Suitability of maize crop residue fermented by Pleurotus ostreatus as feed for edible crickets: growth performance, micronutrient content, and iron bioavailability.

ABSTRACT: Small-scale farming of edible insects could help combat public health challenges such as protein energy malnutrition and anemia, but reliable low-cost feeds for insects are needed. In resource-limited contexts, where grains such as maize are prohibitively costly for use as insect feed, the feasibility of insect farming may depend on finding alternatives. Here, we explore the potential to modify plentiful maize crop residue with edible mushroom mycelium to generate a low-cost feed adjunct for the farmed two-spotted cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus. Mushroom farming, like insect agriculture, is versatile; it can yield nutritious food while increasing system circularity by utilizing lignocellulosic residues from row crops as inputs. Pleurotus ostreatus, is an edible basidiomycete ca

SUBMITTER: Ventura M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10368478 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature