The syntrophic microbial application for lignocellulosic biodegradation and subsequent transformation into compost provides an alternative strategy against burning and disposing post harvested agricultural biomass which is of vital importance in agriculture used as compost. Biodegradation process is hindered during winter season, as the microorganisms involved in lignocellulose biodegradation slows down their metabolism due to unfavourable growth conditions at low temperatures. In order to intensify the composting process at low temperature, psychrotrophic microbes were isolated and characterized for lignocellulosic hydrolytic potential specifically at low temperatures. Among the isolated microbes, four efficient lignocellulolytic psychrotrophic microbes (Eupenicillium crustaceum, Paceliomyces sp., Bacillus atropheus and Bacillus sp.) and commercial fungal consortia (Aspergillus awamori, Aspergillus nidulans, Trichoderma viride and Phanerochaete chrysosporium) were used in present study. It was found that psychrotrophic microbes along with the commercial fungal consortium enhanced the composting process at low temperature. These psychrotrophic and mesophilic microbial consortium can be used for degradation of agri-residues and conversion to a value added product like compost, which helps in enhancing soil fertility and decreasing environmental pollution caused by burning of agrowastes. This is the first report for biodegradation of paddy straw by psychrotrophic microbes at low temperatures.
Key words: Agriculture waste, Composting, Microbial consortia, Psychrotrophic microbes
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