Effect of Mushroom Agaricus bisporus on the Biodegradation of Agricultural Residues and the Quality of the Resulting Compost

Abstract

This study was conducted in 2022 in the laboratories of the College of Agriculture / University of Kufa, and aimed to use various agricultural residues to grow the mushroom Agaricus bisporus, in addition to using the same plant residues as biological fertilizers for plant growth. It was found that the growth medium prepared from wheat straw led to the best radial growth rate of white mushroom A. bisporus, after 6 days of inoculation, followed by rice straw and rice husks media. The results showed that the vegetative growth of A. bisporus is not pathogenic to the seeds of cress, wheat and barley and did not cause the seed rot. The results showed that there was an increase in the percentage of protein, fiber and chitinase enzyme in wheat straw decomposed by the mushrooms compared to the normal straw not treated with mushrooms. The antagonism of edible mushroom A. bisporus with a number of pathogenic fungi was tested on P.S.A. It was found that mushrooms had a high antagonism that of level 2 according to the Bell scale against the pathogenic fungi Alternaria sp, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium sp and Fusarium solani, and of level 3 against Aspergillus niger, after 5 days of growth on the medium.