Development of an enhanced insect frass biofertilizer through exoskeleton by-product addition

奥伯兰农业科学公司是一家可持续发展的黑兵苍蝇室内农场，以工业规模饲养昆虫。黑色士兵蝇幼虫的生产是独一无二的，因为昆虫饲养过程的每个要素都产生了一种潜在的可销售产品：幼虫(富含蛋白质和钙的来源)、粗纤维(排泄物)、贝壳(蜕皮时脱落的外骨骼)和死亡的成年苍蝇。目前，奥伯兰农业公司正在将其幼虫作为蛋白粉补充剂出售，将昆虫幼虫作为生物肥料出售，该公司正在探索如何最好地利用外骨骼。幼虫和死亡成虫的外骨骼含有甲壳素，这是一种已知可以促进作物生长和缓解作物压力的聚合物。这种副产品的一个潜在用途是将外骨骼添加到昆虫纤维生物肥料中。甲壳素强化果胶的组合可能会提高作物的效益，而不仅仅是昆虫果胶，创造出一种优质的昆虫果胶生物肥料产品。然而，目前尚不清楚在昆虫饲料中添加这些外骨骼是否会提高作物产量，减少作物应激损害，并提供比仅有饲料或合成肥料更大的其他环境效益。因此，奥伯兰农业科学公司正在寻求与新斯科舍省社区学院合作，以研究以下目标：1)确定与单独添加外骨骼和/或合成肥相比，添加外骨骼是否可以促进作物生长并减少霜冻损害，2)研究添加外骨骼是否比单独添加外骨骼和/或合成肥料减少养分淋失，以及3)测试添加到昆虫外骨骼中的不同数量的副产品，以创建最佳配方。预期的结果将为奥伯兰农业科学公司提供关键信息，这些信息将通过添加其他副产品来生产优质生物肥料，从而降低处置成本。总而言之，这将减少进入垃圾填埋场的昆虫副产品，同时提高有霜冻风险的种植区的产量。此外，国家生产者越来越多地采用这种增强型生物肥料将减少对合成肥料的依赖，并减少从加拿大各地的农业系统淋溶到水生生态系统的养分。

Oberland Agriscience is a sustainable black soldier fly indoor farm, rearing insects on an industrial scale. Black soldier fly larvae production is unique in that every element of the insect rearing process yields a potential saleable product: larvae (rich source of protein and calcium), frass (excrement), shells (exoskeletons cast off during molting) and dead adult flies. Currently, Oberland Agriscience is selling their larvae as a protein powder supplement and their insect frass as a biofertilizer, with the company exploring how to best use the exoskeletons. Exoskeletons from the larvae and dead adult flies contain chitin, which is a polymer known to improve crop growth and mitigate crop stress. One potential use of this byproduct is adding the exoskeletons to the insect frass biofertilizer. The combination of chitin augmented frass may enhance crop benefits more than just insect frass alone, creating a superior insect frass biofertilizer product. However, it is unclear whether adding these exoskeletons to insect frass enhances crop yield, reduces crop stress damage, and offers other environmental benefits greater than just frass alone or synthetic fertilizer. As a result, Oberland Agriscience is looking to partner with Nova Scotia Community College to investigate the following objectives: 1) Determine if exoskeleton addition to insect frass enhances crop growth and reduces frost damage compared to frass and/or synthetic fertilizer alone, 2) Examine if exoskeleton addition to insect frass reduces nutrient leaching than frass and/or synthetic fertilizer alone, and 3) Test varying quantities of the byproduct being added to the insect frass to create the optimal formulation. Anticipated results will provide Oberland Agriscience critical information that will create a superior biofertilizer through the addition of other byproducts, reducing disposal costs. Together this will result in less insect byproduct entering landfills, while leading to increased yields in growing areas at risk of frost. In addition, the increased adoption this enhanced biofertilizer by national producers will reduce dependence on synthetic fertilizer and decrease nutrients being leached from agricultural systems to aquatic ecosystems across Canada.