Hermetia illucens L., known as Black Soldier Fly (BSF) appear as an opportunity to reuse vegetable by-products, as it is easy to reproduce and can be reared in agricultural side streams, allowing the production of both, animal feed (the larvae, after recycling of the vegetal debris) and soil organic fertilizer (insect frass). Although several organic fertilizers, from long ago, have been used in agriculture, there is yet a paucity of experimental data on the evaluation of the fertilization potential of BSF larvae frass (BSFF). The present study is a contribution to access the agronomic and environmental potential of the BSFF as an organic fertilizer. Within this aim, it was conducted a greenhouse experiment with ryegrass, using seven treatments of BSFF. Under the experimental conditions, the results showed a significant effect of BSFF on the overall ryegrass production, with a steady increase (significant at p 0.05, as accessed through the Tukey test) up to the treatment with a greater rate of application. In what concerns sustainability of soil productivity, at the end of the experiment, there was also positive indications, namely, a significant increase of OM, P and K, for treatments with higher N endowments, together with a constant increase of dehydrogenase activity, from the control to the higher treatment, which was significant for treatments receiving the higher dose of BSFF.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential agronomic value of black soldier fly larvae frass (BSFF) as an organic fertiliser in short-cycle crops, using lettuce as the test plant. Treatments consisted in applying different fertilisers (BSFF and mineral) at different doses and combinations. The experiment was carried out for 42 days and plants were analysed in terms of biomass production, while the soil was chemically characterised before and after fertilisation, in order to assess the residual nutrient concentrations. In addition, soil microbial activity was assessed through the activity of the enzymes dehydrogenase and β-glucosidase. The highest yields were obtained with an exclusive mineral fertilisation (162.5±61.8 g fresh weight) and with a mixture of organic/mineral fertilisation (144.5±16.8 g) in comparison to exclusive fertilisation with BSFF, probably due to the immobilisation and slow mineralisation rate of the N provided by frass, along with the choice of the short-cycle plant, which requires readily available nutrients. Nevertheless, the BSFF increased the soil’s organic matter and residual nutrient content after 42 days of experiment, as well as the enzymatic activity of dehydrogenase and β-glucosidase, by at least 121 and 24% in the soils fertilised with BSFF, respectively. Thus, despite not being effective as an exclusive fertiliser for a short cycle culture, the BSFF included in a mixture with mineral fertilisation, may compete with exclusive mineral fertilisation with the benefit of improving the sustainability of soil fertility and crop production.
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