Coconut rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes rhinoceros (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), larval frass as plant fertilizer.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Beetle rearing for food or feed is a growing area of agriculture that produces considerable wastes. This frass is a putative soil amendment anecdotally applied directly as fertilizer. To determine if beetle waste can be used as a soil amendment without pre-treatment, a series of chemical, physical, microbiological, and plant-growth assays were performed on waste from the coconut rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes rhinoceros (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), fed cocopeat. Beetle diet and frass NPK levels, C:N ratio, and particle size were measured. Microbiota was identified with metabarcoding, and functional profile analysis done to identify pathways associated with wood digestion or plant growth. Cultivation tests were done with Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicales: Brassicaceae) and fra

SUBMITTER: Han CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12325837 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature