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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dc.contributor.authorAnyega, Abel O
dc.contributor.authorKorir, Nicholas K
dc.contributor.authorBeesigamukama, Dennis
dc.contributor.authorChangeh, Ghemoh J
dc.contributor.authorNkoba, Kiatoko
dc.contributor.authorSubramanian, Sevgan
dc.contributor.authorVan Loon, Joop J. A
dc.contributor.authorDicke, Marcel
dc.contributor.authorTanga, Chrysantus M
dc.date.accessioned2023-04-17T08:27:53Z
dc.date.available2023-04-17T08:27:53Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.descriptionArticleen_US
dc.description.abstractWorldwide, 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.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipNorwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, the Section for research, innovation, and higher education grant number RAF-3058 KEN-18/0005 (CAP-Africa), Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, WOTRO Science for Global Development (NWO-WOTRO) (ILIPA—W 08.250.202), Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) (INSFEED—Phase 2: Cultivate Grant No: 108866-001), and the Rockefeller Foundation (SiPFeed—Grant No: 2018 FOD 009). We also gratefully acknowledge the support of International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) core funding provided by United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO); the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida); the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC); the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; and the Government of the Republic of Kenya.en_US
dc.identifier.citationAnyega, 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.en_US
dc.identifier.otherdoi: 10.1080/03650340.2019.1572118
dc.identifier.urihttp://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/25213
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherFrontiers Media SAen_US
dc.subjectblack soldier fly frass fertilizeren_US
dc.subjectnitrogen uptakeen_US
dc.subjectnitrogen use efficiencyen_US
dc.subjectnutritional qualityen_US
dc.subjectsoil healthen_US
dc.subjectvegetable productivityen_US
dc.titleBlack Soldier Fly-Composted Organic Fertilizer Enhances Growth, Yield, and Nutrient Quality of Three Key Vegetable Crops in Sub-Saharan Africaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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