top of page

THERE IS POOP-LOADS OF PROOF!

"an effective soil fertilizer, capable of promoting plant growth and enhancing soil properties"

-Agrochemicals

"the addition of chitin and its derivative, chitosan, can affect flowering phenology, speeding up flower production by as much as 15 days."

-Trends in plant science

THE SCIENCE BEHIND BUG POOP™

BUG POOP™ IS MADE FROM PURE CRICKET FRASS — A NATURAL BY-PRODUCT OF INSECT FARMING. WHILE IT MAY SOUND SIMPLE, CRICKET FRASS HAS BECOME THE SUBJECT OF GROWING SCIENTIFIC INTEREST BECAUSE OF THE BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS IT HAS ON SOIL, MICROBES, AND PLANTS.

​

RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THE BENEFITS OF FRASS ARE NOT JUST NUTRITIONAL. INSTEAD, THEY ARE DRIVEN BY TWO KEY COMPONENTS:

  • BENEFICIAL MICROBIAL ACTIVITY

  • CHITIN, A NATURAL COMPOUND FOUND IN INSECT EXOSKELETONS

 

TOGETHER, THESE SUPPORT HEALTHIER SOILS AND MORE RESILIENT PLANTS.

​

MORE THAN A FERTILISER

TRADITIONAL FERTILISERS WORK BY SUPPLYING NUTRIENTS DIRECTLY TO PLANTS. IN CONTRAST, INSECT FRASS HAS BEEN SHOWN TO FUNCTION AS A BIOLOGICAL SOIL AMENDMENT AND BIOSTIMULANT, IMPROVING THE LIVING SOIL SYSTEM AROUND PLANT ROOTS.

​

A GROWING BODY OF RESEARCH DESCRIBES FRASS AS SUPPORTING:

  • SOIL BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY

  • ROOT DEVELOPMENT

  • NUTRIENT USE EFFICIENCY

  • PLANT GROWTH AND YIELD

​

FOR EXAMPLE, A REVIEW PUBLISHED IN TRENDS IN FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY HIGHLIGHTS HOW INSECT FRASS INFLUENCES SOIL PROCESSES BEYOND SIMPLE NUTRIENT SUPPLY, PARTICULARLY THROUGH MICROBIAL AND BIOCHEMICAL PATHWAYS - see the report here (SCIENCEDIRECT, 2022).

MICROBES: FEEDING THE SOIL, NOT JUST THE PLANT

HEALTHY SOILS ARE LIVING SYSTEMS, CONTAINING COMPLEX COMMUNITIES OF BACTERIA AND FUNGI THAT INTERACT DIRECTLY WITH PLANT ROOTS.

​

MULTIPLE STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT INSECT FRASS:

  • INCREASES SOIL MICROBIAL ACTIVITY

  • ALTERS THE RHIZOSPHERE MICROBIOME IN FAVOUR OF BENEFICIAL ORGANISMS

  • SUPPORTS PLANT-GROWTH-PROMOTING RHIZOBACTERIA (PGPR)

  • ENHANCES NUTRIENT CYCLING AND AVAILABILITY

Research trials from around the world show the poop power of frass  Green beans         spring onion          red amaranth          cabbage

A RECENT OPEN-ACCESS STUDY REPORTED MEASURABLE CHANGES IN SOIL MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES FOLLOWING FRASS APPLICATION, LINKING THESE SHIFTS TO IMPROVED PLANT PERFORMANCE - see the report here (PMC, 2024).

​

SIMILARLY, RESEARCH PUBLISHED IN JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY, APPLIED BIOLOGY & FOOD SCIENCES FOUND THAT FRASS AMENDMENTS IMPROVED SOIL BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND PLANT GROWTH, SUPPORTING THE IDEA THAT MICROBES ARE CENTRAL TO FRASS PERFORMANCE - see report here (INNOVATION FOREVER, 2022).

​

IN SIMPLE TERMS: FRASS SUPPORTS THE MICROBES, AND THE MICROBES SUPPORT THE PLANT.

CHITIN: A NATURAL SIGNAL FOR PLANT DEFENCE

ONE OF THE MOST SCIENTIFICALLY INTERESTING COMPONENTS OF CRICKET FRASS IS CHITIN — A STRUCTURAL BIOPOLYMER FOUND IN INSECT EXOSKELETONS AND FUNGAL CELL WALLS. CRICKET FRASS NATURALLY CONTAINS CHITIN FROM SHED EXOSKELETONS.

