Impact of chick mash, rice bran, and wheat bran as starter feeds on the performance of black soldier fly larvae in food waste treatment

Abstract

Inadequate management of food waste (FW) has contributed to environmental degradation. Bioconversion of FW using black soldier fly larvae has proven to be a safe and cost-effective method for FW management. However, limited studies exist on the influence of starter feeds. The impact of rice bran, wheat bran, and chick mash as starter feeds was evaluated by investigating the optimal larval weight, substrate reduction, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and bioconversion rate (BCR) of the larvae after initial treatment in rice bran (T1), wheat bran (T2), chick mash (T3), and control (T4). The highest mean larval weight observed was 0.22 g in T3 followed by 0.18, 0.16, and 0.13 g in T2, T4, and T1, respectively. A similar trend was observed for substrate reduction and BCR. Nevertheless, the obtained substrate reduction range of 75.5–82.8% was comparable with the published ranges. The best performance in T3 may be attributed to high protein and nitrogen content in chick mash, while the lowest performance is attributed to high ash content in rice bran, which negatively affected the BCR. It can be concluded that the physico-chemical properties of the starter feeds strongly determine the growth and development of larvae. HIGHLIGHTS The physico-chemical properties of starter feeds should be considered for the selection of the best starter feed for the rearing of the BSF.; This study recommends chick mash as the best starter feed.; Food waste is a suitable substrate for growing BSF.; Due to its high ash content, this study does not recommend rice bran as a starter feed in rearing BSF larvae.;

Keywords

• bioconversion rate
• black soldier fly larvae
• feed conversion ratio
• food waste
• substrate reduction