Nutrition Technologies launches Diptia™ biofertilizer from insect frass

Leading Agtech company Nutrition Technologies announced the launch of Diptia™, a patent-pending bioactive organic fertiliser derived from insect frass. The company explained the product was formulated to prevent fungal plant diseases and build soil health.

Nutrition Technologies launches Diptia™ biofertilizer from insect frassNutrition Technologies has launched their new bioactive organic fertiliser, Diptia™, specifically designed & formulated to combat fungal plant diseases, and protect soil from infection. Diptia™ is a patent pending Nutrition Technologies product derived from Black Soldier Fly frass, that has been composted and enhanced with a microbial biocontrol agent and insect chitin.

According to the company’s statement, the bacteria was isolated from the BSF larvae itself, and has been shown to inhibit plant pathogens. The chitin is sourced from the exoskeleton of the mature insect pupae and is added to the product to increase the available chitin. These components work together to protect the plant root zone from phytopathogenic fungi while improving the plant’s natural defences against disease.

LOW ENERGY, SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION SYSTEM
Nutrition Technologies have a low-energy tropical production system that uses a unique combination of micro-organisms and Black Soldier Flies to bioconvert 60,000 tonnes of organic by-products into value-added products for livestock and agriculture. As a tropical species, the Black Soldier Fly larvae grow quickly and efficiently in the ambient Malaysian climate, meaning that very little energy is required to grow or breed the flies. This low-energy model means that the company benefits from a very low cost of production, but with the same high standards as any European or North American manufacturer, and is able to pass-on those savings to the customer. This makes Nutrition Technologies’ products some of the most competitively priced insect products in the world, without compromising on quality or safety. The company currently ships industrial volumes of material throughout Asia, North & South America and Europe, from the two-hectare factory in Malaysia.

“This is the first of two new plant health products we will be launching this year, ” said Nick Piggott, Co-CEO, Nutrition Technologies. “Understanding how insects fit into the incredibly complex natural ecosystem has enabled us to harness their power for decomposition, and create a new plant health value proposition not found anywhere else in the world. Diptia™ directly addresses two of the most economically dangerous plant pathogens in the world – Ganoderma in oil palms and Fusarium oxysporum in bananas. Both of these diseases have the potential to wreak havoc on the global food supply chain if left un-checked, so the release of Diptia™ is a massive step forward in securing the future supply of these two staple crops”.

The insect sector has gathered increasing attention over the past few years, with the global insect protein market alone estimated to be worth US$343 million in 2021, and expected to grow with a CAGR of 26.49% to reach US$1.3 billion by 2027. As a sustainable solution to help minimise multiple unsustainable practices, the sector as a whole has seen investments totalling nearly US$1 billion.