Improvement of empovered soils trough the use of cricket frass based fertilizers

Sebastian Adriano Castelo Nuñez del Prado

Bakalářská práce

Abstract:

Cricket frass production worldwide is growing alongside the demand for protein, which is lately starting to be satisfied with insects, since these are a great source for it. The remainder of the production is frass, which consists of chitin from the exoskeletons and the insect’s feces may be a viable source of nutrients for plants. Some of the most used fertilizers today, can have a negative long-term impact on soils, such as water and air pollution, soil degradation, reduce the microbial activity and may increase the cost of crop production for farmers. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of the cricket frass fertilizer on corn plants, their final nutrient content and compare them with other more conventional types of fertilizers. The selected species for this experiment was Acheta domesticus (Linneaus, 1758) (Orthoptera: Gryllidae), more commonly known as House Cricket, due to it’s fast breeding rate. Model pot experiment was conducted as follows: 648g of material was collected to treat 27 kg of soil in 2 different concentrations, 3 pots of 4.5 kg of soil with low concentration (72g) cricket frass per pot and 3 pots of 4.5 kg of soil with high concentration (144g) of cricket frass per pot. These treatments were compared to NPK treatment, vermicompost (also in 2 different concentrations) and untreated soil. The results showed that there is not a significant difference among variants when comparing these treatments, but a trend is visible, and it should be the focus of further research. The findings are very promising and showed that cricket frass could eventually compete with NPK treatment to be used as a viable fertilizer.

Keywords

cricket frass, fertilizer, nutrients, effectivity

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 25. 3. 2024

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Vedoucí: prof. Ing. Jiřina Száková, CSc.
• Oponent: Martin Kulhánek, Ph.D.

Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze

Fakulta agrobiologie, potravinových a přírodních zdrojů

Bakalářský studijní program:
Environmental Engineering