Effects of Intraspecific Competition and Larval Size on Bioconversion of Apple Pomace Inoculated with Black Soldier Fly

Finbarr G. Horgan (), Michael Launders, Enrique A. Mundaca and Eduardo Crisol-Martínez
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Finbarr G. Horgan: EcoLaVerna Integral Restoration Ecology, Bridestown, Kildinan, T56 P499 County Cork, Ireland
Michael Launders: School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
Enrique A. Mundaca: Escuela de Agronomía, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Católica del Maule, Casilla 7-D, Curicó 3349001, Chile
Eduardo Crisol-Martínez: EcoLaVerna Integral Restoration Ecology, Bridestown, Kildinan, T56 P499 County Cork, Ireland

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-15

Abstract: Waste from apple juice and cider industries (pomace) compares poorly against spent grains and other relatively high-nutrient wastes as a substrate for bioconversion by the black soldier fly (BSF: Hermetia illucens ). However, global pomace production exceeds 24 million tonnes annually and novel management approaches are required to reduce waste to landfill. We examined the effects of BSF inoculation densities (intraspecific competition) and larval size categories on cohort weight gains and apple pomace waste reduction. We found that, by increasing larval densities, cohort biomass and bioconversion rates (BRs) increased; however, at very high densities (overcrowding), BRs declined and cohorts lost weight. Furthermore, larger larval size classes accelerated substrate desiccation, possibly because of greater demands for water by older larvae. Larger larvae have slower relative growth rates and BRs compared to smaller size categories and require comparatively less dry weight substrate. Our results suggest that overcrowding on low-nutrient substrates reduces BRs and could exaggerate differences between BSF relative performances in comparative studies, particularly if intraspecific interference competition for space and exploitation competition for water diminish BSF weight returns at the end of the bioconversion cycle. We make a series of recommendations for the use of BSF in pomace waste reduction.

Keywords: animal feed; black soldier fly; brewery; circular agriculture; decomposition; fertilizer; frass; orchard; recycling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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