| Abstrakt: |
Simple Summary: Yellow mealworm farming (Tenebrio molitor, Linnaeus, 1758) for food and feed is considered a more sustainable protein production method than livestock farming. Diets have an impact on the environmental and economic sustainability of the entire production cycle; as a result, there is a great interest in by-product-based diets. However, most evaluations of the efficacy of new diets are generally focused on larval performance, neglecting their suitability for the oviposition phase. The aim of this study was to validate diets supplemented with tomato pomace over a full breeding cycle. As an oviposition substrate, all the tomato pomace-supplemented diets outperformed the bran-yeast control diet (95:5 ratio). During the larval growth phase, the bran-tomato pomace-brewer's spent grain diet and the bran-tomato pomace-yeast diet performed similarly to the control diet supplemented with yeast. These diets were found to be suitable for the entire production cycle, demonstrating their efficacy in supporting larval growth. In conclusion, tomato pomace can be a valuable by-product in developing effective diets for T. molitor, most likely due to its contribution to sterols and fatty acids. Furthermore, its use could provide an alternative to the costly yeast-based supplement. By-product-based diets have the potential to improve the environmental and economic sustainability of Tenebrio molitor (Linnaeus, 1758) production. However, evaluations of the efficacy of new diets are generally focused on larval performance, while the effect on adults is poorly understood. This aim of this study was to evaluate diets enriched with tomato pomace over a complete breeding cycle. The results showed that when used as an oviposition substrate, all the tested diets, including tomato pomace (T), outperformed the control bran-yeast diet (WY, 95:5 ratio), possibly due to the presence of cholesterol and linoleic acid. The adults fed with the bran-tomato pomace-brewer's spent grain diet (WTB, 50:27:23 ratio), the bran-tomato pomace-yeast diet (WTY, 50:41:9 ratio), and the bran-tomato pomace diet (WT, 50:50 ratio) produced significantly more larvae than those fed with the WY diet. The WTB diet (despite being yeast-free) performed similarly to the WY control diet during the subsequent larval growth phase, making it suitable for the entire production cycle. In conclusion, the results show that tomato pomace can be used a valid by-product in the formulation of efficient diets for the breeding of T. molitor and also provide an alternative to expensive yeast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
