical structure of soil. The

respondents (mushroom growers) have observed that

spent compost considerably increases the level of

fertility, water holding capacity, porosity and lighter

soil texture. Majority of the mushroom growers

(27.77%) noticed change in soil texture due to use of

spent compost (Table 3). Enhancement in fertility

level and water holding capacity was also observed by

25.92% and 18.52% mushroom growers, respectively.

These results are in agreement with findings of

several researchers6,25&26

. It is also reported that

SMS improves the environment for plant root

growth by decreasing soil bulk density, increasing

aggregate stability, reducing clod and surface crust

formation, increasing the infiltration rate and

increasing the water content of the soil10

. It is claimed

that adding spent compost to unfertile soil or soil

lacking in organic matter improves the fertility level

of soil27

.

Under AP-Cess funded Adhoc Project entitled

Refinement in recycling technologies of spent

mushrooms substrate for soil amelioration and

bioremediation, the indigenous technical knowledge

about recycling of spent mushroom substrate,

collected through mailed questionnaire were verified

as above and refined through experimental trials at the

NRCM, Solan. The spent mushroom substrate

obtained from white button mushroom crop was

recomposed through various methods such as natural

weathering, aerobic recomposting and anaerobic

recomposting, and used as organic manure in different

agricultural & horticultural crops, viz. wheat

(Triticum aestivum), tomato (Lycopersicon

esculentum Mill), ginger (zingiber officinale),

capsicum (Capsicum annuum), peas (pisum sativum L

var. hortens), cauliflower (Brassica oleraecea),

brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) and onion (Allium

cepa L). The quantification of doses of SMS

application in various crops has been worked out on

the basis of total NPK requirement and found that

SMS dose varied from lowest of 18.5 ton/ha in tomato

to maximum of 32 t/ha in ginger. In the rest of the

crops, it was 20 t/ha in pea and 25 ton/ha in each

capsicum, cauliflower, onion and brijal. The findings

of the project further reveal that 12 months old

anaerobically recomposted SMS and 6-24 months old

naturally weathered SMS application @ 18.5 t/ha

gave higher yield of tomato along with better fruit

quality in respect of ascorbic acid content, firmness,

TSS etc. and lower incidence from blossom end (Non-

parasitic)and buck eye rot (Phytophthora nicotiana

var. parasitica) diseases. The 6-18 months old

naturally weathered SMS and 12 months old

aerobically recomposted SMS enhanced the yield of

capsicum along with better quality of fruits and

restricted incidence of fruit rot disease (Phytophthora

sp).The chemical fertilizers supplemented

anaerobically recomposted SMS gave superior yield

in cauliflower, brinjal and wheat, while better fruit

quality and lower incidence of diseases was recorded

in plain anaerobically recomposted SMS treatment

(without chemical fertilizer). The 12 months old

naturally weathered and 12 months old anaerobically

Table 2 — Perception of mushroom growers about incidence of

insects pests and diseases in the crops manured with SMS (N = 54)

Impact Frequencies Percentage

Increased 03 05.50

Decreased 21 38.89

Normal 06 11.11

No diseases 03 05.50

Table 3 — Changes in soil condition due to use of SMS (N = 54)

Parameters Impact Frequencies Percentage

Fertility level Enhanced 14 25.92

Water holding capacity Increased 10 18.52

Porosity Increased 02 03.70

Soil texture light 15 27.77


247

recomposted SMS gave better yield and quality of pea

along with lower incidence of wilt (Fusarium

oxysporum f. sp pisi) and powdery mildew (Erysiphe

polygoni) diseases. In case of ginger and onion, the

12-18 months old aerobically recomposted SMS gave

superior fruit yield as well as quality along with lower

incidence of rotting the bulbs or rhizomes. The

supplementation of SMS with basal dose of chemical

fertilizers in ginger, onion and wheat crops stimulated

much more yield compared to the plain SMS and farm

yard manure. In most of the cases, the yield obtained

from SMS manured plots was at par with

recommended dose of fertilizers, with an additional

advantage of superior quality of produce and lower

incidence of diseases and insects.

Conclusion

Mushroom growers are disposing off spent

mushroom substrate (SMS) in open area and using it

as manure in agricultural and horticultural crops as

per the availability of SMS at their end with wide

variation in age and quantity of the SMS. On the other

hand, researchers had also experimented with varied

doses of SMS in crops. Both mushroom growers and

researchers noticed similar observations about

benefits of SMS application in terms of yield

enhancement, incidence of diseases in agricultural and

horticultural crops, and changes in soil physical

conditions. On the basis of empirical data and

experience gained during the process of verification

and refinement of ITKs about use of SMS as manure

in crops, it is concluded that SMS should be

decomposed for at least 12 months using scientific

methods of composting such as natural weathering in

pits, aerobic recomposting and anaerobic

recomposting instead of disposing off in open on road

side. Similarly, the doses of recomposted SMS for

various crops should be worked out on the basis of

total nutrients (NPK) requirement of the respective

crops and the nutrients status of SMS. The

recomposted SMS should be used singly as basal

application or in combination with inorganic

fertilizers.

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