Effects of Intraspecific Competition and Larval Size on Bioconversion of Apple Pomace Inoculated with Black Soldier Fly

Waste from apple juice and cider industries (pomace) compares poorly against spent grains other relatively high-nutrient wastes as a substrate for bioconversion by the black soldier fly (BSF: Hermetia illucens). However, global pomace production exceeds 24 million tonnes annually novel management approaches are required to reduce waste landfill. We examined effects of BSF inoculation densities (intraspecific competition) larval size categories on cohort weight gains reduction. found that, increasing densities, biomass rates (BRs) increased; however, at very high (overcrowding), BRs declined cohorts lost weight. Furthermore, larger classes accelerated desiccation, possibly because greater demands water older larvae. Larger larvae have slower relative growth compared smaller require comparatively less dry substrate. Our results suggest that overcrowding low-nutrient substrates reduces could exaggerate differences between performances in comparative studies, particularly if intraspecific interference competition space exploitation diminish returns end cycle. make series recommendations use