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Compost Formulations

This document provides information on raw materials and formulations for producing compost for growing white button mushrooms. It lists various base materials like wheat straw and supplements like animal manures and nitrogen fertilizers that are used to create compost with the proper carbon-nitrogen ratio and nutrient levels. Standard long and short method formulations are presented that use a combination of straw, manures, grains, urea, phosphate, and other ingredients to achieve a starting C:N ratio of 30:1 and final nitrogen content around 1.5-1.8% for optimal mushroom growth.

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Shivendra Singh
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216 views12 pages

Compost Formulations

This document provides information on raw materials and formulations for producing compost for growing white button mushrooms. It lists various base materials like wheat straw and supplements like animal manures and nitrogen fertilizers that are used to create compost with the proper carbon-nitrogen ratio and nutrient levels. Standard long and short method formulations are presented that use a combination of straw, manures, grains, urea, phosphate, and other ingredients to achieve a starting C:N ratio of 30:1 and final nitrogen content around 1.5-1.8% for optimal mushroom growth.

Uploaded by

Shivendra Singh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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RAW MATERIALS AND FORMULATIONS

FOR WHITE BUTTON MUSHROOM


COMPOST PRODUCTION

Shwet Kamal
• Whit button mushroom is a saprophytic fungus

• It requires well composted material for its growth.

• Compost is prepared by using agricultural and animal bye


products

• Compost is a product of fermentation brought about by the


variety of organisms

• End product is most suitable for the growth of mushroom at the


practical exclusion of the competitors
Materials required for composting

Base materials: Wheat straw, Paddy straw, Sugarcane


bagasse, soybean straw, mustard straw etc.

These are reservoir of cellulose and hemi cellulose and provide


carbon nutrition.

Should be freshly harvested, 5-8cm long, shining yellow

Add bulk to the compost

N% 0.4-1.0%
Supplements:
CN ratio of veg. Base materials is high they have to be supplemented with N sources to
bring it down to start fermentation

Animal manures: Horse manure & chicken manure N % 2.0-3.0


Carbohydrate sources: These materials are also required to balance the CN ratio and
also to hasten the composting process
Wheat bran, molasses rice bran, apple pomace, etc. can be placed in this category
Since above materials are easily soluble in water, they are readily available to micro-
organism for their utilization
Nitrogen fertilizers:

• urea
• calcium ammonium nitrate
• ammonium sulfate

Nitrogen content of these are very high (28-46%)


which is released quickly, resulting in quick establishment
of microflora.
Concentrate meals:
Animal feeds are generally kept in this category.

• Wheat or rice bran


• Dried brewer's grain
• soybean meal
• Cotton seed meal
• Castor meal
• Sunflower meal , etc

These materials supply both nitrogen and carbohydrates which as in case of animal
manures are released slowly.

Nitrogen content 3-12%


Supplements designed to rectify mineral deficiencies:

• Muriate of potash
• Superphosphate
• Gypsum
• Calcium carbonate

Gypsum is exclusively used in mushroom composting


for balancing the pH, removing the greasiness and for
suspending colloidal materials.

It serves as the calcium nutrition for A. bisporus and


also converts oxalic acid into calcium oxalate
Moisture and nitrogen contents of compost raw materials.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
% moisture N%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wheat straw 15 0.5
Horse manure - light 30 0.8
Horse manure - heavy 50 1.0
Deep letter chicken manure 30 3.0
Wheat bran 10 2.0
Brewers grain 40 2.0
Soybean meal 10 6.5
Cotton seed meal 10 7.0
Nitrogen computation guidelines

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ingredients Fresh wt Moisture Dry wt N% Kg N
(kg) (kg) % (kg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wheat straw 300.0 10 270.0 0.40 1.08
Wheat bran 15.0 10 13.5 2.00 0.27
Chicken manure 125.0 10 112.5 2.60 2.93
Urea 5.50 -- 5.5 46.0 2.53
Gypsum 20.0 -- 20.0 -- --
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total wt. 465.5 421.5 6.81
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
N% = 1.61
Standard formulations
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long method Short method
-------------------------------------------------
Wheat straw 1000 kg Wheat straw 1000 kg
CAN 30 kg Chicken manure 400 kg
Super phosphate 25 kg Brewer's grains 72 kg
Urea 12 kg Urea 14.5 kg
Sulphate of Potash 10 kg Gypsum 30 kg
Wheat bran 100 kg
Molasses 16.6 Litres
Gypsum 50 kg
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elemental requirement of white button mushroom compost

N 1.5 -1.8%

P2O5 1.2-1.5%

K2O 2.0-2.3%

CaO 1.5-3%

MgO 0.4-0.5%
Formulations should be so designed that starting mixture should have:
C: N ratio at the starting phase 30:1
Cold N % 1.5-1.75
Final C: N ratio 20-16:1

If N is < 1.5 % and > 1.75 % you may be in trouble

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