Rearing of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae as a tool for managing agricultural byproducts

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of cassava, yam and sweet potato peels on Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) production. Four different treatments were performed in triplicate in a completely random block consisting of soy bran (TSB), cassava peel (TCP), yam peel (TYP) and sweet potato peel (TPP). A density of 1 larva/g of substrate was used with a uniform ratio of 100 mg/larva/day. Larval growth duration was ten days, and growth monitoring was carried out every 2 days. The daily weight gain (DWG) ranged from 2.19 ± 0.09 g/day (TYP) to 4.53 ± 0.02 g/day (TSB). The production of these BSFL ranged from 43.90 ± 1.87 g/kg of substrate (TYP) to 90.56 ± 0.54 g/kg of substrate (TSB). The degradation rate ranged from 36.00 ± 2.30% (TYP) to 65.00 ± 2.88% (TSB), and the survival rate ranged from 77.66 ± 1.45% (TYP) to 99.00 ± 0.28% (TSB). According to the Z correlation test, there was a strong correlation between the organic matter content of the substrates and the DWG (99.1%). It was also observed that phosphorus content was strongly correlated with DWG (92.9%). Regarding the nutritional quality of the larvae, the protein content varied from 33.51 ± 0.94% (TYP) to 40.64 ± 032% (TSB), and the lipid content varied from 26.24 ± 0.35% (TYP) to 30.44 ± 0.18% (TSB). A significant difference (p < 0.05) between the different treatments depending on the parameters were noticed. This study revealed that cassava, yam and sweet potato peels can be used for BSFL production, but the best growth of BSFL was obtained with the cassava peel substrate that presented also the best degradation rate.