Insect Frass Fertilisers for Plant Growth, Development, and Stress Tolerance
A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Protection and Biotic Interactions".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 1
Special Issue Editor
Interests: sustainable agriculture; pollinator ecology; rhizobia-host interactions; non-chemical insect control; coastal insects
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
There has been growing interest in the development of insect farming, including the mass production of insects such as mealworms, crickets, and black soldier flies to create novel sources of protein and bespoke animal feeds. Much of this current attention has arisen due to insect farming providing a classical model for new circular bioeconomy principles, repurposing biological waste streams, and creating new commodities that can then be reinserted into sustainable food production systems. A further aspect of insect farming is the production of organic waste from the insects themselves. This waste is primarily made of insect excreta, but also contains fragments of shed insect skins, remnants of the feedstock on which the insects were raised, and a suite of microorganisms feeding on all of the above. This ‘frass’ often contains high amounts of organic matter and major plant nutrients, in addition to more complex molecules such as chitin, a major component of insect exoskeletons. Several ‘frass fertilisers’ are now available, often marketed as organically derived alternatives to synthetic fertilisers, and offering a suite of benefits including increased plant performance, enhanced stress tolerance, and improved soil microbiome.
This Special Issue of Insects aims to demonstrate the full breadth of research currently investigating insect frass fertilisers. Accordingly, papers are welcome on a wide range of topics, including, but not limited to, factors influencing frass composition, effects on crop plants in glasshouse and field trials, effects on germination and seedling establishment, plant biochemical and molecular responses, effects on root development, impact on the soil microbiome and rhizosphere, effects on plant-microorganism interactions, comparison of dry products and liquid extracts, induction of resistance to pests and abiotic stressors, and combinations with other soil additives, such as biochar and wormcast products. Submissions describing empirical research, systematic and narrative reviews, and meta-analyses are all welcome.
Dr. Simon Hodge
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- circular economy
- insect farming
- insect frass
- plant defence
- plant nutrition
- soil additives
- soil microbiome
- stress tolerance
- sustainable farming
- waste bioconversion
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