Assessment of the N- and P-Fertilization Effect of Black Soldier Fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) By-Products on Maize

Gärttling, Daniel; Kirchner, Sascha; Schulz, Hannes

doi:10.1093/jisesa/ieaa089

Cited by 45 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Due to its high content in nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) as well as the potential presence of beneficial microorganisms (Poveda et al, 2019), the use of frass as a fertilizer could help in reducing the use of agrochemicals. For instance, frass from black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.) was successfully used as an organic fertilizer to promote the growth of maize (Beesigamukama et al, 2020a;Gärttling et al, 2020) and ryegrass (Menino et al, 2021). In addition, frass from mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) showed great potential to be used as a partial or a complete substitute for mineral NPK fertilizer for the growth of barley (Houben et al, 2020) while stimulating soil microbial (Poveda et al, 2019) and earthworm activity (Dulaurent et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Short-Term Fertilizer Potential of Mealworm Frass Using a Pot Experiment

Houben

Daoulas²,

Dulaurent

2021

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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The forecasted growth of insect production in the next few years will generate high quantities of frass (insect excreta). Although frass is increasingly considered a potential fertilizer, the dynamics of nutrient supply by frass is still poorly understood. Here, we aimed at gaining insight into the short-term fertilizer value of frass from mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.) in order to optimize its sustainable use in agroecosystems. Using a short-term pot experiment, we showed that, even though frass has a great potential to be used as a substitute of mineral NPK fertilizer, its N fertilizer potential is mediated by its rate of application. At 10 t ha−1, due to its fast mineralization coupled with improvement in microbial activity (assessed using Biolog EcoPlate), frass was as effective as mineral fertilizer to supply N to plant. By contrast, at 5 t ha−1, the lower frass mineralization induced a reduced N uptake compared to its mineral control. Unlike N, frass was as effective as mineral fertilizer to supply P and K to plants irrespective of its application rate. This was attributed to the presence of P and K in a readily available form in frass. Taken together, our results indicate that mealworm frass supplies very rapidly N, P and K to plants but its effects on N dynamics should be better investigated to warrant its sustainable use as an alternative fertilizer for managing NPK nutrition in cropping systems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Short-Term Fertilizer Potential of Mealworm Frass Using a Pot Experiment

Houben

Daoulas²,

Dulaurent

2021

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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“…Barley treated with mealworm frass applications had similar biomass, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium concentrations in comparison to inorganic fertiliser treatments. Maize treated with black soldier fly larvae digestate produced statistically comparable yields to other organic fertilisers, though these yields were significantly lower than the standard inorganic fertiliser (Gärttling et al, 2020). These studies provide further evidence that application in a controlled environment can provide similar benefits to currently adopted fertiliser regime.…”

Section: Use Of Insect Frass As Fertilisermentioning

confidence: 63%

Insect left-over substrate as plant fertiliser

Chávez

Uchanski

2021

JIFF

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The production of insect protein as human food and livestock feed (entomophagy) may provide a more environmentally beneficial alternative to traditional animal agriculture. However, the resulting waste product from insect production has resulted in large accumulations of left-over substrate and frass. Due to its nutrient and microbial profile, this left-over product has the potential to be utilised as a biofertiliser for high value crop production. Studies have been conducted using the frass of various insects (e.g. black soldier flies, houseflies, and mealworms) to monitor its impact on crop productivity. Overall, frass tends to have similar or better results when compared to inorganic fertilisers, especially when combined with them. Aside from productivity and growth, frass may also preserve soil fertility by decreasing leaching and infiltration, and reducing the prevalence of disease and pathogens. In addition, chitin found in frass also has beneficial properties for plant/crop growth and disease resistance. Monitoring the dietary inputs of industrially reared insects may be the best way of mitigating the potential negative impacts of frass application, such as increased electrical conductivity and heavy metal toxicity. No single study confirms all of these benefits at once. Future studies should focus building onto these results by demonstrating systems levels benefits.

