A Study on the properties of mushroom compost produced by
different methods for the development of a self-propelled compost turner
Abstract
A self-propelled turner was developed to produce mushroom compost at low costs and high efficiency, and the uniformity of compost produced by an excavator, compost mixer, and self-propelled turner was compared. The material of the compost was mixed with rice straw and chicken manure at a dry weight ratio of 3:1. After the final turning, internal temperature distribution, water content of the compost pile, ash ratio, and uniformity of the compost pile were examined. After the compost was completed, the water content was 69.9 ± 0.54%, 72.1 ± 0.15%, and 74.5 ± 0.82%, respectively. The length of rice straw was 47.5 ± 15.4 cm, 24.9 ± 10.1 cm, and 31.0 ± 10.6 cm, respectively. The ash content in the dry weight of each compost was 25.0 ± 6.2%, 33.6 ± 4.2%, and 28.2 ± 1.1%, respectively. The deviation in the length of rice straw was affected by the linear velocity of the spinner in the compost mixer and the self-propelled turner, which were 21.5 m/sec and 9 m/sec, respectively. As a result, the most uniform mushroom compost was produced by the self-propelled turner.