Use of spent mushroom compost in sustainable fruit production

Abstract

Mushroom compost is produced fro m chopped straw, poultry manure, gypsum and water. After the mushrooms have been harvested, the spent compost can be used in organ ic far ming to i mprove soil w ater in filtration, w ater holdin g capacit y, permeability and aeration. Spent mushroom compost contains a lot of salt and unstable organic material, so it should be aged for about two years before applying. This allows for leaching of orga nic solutes and decomposition of organic matter. Spent mushroom compost contains about 1­2% nitrogen, 0.2% phosphorus and 1.3% potassium. After being aged for 18 months, phosphorus and nitrogen do not change, but p otassium c a n d ecrease. T he c haracteristics o f spent mushroom c ompost a re described, a nd t he p ossible a dva ntages a nd d isad vantages o f u sin g S MC i n f ruit growing are discussed.