A study into reusing Canna edulis Ker. by-products to cultivate Pleurotus florida mushrooms

Abstract

In Vietnam, Canna edulis Ker. processing craft villages are growing with positive aspects and bring the economic prosperity for local people. However, the negative aspect is the serious pollution from a mass of by-products without any treatment. Canna edulis Ker. by-products contain a large water content and are rich in organic compounds such as hemicellulose, starch, cellulose, protein, and minerals that are easily decomposed by microorganisms, causing bad odors and polluting the  environment. With the statement that the by-products after being processed for starch of Canna edulis Ker. is a high nutrient source, they may be used in many purposes to bring additional economic values to the local people while the larger purpose is the environmental pollution treatment. In this study, we used Canna edulis Ker. by-products as primary carbon sources to cultivate Pleurotus florida mushrooms. The results showed that the Pleurotus florida mushrooms absolutely cultivated on Canna edulis Ker. by-products provided a high productivity which reached 36.06% higher than that cultivated on others materials (rice straw, cotton). A study on the factors affecting the mushroom yield on this source showed that pretreating of the dry subtrate with 1% Ca(OH)2, supplemented with 5% rice bran and 1% CaCO3 powder could improve the growth of mycelia and help the yield of fruit body reach 49.52%.