Growth Trials on Vegetables, Herbs, and Flowers Using Mealworm Frass, Chicken Manure, and Municipal Compost.

Hénault-Ethier, Louise ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0849-3666; Reid, Béatrice; Hotte, Noémie; Paris, Nicolas; Quinche, Melissa; Lachance, Chloé; Fortin, Alexis; Normandin, Étienne; Laderriere, Vincent et Vandenberg, Grant (2023). Growth Trials on Vegetables, Herbs, and Flowers Using Mealworm Frass, Chicken Manure, and Municipal Compost. ACS Agricultural Science & Technology , vol. 3 , nº 3. pp. 249-259. DOI: 10.1021/acsagscitech.2c00217.

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Résumé

With the growth of the insect farming industry, increasing quantities of insect manure (called frass) must be upcycled. This research provides one of the first sources of information regarding the potential plant growth enhancement of Tenebrio molitor’s frass on garden plants. It aims at demonstrating that frass is a promising fertilizer for plant production. Nine vegetables, one herb, and three flowers were planted on the roof of “La Centrale Agricole” in Montreal. Plants were grown in a 5% compost-enriched substrate (v/v) (control) and fertilized with 0.5% (v/v) frass (treatment 2) or an isonitrogen concentration of hen manure (treatment 3). Plant growth (germination, height, N flowers) and productivity (biomass) were assessed regularly throughout the growing season. Although beets and carrots’ seedling emergence was inhibited by both manures, this did not lead to reduced edible biomass compared to the control (germination was unaffected for corn, radish, and arugula). Similar to hen manure, frass resulted in a 16-fold increase of the edible biomass as compared to the control. Frass-fertilized plants had larger and more numerous flowers than control plants. Our results confirm that insect manure should be recognized as a suitable fertilizer for multiple crops, and should be regulated like other manures.

Type de document:	Article
Mots-clés libres:	frass; agriculture; Tenebrio molitor; insect farm; plant growth; organic fertilizer; upcycling
Centre:	Centre Eau Terre Environnement
Date de dépôt:	17 mai 2023 15:38
Dernière modification:	31 oct. 2023 15:15
URI:	https://espace.inrs.ca/id/eprint/13510

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