ABSTRACT
Edible mushrooms are cultivated mainly on substrates, natural plant wastes are due to their capability in utilizing lignin, cellulose, hemicelluloses for the production of fruit bodies with excellent dietary and therapeutic attributes. Mushroom cultivation is an age-old tradition and is considered to be an ecofriendly activity as it employs the byproducts of agriculture and allied activities. The substrate left out after the harvest of mushroom is referred as “spent mushroom.” The substrate is exhausted by the fungi for its growth and production of fruiting body. The exhausted substrate is recomposted by several methods and it is useful to several crop plants with respect to plant growth as well as suppression of plant disease. The mushroom waste is known to be an excellent source of carbon, nitrogen, and other essential elements. After a few cycles of fungal growth, the natural plant waste used as substrate becomes a simpler form of protein-rich component, which can be used as very good soil conditioners for the cultivation of crops and also for the production of microbial bioagents. The use of substrate as soil amendment is known to play a vital role in reducing the severity of soil-borne diseases in vegetable crops. Soil amendment promotes a population of antagonistic microorganisms, which reduces the population of pathogenic fungi. Aged compost, upon recolonization with heterotrophic fungi, actinomycetes, and mesophilic bacteria mitigates plant diseases as well. It also stimulates a natural plant defense system and the organic substances 512produced from substrate in soil are known to suppress the pathogens. Soil application singly or in combination with bioagents is useful to increase the population of antagonists and minimize different soilborne fungal pathogen. The application promotes to reduce the soilborne bacterial pathogens, various nematodes, and a few soilborne viruses.
