Animal Research International

5613 – 5619

Authors: MRIMI, Doreen Jeremiah

The use of black soldier fly (BSF) technology is a good organic waste management technique that results in the production of valuable agricultural products. Waste management uses different technologies depending on the type of waste being handled. This study manages organic waste using BSF. The BSF larvae have a high ability to degrade organic waste, and after degrading the larvae are harvested for animal feed as a protein source. The quality of harvested BSF larvae depends on what they eat. In this study, biochar was blended with market wastes, and fed to BSF larvae to improve both the larvae's growth rate and the quality of the frass. Biochar absorbs moisture in the feed making the BSF larvae grow well in optimal moisture content. The results indicated that including 25% biochar in rearing BSF larvae improves their growth rate. The weight of the larvae obtained in each substrate on the harvested day were 0.25 ± 0.03 and 0.13 ± 0.01 g in BI and MW, respectively. The unconsumed feed (frass) from each substrate used to grow vegetables and the growth parameters recorded show that the plants grow better in BI than in frass from MW and BI. Plants grown in frass without biochar grow slowly. Therefore, for more productivity of BSF larvae biochar should be blended in the BSF feed. This also reduces the smell of the fermented BSF feed and improves the quality of the frass.