The Influence of Plant-Based Diets on Growth, Development, And Nutritional Quality in Acheta Domesticus and Gryllus Bimaculatus Crickets

Abstract

Crickets as an innovative source of high quality protein for both humans and livestock has been studied. Crickets especially Acheta domesticus (House Cricket) and Gryllus bimaculatus (Field Cricket), have been found to be adaptable to mass rearing. However, success in their mass rearing depends on a combination of several factors including availability of feeds that are both easily digestible sand nutritionally balanced for optimal growth and development. Finding alternative cost-effective feed for cricket rearing is therefore an essential task. This study investigated growth and nutritional characteristics of two species of crickets (Acheta domesticus and Gryllus bimaculatus) fed on different plant-based diets. The aim was to identify the most efficient and nutritious feed for optimal cricket rearing. Using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), four treatments feeds were fed to the crickets to determine how they impact growth rates and nutritional profiles. The diets comprised of Rice Bran + Azolla pinnata (RBAZ), Rice Bran + Moringa oleifera leaf powder (RBMO), Rice Bran + Morus alba leaf powder (RBMA) and Poultry Mash (PM) as the control. The feeds in each treatment were presented simultaneously allowing the crickets to choose between them. Fifty randomly sampled crickets from each experimental unit were weighed weekly to adulthood. Sex notification, adult emergence and start of egg laying were recorded and adult crickets analyzed for nutrient composition. Notable differences in the two species on sex notification, adult emergence and start of egg laying were observed. Species G. bimaculatas exhibited more variation in start of egg laying and sex notifications across different diets unlike A. domesticus that showed nearly stable responses on these characteristics. Mean weight gain for G. bimaculatus were significantly higher when fed on both PM and RBMO feeds. Species A. domesticus recorded higher mean weight gains when fed on PM (0.187 ± 0.15) and RBAZ (0.189 ± 0.11). Overall, G. bimaculatas demonstrated better adaptation to the different diets and effectively translated these diets into nutrients. The best plant-based diets with stable performance in growth, developmental and nutritional attributes of the crickets were RBMO and RBMA. Farmers can explore the use of these feeds to lower feeding cost in cricket farming. However, further studies are needed to determine the feed conversion ratios, digestibility, optimal inclusion levels of these feeds and the cost implications of their production and use. Besides, the underlying mechanisms for species-specific responses to these feeds needs to be understood to refine feeding for optimal crickets performance.