The liquid by-product of biogas production: characterisation and impact on soil fungi

A liquid digestate (LD) obtained from the anaerobic digestion of mixed organic waste was characterised and tested on the fungi Pleurotus eryngii, Irpex lacteus and Trametes versicolor. Aqueous mixtures of LD at doses of 0.5, 1 and 2% (v/v) were tested directly or after interaction with 5% (w/v) biochar (BC-LD) and/or 100 mg L-1 soil humic acid (HA-BC-LD and HA-LD). Total luminescence (TL) analysis of LD showed the presence of fluorophores typical of scarcely aromatic matter, while the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum evidenced absorption bands typical of labile and non-condensed material. Some spectroscopic variations of the LD sample were observed after its interaction with the other materials. All LD treatments markedly promoted hyphal extension of P. eryngii whose growth rate increased up to 38% at the highest LD dose. The LD alone had no influence on the other fungi, whose growth was stimulated by some combinations of LD with the other materials. In facts, the growth rate of I. lacteus increased in BC-LD 1 and BC-LD 2 (P <= 0.05) and in all treatments with HA (up to 6% in HA-LD 2, P <= 0.01), while the growth of T. versicolor was promoted by HA-BC-LD 2 treatment (P <= 0.05) and slightly inhibited by all BC-LD combinations (up to 7% by BC-LD 1, P <= 0.05). The overall results obtained encourage the addition of LD to the soil and suggest a possible use of this material as substrate ingredient for the cultivation of edible mushrooms such as P. eryngii.