Repurposing poultry industry wastes to generate high value microbial metabolites for plant growth promotion

The global population is projected to rise from about 7.2 billion in 2014 to 9.6 billion people in 2050 as predicted by the World Resources Institute. With a rapid growth of world’s population, there is a dire need for food. To cope with this ever-increasing demand for food, the use of large amounts of fertilizers, chemical pesticides and antimicrobial agents are being adopted. Although the use of agrochemicals increased plant productivity, they come at the cost of damage to the environment, agro-ecosystems and living organisms facing harmful residual effects. A more sustainable, environmentally conscious soil amendment to use as a replacement to synthetic chemicals is a bio-stimulant. Poultry industry waste consists of, blood, feathers and other body parts which cannot be sold. Poultry waste can be converted to protein hydrolysate, which will be used as a medium to grow bacteria which synthesize metabolite biostimulants. These biostimulants enhance seed germination, plant growth, nutrition uptake, and tolerance to stress conditions. The partner organization will train the graduate and post-graduate researchers to be entrepreneurs, thus encouraging new companies to be established in the region.

Faculty Supervisor:

Lord Abbey

Student:

Lokanandha Rao Gunupuru;Raphael Ofoe

Partner:

Springboard Atlantic

Discipline:

Food science

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Dalhousie University