​

RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT WHEN CHITIN ENTERS SOIL:

  • CHITIN-DEGRADING MICROBES INCREASE IN ABUNDANCE

  • THESE MICROBES PRODUCE ENZYMES THAT BREAK CHITIN DOWN

  • PLANTS DETECT CHITIN BREAKDOWN PRODUCTS AS A BIOLOGICAL SIGNAL

 

​

THIS SIGNALLING PROCESS CAN PRIME PLANTS TO ACTIVATE THEIR NATURAL DEFENCE MECHANISMS. A DETAILED STUDY PUBLISHED IN PLANT AND SOIL SHOWED THAT CHITIN AMENDMENTS CAN STIMULATE PLANT IMMUNE RESPONSES AND INFLUENCE ROOT-ASSOCIATED MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES -see the report here (SPRINGER, 2023).

​

EARLIER WORK ALSO DEMONSTRATED THAT CHITIN AND CHITIN-RICH MATERIALS CAN INDUCE RESISTANCE TO PATHOGENS BY TRIGGERING PLANT DEFENCE PATHWAYS RATHER THAN ACTING AS PESTICIDES -see report here (PMC, 2016).

DISEASE SUPPRESSION & PLANT RESILIENCE

SEVERAL PEER-REVIEWED STUDIES HAVE LINKED INSECT FRASS AND CHITIN-CONTAINING AMENDMENTS WITH:

  • REDUCED SOIL-BORNE DISEASE PRESSURE

  • INCREASED POPULATIONS OF ANTAGONISTIC (BENEFICIAL) MICROBES

  • GREATER RESILIENCE TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS

​

RESEARCH PRESENTED THROUGH THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE (ISHS) REPORTED IMPROVED PLANT HEALTH AND REDUCED DISEASE SYMPTOMS IN HORTICULTURAL SYSTEMS AMENDED WITH INSECT-DERIVED MATERIALS - see the report here (ISHS ACTA HORTICULTURAE).

​

THESE EFFECTS ARE BIOLOGICALLY DRIVEN, RESULTING FROM HEALTHIER AND MORE COMPETITIVE SOIL ECOSYSTEMS.

EVIDENCE FROM CROP TRIALS

CRICKET FRASS HAS ALSO BEEN TESTED IN REAL CROP SYSTEMS. A PEER-REVIEWED STUDY PUBLISHED IN PLOS ONE DEMONSTRATED THAT APPLYING CRICKET FRASS FERTILIZER IMPROVED VEGETATIVE GROWTH AND POD BIOMASS IN GREEN BEANS (PHASEOLUS VULGARIS) COMPARED WITH UNFERTILISED CONTROLS, SUGGESTING FRASS CAN BE AN EFFECTIVE ORGANIC INPUT IN CROP PRODUCTION SYSTEMS. sEE THE rEPORT hERE (pLOS ONE).

​

ADDITIONAL EXPERIMENTAL WORK HAS SHOWN THAT FRASS AMENDMENTS CAN IMPROVE SOIL FERTILITY INDICATORS AND CROP PERFORMANCE ACROSS HORTICULTURAL AND AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS – SEE THE REPORT HERE (MDPI, 2024).

A SUSTAINABLE, CIRCULAR INPUT

BEYOND PLANT PERFORMANCE, RESEARCH ALSO HIGHLIGHTS THE SUSTAINABILITY VALUE OF FRASS:

  • PRODUCED AS A BY-PRODUCT OF INSECT FARMING

  • SUPPORTS CIRCULAR AGRICULTURE AND WASTE REDUCTION

  • LOWER ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT THAN SYNTHETIC INPUTS

 

STUDIES EXAMINING INSECT-BASED AGRICULTURAL INPUTS EMPHASISE THEIR ROLE IN CLOSING NUTRIENT LOOPS AND SUPPORTING REGENERATIVE FARMING PRACTICES – SEE THE RPEORT HERE (KASETSART JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE, PDF).

OUR APPROACH AT BUG POOP™

BUG POOP™ USES PURE CRICKET FRASS, MINIMALLY PROCESSED TO RETAIN ITS NATURAL BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY. WE DO NOT ADD SYNTHETIC FERTILISERS, CHEMICALS, OR FILLERS.

​

OUR APPROACH IS GUIDED BY THE SCIENCE: SUPPORT SOIL BIOLOGY FIRST — AND ALLOW PLANTS TO THRIVE NATURALLY.

bottom of page