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“…The fact that seldom these trials showed a decrease in production -as was reported by Alattar et al [39], when comparing processed food waste via Microaerobic Fermentation and BSF larvae biodigestion as soil fertilizers in maize, or Gärttling et al [40], with a BSF frass in a low nutrient potting soil -may not mean that, in the overwhelming majority of experimental trials, the results with entomocompost compete with mineral fertilizers; it should be noted that on the one hand, the implementation of field trials is often preceded by a prior study of the feasibility of the hypothesis and, on the other hand, that regrettably a large proportion of the trials that do not confirm the hypothesis are not reported.…”

Section: Data In the Context Of The Trinomial "Soil X Plant X Fertilizer"mentioning

confidence: 77%

The Insects as a Workforce for Organic Fertilizers Production – Insect Frass

Menino¹,

Murta²

2022

New Generation of Organic Fertilizers

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Following the evolution of composting technology, the process of digestion of a biological substrate by insects (entomocomposting) represents the last stage; however, from its initial context of producing an organic fertilizer, the role of entomocomposting has been imposing itself (due to increasing demographic pressure) mainly in the safe disposal of organic waste (in rampant growth) and in the breeding of insects for food and feed, for the sake of food security. Both these last goals converge in the first, as the safest disposal of the compost is its use as organic fertilizer; but the organic substrates are of a diversified nature, as are the species of insects which have already proved themselves in entomocomposting; hence, for each of the purposes in view, the choice is vast and, in the same way, the entomocompost composition is wide-ranging. Furthermore, various types of organic substrates, in addition to a microbial flora with symbiotic effects, may sometimes be able to transmit to the frass a harmful load of heavy metals and/or, depending on the composting insect agents, the presence of microorganisms harmful to crops and to humans and animals; in these situations, the former should be encouraged, and the latter counteracted through appropriate composting technology. Directives and legislation in this area, if properly considered, constitute a fundamental basis for ensuring the appropriate use of this particular kind of organic fertilizer. Apart from the production of insects for food and feed, where the choice of which insect is determined at the outset, the preference for the insect to be used in entomocomposting should be considered according to its proficiency in biological digestion of the organic substrates available for this purpose and the fertilizing quality of the frass produced. Although a multitude of species have been evaluated, to date, for the digestion of organic substrates, most have been used in assessing their specific potential for certain functionalities of frass related to crop nutrition and health, but there are few which, either by prolificacy, proficiency or rapidity in digesting substrates, exhibit capacity to compete in rural environment; nevertheless, new species could be evaluated in the framework of the research of competitors for entomocomposting of all or each substrate type and for each of the main anticipated objectives, meanwhile, genetic improvement to obtain new strains specialized for different organic substrates has already started to take its first steps. In addition to the binomial “insect x substrate” the composting technology constitutes the third fundamental factor for the efficiency of the process. Insects use as a composting agent has been suggested several decades ago, but it was only in the last decade that this process grown from the garden to the factory. Within rural areas, entomocomposting could play a key role within a circular economy, where recycling and reusing potentially polluting wastes safely returns to the land the enduring fertility that enables the sustained production that generated them, requiring no particularly upscale installations, equipment or technical training; it can, therefore, be adapted to any size of agricultural holding, from smallholdings to large industrial holdings, on the other hand, and in order to obtain a controlled production and high quality entomocompost, it is needed to implement industrial technologies and the composting unit can achieve a very high production per square meter, comparing with traditional composting methods. However, whether from the perspective of agriculture, livestock or forestry, the production of waste for entomocomposting always falls far short of the necessary scale, and therefore always requiring the use of biodigested organic waste from agricultural industries, provided that the necessary precautions are taken; in any case, it always constitutes added value, due to the products it generates, in addition to the inestimable value of the productive disposal of potentially polluting products. Despite all the advantages mentioned above, the controversy over the organic vs. mineral fertilizer option persists, often fuelled by myths on both sides, but the successes already achieved with insect entomocomposts, such as the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.) or the mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.), in field trials, which are gradually adding up, anticipate an important role for insects in safeguarding global food and environmental security.

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Assessment of the N- and P-Fertilization Effect of Black Soldier Fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) By-Products on Maize

Cited by 45 publications

References 46 publications

Assessment of the Short-Term Fertilizer Potential of Mealworm Frass Using a Pot Experiment

Assessment of the Short-Term Fertilizer Potential of Mealworm Frass Using a Pot Experiment

Insect left-over substrate as plant fertiliser

The Insects as a Workforce for Organic Fertilizers Production – Insect Frass

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