Black Soldier Fly-Composted Organic Fertilizer Enhances Growth, Yield, and Nutrient Quality of Three Key Vegetable Crops in Sub-Saharan Africa
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Date
2021
Authors
Anyega, Abel O
Korir, Nicholas K
Beesigamukama, Dennis
Changeh, Ghemoh J
Nkoba, Kiatoko
Subramanian, Sevgan
Van Loon, Joop J. A
Dicke, Marcel
Tanga, Chrysantus M
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Abstract
Worldwide, French beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), and
kales (Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala) are considered economically important food
crops. There is a rapid decline in their yield due to severe soil degradation. Thus, high
commercial fertilizer inputs are crucial, though they remain expensive and inaccessible
to resource poor farmers. We investigated the comparative performance of composted
black soldier fly frass fertilizer (BSFFF), conventionally composted brewer’s spent grain
(BSG), commercial organic fertilizer (Evergrow), and mineral [nitrogen, phosphorus, and
potassium (NPK)] fertilizer on growth, yield, N use efficiency, and nutritional quality (crude
protein, crude fiber, crude fats, ash, and carbohydrate concentrations) of tomatoes,
kales, and French beans under greenhouse and open-field conditions for two seasons.
The fertilizers were applied at rates equivalent to 371 kg of N ha−1
. For each crop, the
plots were treated with sole rates of BSFFF, BSG, Evergrow, and NPK to supply 100%
of the N required. Additional treatments included a combination of BSFFF and NPK,
and BSG and NPK so that each fertilizer supplies 50% of the N required. The control
treatment consisted of unfertilized soil. Results show that vegetable yields achieved
using a combination of BSFFF and NPK were 4.5, 2.4, and 5.4-folds higher than the
yield from the control treatment for tomatoes, kales, and French beans, respectively. The
combined application of BSFFF and NPK produced 22–135%, 20–27%, and 38–50%
higher yields than sole NPK for tomatoes, kales, and French beans, respectively, under
both greenhouse and open-field conditions. The highest agronomic N use efficiency was
achieved in sole BSFFF-treated ots compared to sole BSG and Evergrow. The N taken
up by the vegetables was significantly higher when BSFFF and NPK were integrated.
Vegetables grown using a combination of BSFFF and NPK had the highest crude protein and ash concentrations. Our findings demonstrate that the integration of BSFFF and
NPK in vegetable cropping systems at the recommended rate of 1.24 t ha−1 BSFFF
and 322 kg ha−1 NPK would improve soil health, boost yield, and nutritional quality of
vegetable crops.
Description
Article
Keywords
black soldier fly frass fertilizer, nitrogen uptake, nitrogen use efficiency, nutritional quality, soil health, vegetable productivity
Citation
Anyega, A. O., Korir, N. K., Beesigamukama, D., Changeh, G. J., Nkoba, K., Subramanian, S., ... & Tanga, C. M. (2021). Black soldier fly-composted organic fertilizer enhances growth, yield, and nutrient quality of three key vegetable crops in sub-Saharan Africa. Frontiers in plant science, 12, 680312.