Assessing the Performance of Black Soldier Fly Larvae Frass as an Organic Fertilizer Alternative to NPK on Tomato Growth in Busitema University
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Date
2026-08-31
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Busitema University
Abstract
ABSTRACT
The increasing cost and environmental concerns associated with synthetic fertilizers have created interest in sustainable organic alternatives such as Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) frass. This study assessed the performance of BSFL frass as an organic fertilizer alternative to NPK fertilizer on tomato growth at Busitema University, Uganda. An experiment was conducted with three treatments: T1 (Control), T2 (Synthetic NPK 17-17-17), and T3 (BSFL Frass) in an open field garden. The objectives of this study were: 1. To assess the performance of BSFL frass and NPK on mean height of tomato plants with time; 2. To assess the effect of BSFL frass and NPK on sample fruit size of tomato plants after the first harvest; 3. To assess the effect of BSFL frass and NPK on sample fruit weight (biomass) of tomato plants after the first harvest. The parameters that were analyzed were plant height monitored over an eleven-week cycle, fruit size and fruit weight that were analysed after first harvest. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications was used. The data for plant height was analysed using Two-way ANOVA in IBM SPSS v.26 and revealed that BSFL frass (T3) significantly outperformed both the NPK (T2) and Control (T1) groups under natural field conditions with Fcal=8.434>4.46 for treatment and Fcal =65.756>3.84 for time in weeks at α=0.05 significant level. Fruit size and fruit weight were assessed using percentage differences at 10% efficacy threshold. T3 achieved a 12.3% increase in overall dimensional size and a 22.1% increase in fruit biomass. On the other hand, T2 recorded a marginal increase of only 3.7% fruit size and an 8.0% weight increase, failing to meet the 10% threshold required for superior performance classification.
This study shows that BSFL frass gave superior results to NPK on plant height, fruit size and fruit weight, indicating its potential as an organic fertilizer alternative. Integrating BSFL frass into tomato production systems could reduce reliance on synthetic inputs and support environmentally friendly farming practices.
Keywords: Black Soldier Fly. Black Soldier Fly Larvae Frass. Vegetable Production. Organic Fertilizer. NPK. Sustainable Agriculture. Tomatoes.