Abattoir sludge and food waste combination as a feed source for black soldier fly larvae: Optimisation of level of larval incorporation in the substrate

Abstract

The study was conducted to optimize the level of Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) incorporation in the abattoir sludge and food waste combination. The substrate for the study included a combination of 70 per cent abattoir sludge as the principal substrate (PS) and 30 per cent hostel food waste as the co-substrate (Co- S) for BSFL rearing. Experiments were carried out to fix the level of larval incorporation into 320 g of the substrate and to assess the nutritional qualities of the harvested prepupae. The BSFL were incorporated in four different levels in 320 g of substrate (T1: 150 mg larvae, T2: 450 mg larvae, T3:600 mg larvae and T4: 750 mg larvae). The efficiency of BSFL to feed on the substrate and get converted into biomass was evaluated for the treatment combinations. Among the different treatments, T1had significantly (p<0.001) higher mean prepupal weight and larval survivability. Hence the addition of 150 mg larvae to the 320 g of substrate was found to be optimum for BSFL biomass production.

Keywords

• abattoir sludge
• food waste
• black soldier fly larvae