Spent Mushroom Substrate contribution to sustainable agriculture and waste management

Summary by: Luminita Ciolacu and Sofia Reis (alphabetically)

From: ISEKI-Food Association

The spent mushroom substrate (SMS)is an agricultural waste which culminates to the mushroom industry in a financial burden of EUR 150 million annually.  For 1kg of freshly harvested mushrooms, 5 Kg of SMS is accumulated, generating 60 million tons of this by-product over a decade.

A comprehensive review focusing on the use of SMS to enhance agriculture sustainability retrieved 98 relevant scientific articles. Research done since 2018 focused on environmental and gas emissions (52 publications), agriculture and fertilizers (33 publications) and animal nutrition (13 publications).  

Accordingly, SMS-based composts were found to bean alternative to chemical fertilizers for intensive vegetable production systems (e.g., Honeydew melons, Onion cultivars, Cauliflower) with improved performance when mixed with poultry feathers and manure. SMS alsorepresented an accessible raw biomass to produce biofuels and bioenergy and facilitates the removal and degradation of contaminants in air, soil, and water. The co-composting with poultry manure has demonstrated the potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, particularly ammonia and nitrogen oxide volatilization. Further, SMS was a promising ingredient in poultry nutrition, enhancing their growth, health, and overall performance due to its high fibre and protein content, and bioactive compounds.

SMS use in poultry production seems to be promising for the advances in sustainable agriculture and waste management and more research and development is yet to come.

Based on: Batista, F.; Almeida, M.; Paié-Ribeiro, J.; Novo Barros, A.; Rodrigues, M. Unlocking the Potential of Spent Mushroom Substrate (SMS) for Enhanced Agricultural Sustainability: From Environmental Benefits to Poultry Nutrition. Life 2023, 13, 1948. https://doi.org/10.3390/life13101948