Insect Frass Composition As Affected By Species And Feedstock

This dataset contains physiochemical composition data for insect frass collected across multiple insect species and U.S. states and Canada, with an emphasis on chemical composition differences between insect species and rearing methods. The dataset is designed to support research on the agronomic potential and environmental implications of insect-derived amendments.

Frass samples were shipped from various producers and grouped by insect species, geographic origin (state/country), and treatment condition (heat-treated vs. non-treated), where applicable. Samples were analyzed at the USDA ARS Poultry Production and Product Safety Research Unit, Agricultural Waste Management laboratory led by Dr. Amanda Ashworth. Properties included pH, electrical conductivity (EC), inorganic N forms (nitrate and ammonium), moisture content, and total C (%), N (%), and C:N ratio. Total metals (Al, As, B, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S, Se, Ti, and Zn) were also analyzed and reported in mg kg⁻¹. These measurements provide insight into nutrient availability, potential contaminants, and variability across production systems and processing methods.

Data were generated using standardized laboratory analytical protocols to ensure comparability across samples. Total C and N were determined by combustion using a Vario Max CN analyzer (Elementar Americas Inc., Ronkonkoma, NY, USA). Soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC) were measured on a 1:10 (soil:water) sample extraction (Self-Davis and Moore, 2000). Nitrate-N (NO3-N) and ammonium- (NH4-N) were determined on 1:10 frass/water extraction following filtration through a 0.45-µm filter paper (Self-Davis and Moore, 2000) by colorimetric analysis on a Skalar auto-analyzer (Skalar, Analytical B.V., AA Breda, The Netherlands). Nitrate-N was analyzed by Cd-reduction (APHA 1992). NH4-N was analyzed by salicylate-nitroprusside (USEPA 1979) and SRP by the Murphy and Riley (1962) method. Extractable metals (Al, As, Ca, Cd, Cr, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Pb, S, and Zn) were determined on oven-dried insect frass and PL samples by inductively coupled optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) on an Agilent 5110 ICP-OES (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA), after digestion with HNO3 and H2O2 (Zarcinas et al. 1987).

This dataset can be used to evaluate the suitability of insect frass as a soil amendment, assess nutrient supply potential from various sources, and examine variability driven by insect species and rearing conditions.
Organization: Department of Agriculture
Organization URL: https://catalog.data.gov/organization/usda
Last updated: 2026-06-01
Tags: Insect Farming, Waste Management / methods, frass fertilizer, novel fertilizers