Dietary inclusions of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae frass enhanced production of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) juveniles, stevia (Stevia rebaudiana, and lavender (Lavaridula angustifolia) in an aquapo

Authors: ROMANO, NICHOLAS - University Of Arkansas At Pine Bluff; Webster, Carl; SINHA, AMIT KUMAR - University Of Arkansas At Pine Bluff; Beck, Benjamin; YAMAMOTO, FERNANDO - Mississippi State University

Submitted to: Aquaculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/30/2023
Publication Date: 6/13/2023
Citation: Romano, N., Webster, C.D., Sinha, A., Beck, B.H., Yamamoto, F. 2023. Dietary inclusions of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae frass enhanced production of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) juveniles, stevia (Stevia rebaudiana, and lavender (Lavaridula angustifolia) in an aquaponic system. Aquaculture. 575:739742.

Interpretive Summary: There is a new type of farming that people are using to grow these items to provide to the people of the United States and the world and it does not use soil to grow the plants. It is called aquaponics. Aquaponics is a blend of aquaculture and hydroponics. Aquaculture is the culture of aquatic organisms (fish, crustaceans, shellfish, and algae) and has been the most rapidly growing segment in global agriculture for the past 40 years. Today, roughly 50% of all fish seafood people eat in the world is provided from aquaculture production. Hydroponics is the production of plants using soilless growing systems and uses indoor growing facilities (such as greenhouses or large warehouses) to produce the plants. Indoor aquaponics systems enable you to grow food year-round, which is especially valuable for farmers in deserts or those in shortened growing climates. Further, fresh produce can be locally grown, no matter where the aquaponics facility is located, like downtown in a large city. People can have access to fresh food anytime of the year and consumers would know where and how the produce was grown. In aquaponic systems, adding additional nutrients to enhance plant production is common and ‘frass’, which is the manure of insects and a by-product, has been shown to enhance fish and plant production. It may be possible to enhance both plant and fish growth with a dietary approach in an aquaponic system. In this 8-week study, channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) juveniles were fed diets without, or with, 10% black solider fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae frass in aquaponic system. The aquaponic system had two different plant bed types, floating raft and media and in each plant bed there were three stevia and three lavender plants. After 8 weeks, fish grew significantly better when fed 10% BSFL frass compared to the control while the intestinal histomorphology had reduced inflammation. Frass significantly increased phosphorus in both stevia and lavender at week 8. Based upon the results from this study, it could be recommended that feeding catfish with BSFL frass and culturing leafy plants in media can substantially improve overall productivity in an aquaponic system.

Technical Abstract: There is a new type of farming that people are using to grow these items to provide to the people of the United States and the world and it does not use soil to grow the plants. It is called aquaponics. Aquaponics is a blend of aquaculture and hydroponics. Aquaculture is the culture of aquatic organisms (fish, crustaceans, shellfish, and algae) and has been the most rapidly growing segment in global agriculture for the past 40 years. Today, roughly 50% of all fish seafood people eat in the world is provided from aquaculture production. Hydroponics is the production of plants using soilless growing systems and uses indoor growing facilities (such as greenhouses or large warehouses) to produce the plants. Indoor aquaponics systems enable you to grow food year-round, which is especially valuable for farmers in deserts or those in shortened growing climates. Further, fresh produce can be locally grown, no matter where the aquaponics facility is located, like downtown in a large city. People can have access to fresh food anytime of the year and consumers would know where and how the produce was grown. In aquaponic systems, adding additional nutrients to enhance plant production is common and ‘frass’, which is the manure of insects and a by-product, has been shown to enhance fish and plant production. It may be possible to enhance both plant and fish growth with a dietary approach in an aquaponic system. In this 8-week study, channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) juveniles were fed diets without, or with, 10% black solider fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae frass in aquaponic system. The aquaponic system had two different plant bed types, floating raft and media and in each plant bed there were three stevia and three lavender plants. After 8 weeks, fish grew significantly better when fed 10% BSFL frass compared to the control while the intestinal histomorphology had reduced inflammation. Frass significantly increased phosphorus in both stevia and lavender at week 8. Based upon the results from this study, it could be recommended that feeding catfish with BSFL frass and culturing leafy plants in media can substantially improve overall productivity in an aquaponic system.