Magara Henlay J O, Solofondranohatra Cédrique L, Hugel Sylvain, Fisher Brian L
Department of Feed Development, Madagascar Biodiversity Center, Antananarivo, Madagascar.
Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, UPR 3212 CNRS-Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
PLoS One. 2025 Jan 3;20(1):e0313083. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0313083. eCollection 2025.
Gryllus madagascarensis (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) is a cricket species that shows promise to mitigate food insecurity and malnutrition. But whether this species will accept low- to no-cost weeds and agro by-products as feed, and how these feeds affect its performance, remains unknown. This study assessed the acceptability of 66 weed species and agro by-products (derived from a single plant species) by adult G. madagascarensis and compared the results to a reference feed (chicken feed). We further examined how the 11 top acceptable single plant products affected growth parameters of G. madagascarensis. The parameters assessed included development, survivorship, body mass and body length and reproductive fitness of the crickets on each of these diets. Finally, the costs of the 11 top accepted single plant products were compared. Our results demonstrated that the cricket accepted all 66 single plant products at varying degrees. Tropical white morning glory (Ipomoea alba), cassava tops (Manhot esculentum), taro leaves (Colocasia esculenta), cowpea bran (Vigna unguiculata), American hog-peanut (Afroamphica africana), gallant soldier (Galinsoga parviflora), wheat bran (Triticum aestivum), glycine (Neonotonia wightii), silver leaf Desmodium (Desmodium uncinatum), maize bran (Zea mays) and rice bran (Oryza sativa) were the most accepted. The analysed nutrient content varied across the top 11 accepted single plant products and the reference feed. The shortest development and highest survival rate were recorded with gallant soldier and cowpea bran powders. Wet body mass and body length were highly impacted by various single plant products tested compared to the reference feed. Reproductive parameters were significantly briefer on tropical white morning glory compared to other feeds and the reference diet. Single plant products cost two- to four-fold less than reference feed. The findings are valuable for developing blended diets that balance performance, cost and availability for household and commercial production of crickets as a "green" technology for producing edible sources of protein.
马达加斯加蟋蟀（直翅目：蟋蟀科）是一种有望缓解粮食不安全和营养不良问题的蟋蟀品种。但该品种是否会接受低成本或无成本的杂草及农业副产品作为饲料，以及这些饲料如何影响其生长性能，目前尚不清楚。本研究评估了马达加斯加成年蟋蟀对66种杂草品种和农业副产品（源自单一植物品种）的可接受性，并将结果与参考饲料（鸡饲料）进行比较。我们进一步研究了11种最易被接受的单一植物产品如何影响马达加斯加蟋蟀的生长参数。评估的参数包括蟋蟀在每种饲料上的发育、存活、体重、体长以及繁殖适应性。最后，比较了11种最易被接受的单一植物产品的成本。我们的结果表明，蟋蟀对所有66种单一植物产品都有不同程度的接受。热带白牵牛（白大花牵牛）、木薯叶（木薯）、芋头叶（芋）、豇豆麸皮（豇豆）、美洲野花生（非洲双花豆）、牛膝菊（辣子草）、麦麸（普通小麦）、银叶山蚂蝗（银叶山蚂蝗）、玉米麸皮（玉米）和米糠（稻）是最易被接受的。分析的营养成分在11种最易被接受的单一植物产品和参考饲料之间各不相同。牛膝菊和豇豆麸粉的发育时间最短，存活率最高。与参考饲料相比，各种测试的单一植物产品对湿体重和体长有很大影响。与其他饲料和参考日粮相比，热带白牵牛上的繁殖参数明显更短。单一植物产品的成本比参考饲料低两到四倍。这些发现对于开发混合饲料很有价值，这种混合饲料能在性能、成本和可获得性之间取得平衡，用于家庭和商业养殖蟋蟀，作为生产可食用蛋白质来源的“绿色”技术。
