Biodegradation of vegetable waste and obtaining fruit bodies in cultivation of Hericium erinaceus
Development of technologies for biodegradation of plant wastes in order to obtain new useful products can not only reduce pollution of the environment, but also provide a raw material base for biotechnology. The possibility of using the basilial xylotrophic fungus Hericium erinaceus as a destructor of plant wastes with simultaneous production of economically valuable secondary products was studied. As a nutrient substrate for the production of fruiting bodies of the fungus, mixtures of straw, oak sawdust and oat grain were used in various proportions. The productivity of the raw compacted substrate was calculated as the ratio of the mass of fruiting bodies of fungi obtained from one vessel to the initial mass of the substrate. The intensity of decomposition of the substrate was judged by the decrease in its biomass during the period of cultivation of the fungus. It is shown that in order to achieve a high degree of biodegradation of cellulose and lignin-containing waste and to obtain the maximum harvest of fungi, it is necessary to include a readily hydrolysable grain component in an amount of not less than 30% by volume in the nutrient substrate. By varying the concentration of the grain, it is possible to regulate the growth rate of the mycelium, the yield of the fruiting bodies and the degree of biodegradation of the substrate.