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Characterizing quality of frass produced by black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae after treating water hyacinth and fruit wastes in various proportions

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Abstract

Globally, inefficient waste management is viewed as a social, environmental, and economic threat. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) waste treatment is a promising strategy for efficient waste management that offers a continuous supply of organic fertilizer. However, no thorough investigations have looked into the frass produced during the processing of water hyacinth and fruit waste as a fertilizer. In this study, BSFL processed experimental water hyacinth and fruit waste at various ratios for a total of 20 days of experimentation, first processing 8 kg of waste per treatment (T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5) for 14 days, and then adding 6 kg of waste per treatment for the following 6 days. The physicochemical composition of the frass produced by BSFL composting water hyacinth and fruit waste was examined to determine its fertilizer value. The results indicated that the moisture content of the frass ranged from 41.4 to 60%, while the pH, electrical conductivity, and carbon to nitrogen ratio ranged from 6.02 to 8.09, 4.00 to 6.34 ds/m, and 14.94 to 29.65, respectively. The micro-mineral content of the frass is within the acceptable ranges suggested by various organizations, with organic carbon ranging from 23.5 to 29.13%, total nitrogen from 0.79 to 1.95%, phosphorus from 0.18 to 0.42 mg/kg, potassium from 0.19 to 2.62%, calcium from 0.14 to 0.03%, and magnesium from 0.07 to 0.19% making the frass suitable for agricultural use. Similarly, the micro-mineral contents (Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn) of the frass are within acceptable ranges for use as organic fertilizer.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the funding provided by Injibara University and Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) and Mawazo Fellows Fund. The authors appreciated the constructive feedback provided by anonymous reviewers and supervisors.

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Grants for the study were supplied by Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) and Mawazo Fellowship Programme.

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DM contributes to the conception, design, and implementation of the experiment, as well as the majority of the analysis and writing-up of findings. The literature review, data analysis, interpretation, and paper editing were all carried out by FY. In addition to organizing the technique, GO also produced the paper content, revised the manuscript, and evaluated and interpreted the data and findings.

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Correspondence to Desta Mulu.

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Mulu, D., Yimer, F. & Opande, G. Characterizing quality of frass produced by black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae after treating water hyacinth and fruit wastes in various proportions. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 13, 15185–15196 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-023-04552-8

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