Vol. 12, Special Issue 12 (2023)

Author(s):
Manu CR, Anitha N, Aparna B, Poornima Yadav PI and Gavas Ragesh

Abstract:
Amaranthus is a widespread leafy vegetable grown throughout India. This leafy vegetable is important in the diet as it provides essential nutrients and dietary fibre. It grows luxuriantly in soils with high organic matter content. Red amaranthus variety Arun is popular among farmers of Kerala which is commercially grown round the year in many areas. This crop responds well to organic farming practices and is presently grown with organic manures like vermicompost and farm yard manure. As insect farming is gaining popularity, the frass obtained from such facilities could be used for crop production. Black soldier fly (BSF) is an insect extensively used for converting various biodegradable waste materials of diverse physical and chemical properties. Evaluation of the frass obtained from BSF units for its chemical properties and evaluating its suitability for growing agricultural crops is very much required. Hence frass obtained from conversion of five types of wastes by BSF viz. food waste, fruit and vegetable waste, fish waste, slaughter house waste and coconut cake were analyzed for chemical properties. In addition to this, an assessment of BSF frass on the growth of amaranthus was also conducted. It was found that frass obtained from these wastes were odourless, dark brown coloured, neutral to alkaline, electrical conductivity, total organic carbon, NPK content and C:N ratio were as per FCO standards, they had microbial activity too as indicated by the dehydrogenase activity. The pot culture experiment revealed that all the frass materials significantly increased the growth of amaranthus compared to farm yard manure as per the recommended organic package of practice of Kerala Agricultural University. Hence the frass from BSF units could be used as organic manure for growing the leafy vegetable amaranthus.