| International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences |
| ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 2 Number 8 (2013) pp. 278-285 |
| Assessment of groundnut shells as a carrier material for starter cultures of fungal inoculum designed for rapid composting |
| Moses Kolet* |
| Department of Botany, B.N.Bandodkar College of Science, Chendani, Thane, 400601, Maharashtra, India *Corresponding author e-mail: mjkolet@hotmail.com |
| A B S T R A C T |
| Modern composting technologies make the best use of efficient microorganisms with noteworthy cellulolytic capabilities, for reducing the usually long durations of the traditional processes. Complications and difficulties in safe packaging, transportation and handling of conventional microbial cultures of superior cellulolytic organisms in laboratory vessels by the users, comprising mostly laymen with little or no technical expertise in management of such cultures, at faraway site locations are some of the commonly encountered on site difficulties which have been hampering the widespread usage of efficient fungal isolates in composting. Development of user- and environment-friendly starter cultures of proven, superior cellulolytic microorganisms for composting, based on compatible carrier materials is a practicable solution to these problems. The communication deals with utilization of groundnut based agro-wastes viz. groundnut shells, as carrier material for development of starter culture formulations of efficient cellulolytic fungal inoculum for applications in composting. Suitability of the chosen agricultural residue as carrier material, compatibility trials with efficient cellulolytic fungal inoculum, usage of the carrier material based starter cultures in composting and shelf life of the carrier based culture formulations is discussed. Pulverized groundnut shells were appraised for their suitability as carrier material for starter cultures of cellulolytic fungal inoculums, which were successfully tested for composting of religious refuse. Groundnut shells were found extremely suitable as carrier material for fungal inoculum comprising species of the cellulolytic genus Chaetomium. |
| Keywords |
| Groundnut shells; composting; carrier material; starter cultures; cellulolytic Chaetomium |