In recent years, the larval stage of Hermetia illucens, commonly known as the black soldier fly (BSFL), has been used to promote the circularity of the agri-food sector by bioconverting organic waste into larval biomass which has been used as a livestock feed. A secondary byproduct of this process is frass that can be used as an organic fertilizer. This study compared two different plant-based diets on frass characteristics as well as larval performance, nutritional composition, and waste reduction efficiency. A fruit/vegetable/bakery waste-based diet supplemented with brewery waste (FVBB) was compared to a control Gainesville (GV) reference diet and fed to BSFL under standard conditions. The results demonstrated that NPK and some of the macro and micronutrients in both frasses are comparable to commercially available organic fertilizers. It was shown that microorganisms present in frass from the two diets inhibit the mycelial growth of several plant pathogens through the production of antifungal and/or anti-oomycetes compound(s) (antibiosis). This diet also had a positive effect on individual larval mass (162.11 mg), bioconversion rate (13.32%), and larval crude lipid (35.99% of dry matter) content. The BSFL reared on this diet reduced feedstock dry matter by 67.76% in a very short time (10 days), which is a promising solution for food waste management.

Ethanolic crude extract prepared from autumn‐shed leaves of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) was recently shown to have antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas cichorii and Xanthomonas campestris pv. vitians, two bacteria causing diseases in lettuce production. In this study, antibacterial activity of sugar maple autumn‐shed leaves (SMASL) extract was further investigated. SMASL ethanolic crude extract was fractionated using HPLC system and geraniin was identified as the antibacterial compound by UPLC/Q‐Tof‐MS system. Geraniin, an ellagitannin, was then purified from SMASL crude extract using a glass chromatographic C18‐reversed phase silica gel column (purification Step 1) and a semi‐preparative HPLC system equipped with 5 μm XTerra Prep MS C18 column (purification Step 2). Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) of purified geraniin (purity of 96%) against P. cichorii and X. campestris pv. vitians were determined. X. campestris pv. vitians (MIC of 0.024 mg ml−1 and MBC of 3.125 mg ml−1) was more sensitive to geraniin than P. cichorii (MIC of 0.781 mg ml−1 and MBC of 6.25 mg ml−1). In the present study, geraniin is reported for the first time as the main antibacterial compound present in SMASL.

Five generally recognised as safe (GRAS) salts with antimicrobial activity were investigated for their potential use as bactericides for the control of lettuce varnish spot [Pseudomonas cichorii (Swingle) Stapp]. The phytotoxicity of salts was first assessed using greenhouse and in vitro assays. Greenhouse assays revealed that salts showed different levels of phytotoxicity. Potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, and sodium carbonate at higher concentrations caused a noticeable decrease of growth along with foliar phytotoxicity symptoms while sodium metabisulfite and sodium bicarbonate caused exclusively foliar symptoms. Based on the phytotoxic doses 5% determined in vitro, salts can be ranked in ascending order of phytotoxicity as follows: sodium bicarbonate, potassium sorbate, sodium carbonate, sodium benzoate, and sodium metabisulfite. When applied at concentrations causing mild to moderate foliar symptoms of phytotoxicity and no noticeable effect on growth, salts did not significantly affect (p ≤ 0.01) survival of P. cichorii on lettuce leaf tissue and did not significantly reduce (p ≤ 0.01) varnish spot severity. Although sodium metabisulfite was applied at concentrations higher than the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration, it did not affect P. cichorii survival on leaf tissue.

Different extracts prepared from wastes (barks, branches, needles, or leaves) of different trees (grey alder, balsam fir, American larch, red maple, sugar maple, white spruce, black spruce, jack pine, white pine, quaking aspen, sweet cherry, and northern red oak) were investigated for their potential use as antibacterial agents for the management of lettuce varnish spot and bacterial leaf spot caused by Pseudomonas cichorii (Swingle) Stapp and Xanthomonas campestris pv. vitians (Brown) Dye, respectively. Extracts were first screened for their antibacterial activities against P. cichorii and X. campestris pv. vitians using the in vitro disk diffusion assay. Based on the diameter of the inhibition zone, ethanol (95%) extract prepared from sugar maple autumn-shed leaves (SMASL) and aqueous ethanol (50%, v/v) extracts prepared from SMASL and from sugar maple green leaves showed the strongest antibacterial activities. Ethanol (95%) SMASL extract was further investigated for its efficacy to manage bacterial diseases when applied on lettuce plants grown in the greenhouse. Foliar application of ethanol (95%) SMASL extract at a concentration of 3.2 g L−1 was shown to significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduce bacterial leaf spot severity compared with the control without causing phytotoxicity symptoms that could prevent the commercial marketing of the lettuce. Ethanol (95%) SMASL extract (1.6 and 3.2 g L−1) was also shown to significantly reduce varnish spot severity in one experiment out of two. This study identifies for the first time the possibility of exploiting SMASL to manage bacterial diseases affecting horticultural crops.

At a time when growers have to increase food production, while facing many environmental challenges, biostimulants and plant defence stimulators (PDS) may help reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and to promote agriculture that is more respectful of the environment. For organic farming, they may contribute to increasing plant resilience and crop productivity. Several studies have shown that plant-derived protein hydrolysates may increase nutrient use efficiency and promote plant resistance to abiotic or biotic stresses. We therefore hypothesized that soy protein hydrolysates increase tomato growth and productivity, while promoting plant disease resistance. Our results showed that one or two drench applications of soy protein hydrolysates (SPH13 and SPH18 at 10 g L−1) to the growing medium increased tomato (‘Micro Tom’) plant growth and fruit production, while one studied hydrolysate enriched in glycine (SPH18) increased the expression levels of PR1 and PR8, two defence-related genes. Although no significant effect was observed on Botrytis cinerea resistance of Micro Tom plants, SPHs significantly increased ‘M82’ plant resistance to foliar inoculation with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000, which further confirmed the systemic activation of plant defence mechanisms by SPHs in tomatoes.