It Works! Organic-Waste-Assisted Trichoderma spp. Solid-State Fermentation on Agricultural Digestate

• Published in: Microorganisms (Basel) 2022-01, Vol.10 (1), p.164
• Main Authors: Alias, Carlotta, Bulgari, Daniela, Gobbi, Emanuela
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abiotic stress; Agricultural wastes; agro-industrial waste; Alternative energy sources; biofertilizer; Biofertilizers; Biomass; circular economy; Elongation; Fermentation; Fermented food; Fertilizers; Food; Food waste; fungal biomass; Fungi; Germination; Industrial wastes; Metabolites; qPCR; Sawdust; Seeds; Solid state; Solid state fermentation; Specialty products; Substrates; Trichoderma
• ISSN: 2076-2607; 2076-2607
• DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10010164

This study aimed at valorizing digestate through spp. solid-state fermentation (SSF) to produce a potentially ameliorated fertilizer combined with fungal biomass as a value-added bioproduct. Plant-growth-promoting Ta13, RUT-C30, R, and T-22 were tested on different SSF substrates: whole digestate (WD), digestate dried up with wood sawdust (SSF1), and digestate enriched with food waste and dried up with wood sawdust (SSF2). The fungal biomass was quantified by using a qPCR assay. The growth of the four spp. was only observed on the SSF2 substrate. The highest quantity of mycelium was produced by RUT-30 (689.80 ± 80.53 mg/g substrate), followed by Ta13, and R (584.24 ± 13.36 and 444.79 ± 91.02 mg/g substrate). The germination of seeds was evaluated in order to assess the phytoxicity of the -enriched substrate. The treatments with 7.5% SSF2-R, 3.75% SSF2-T-22, and 1.8% SSF2-Ta13 equally enhanced the root elongation in comparison to the non-fermented SSF-2. This study demonstrated that digestate, mixed with agro-food waste, was able to support the cultivation of spp., paving the way to the valorization of fermented digestate as a proper biofertilizer.