The Effect of Cricket (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) Frass on the Growth of Leafy Vegetables

• Published in: ASM Science Journal
• Main Author: Bukari N.I.; Ghani I.A.; Mustaffa M.; Harun A.; Abdullah H.A.; Abdullah H.S.; Basir S.; Yusop R.M.; Muzamil M.F.M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Akademi Sains Malaysia 2021
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85109128864&partnerID=40&md5=256174c8e7dfee099b3f00dbd6be0718

The awareness, demand, and usage of organic resources in farming are escalating, particularly in the application of pest control and fertilisers. Organic fertilisers are usually obtained from animals and plants, and this study is focused on cricket frass. A field trial was conducted to determine the effect of cricket frass as an organic fertiliser on the growth of leafy vegetables. Three fertiliser set-ups (cricket frass, NPK [15-15-15], and chicken dung) and one control (without fertiliser) were used. These fertilisers were tested on three leafy vegetables; green spinach, green mustard, and water spinach. The parameters observed and recorded were plant height (cm), number of leaves, and total yield (g). The data were analysed using Minitab 17.0. There was a significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) in plant height between vegetables fertilised with cricket frass (26.29 cm) and control (14.82 cm). For the number of leaves parameter, a significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) between vegetables fertilised with cricket frass (11.51 leaves) and control (9.77 leaves) was observed. Similarly, the yield between vegetables fertilised with cricket frass (134.55 g/pot) and control (104.19 g/pot) was also significantly different (P ≤ 0.05). Therefore, cricket frass has the potential as an alternative organic fertiliser source that could reduce the dependency on chemical fertiliser to increase agricultural yields and production. © 2021. All rights reserved.