Mark Uchanski’s research while affiliated with Colorado State University and other places

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Publications (11)


Plasmids encode and can mobilize onion pathogenicity in Pantoea agglomerans
  • Article

January 2025

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30 Reads

The ISME Journal

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Jo Ann Asselin

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Impacts of black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, larval frass on the emergence and seedling vigor of three vegetable crop species

October 2024

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14 Reads

Journal of Insects as Food and Feed

The waste material from rearing black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.), (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), larvae (BSFL), frass, could serve as a partial replacement for fertilizer or growing media, such as peat. Studies have shown that depending on the crop life cycle, long or short, the incorporation of frass can have positive impacts on vegetable growth. Investigating the earlier stages of growth, such as emergence, can provide more information on the acute impacts of insect frass on plant production. Two greenhouse studies were designed to investigate the use of frass in vegetable production at the seedling stage: BSFL frass as a partial replacement for peat in a growth germination medium and BSFL frass as a fertility replacement in a growth germination medium. Tomato, lettuce, and arugula seeds were grown in a standard control growing media, a growing media amended with frass to partially replace peat, and a growing media with frass applications to substitute the fertility source. In all treatments and varieties, the control growing media produced better or comparable results to the treatments. As a peat replacement, the two tomato varieties, lettuce, and arugula seedlings grown in frass had comparable seedling vigour and days to emergence to those grown in the control. As a fertility replacement, seedlings grown in frass had significantly lower percent emergence in all four cultivars when compared to the control. The tomato varieties also had significantly lower seedling vigour in the BSFL fertility treatments than the control. Depending on crop and growing media composition, the impacts of frass on early plant development vary. The adoption of frass into growing practices should include preliminary tests for nutrient composition and microbial contamination.


Vegetable Crop Growth Under Photovoltaic (PV) Modules of Varying Transparencies
  • Article
  • Full-text available

August 2024

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73 Reads

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1 Citation

Heliyon

The present study summarizes two growing seasons (2020–2021) of microclimate characterization and vegetable crop growth in an agrivoltaics system in northern Colorado, USA. The replicated experiment evaluated three module transparency types (opaque silicon [0 % transparent], bifacial silicon [∼5 % transparent], and semi-transparent cadmium telluride [40 % transparent]) plus a full sun control, and four vegetable crop species (summer squash, peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce). Air temperature under the modules in July was approximately 0.5 °C cooler than in the full sun. Soil temperature (2.5 cm depth) maximum differences were more pronounced and were 5.8 °C, 9 °C, and 14.4 °C cooler under bifacial, semi-transparent, and opaque silicon, respectively. For summer squash growing directly under the solar modules, yield was significantly reduced under each of the module transparency types. However, there was no statistically significant yield reduction for peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce indicating their suitability in an agrivoltaics system. The numerical yield of most crops increased as the transparency of the solar modules increased, which could be the focus on future work.

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(A) Arugula and (B) lettuce grown in BSFL amended peat in a greenhouse study. Arugula and lettuce was grown with mixtures of commercial peat and black soldier fly larvae frass or vermicompost. Commercial peat (100%) served as the control.
(A) VC and (B) BSFL frass amended into peat in a greenhouse pot study. Arugula and lettuce was grown with mixtures of commercial peat and black soldier fly larvae frass or vermicompost. Commercial peat (100%) served as the control.
Fresh weight (g) ± SEM of arugula and lettuce grown in BSFL amended peat in a greenhouse. Arugula (blue columns, A–E) and lettuce (green columns, L–O) was grown with mixtures of commercial peat and black soldier fly larvae frass or vermicompost. Commercial peat (100%) served as the control pot (CP: grey column). Columns with different letters indicate differences determined by one-way ANOVAs and Tukey pairwise comparisons (p < 0.05).
Dry weight (g) ± SEM of arugula and lettuce grown in BSFL amended peat in a greenhouse. Arugula (blue columns, A–E) and lettuce (green columns, L–O) was grown with mixtures of commercial peat and black soldier fly larvae frass or vermicompost. Commercial peat (100%) served as the control pot (CP: grey column). Columns with different letters indicate differences determined by one-way ANOVAs and Tukey pairwise comparisons (p < 0.05).
Greenness (SPAD) ± SEM of arugula and lettuce grown in BSFL amended peat in a greenhouse. Arugula (blue columns, A–E) and lettuce (green columns, L–O) was grown with mixtures of commercial peat and black soldier fly larvae frass or vermicompost. Commercial peat (100%) served as the control pot (CP: grey column). Columns with different letters indicate differences determined by one-way ANOVAs and Tukey pairwise comparisons (p < 0.05).

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Impacts of black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, larval frass on lettuce and arugula production

May 2024

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159 Reads

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4 Citations

There are many benefits to producing insects for food and feed; they require fewer resources to produce, process, and distribute. The digested and undigested waste along with insect feces (i.e., frass) from the mass production of insects can be considerable. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) digestion of organic residue produces frass that is high in macronutrients that are desirable for plants, potentially serving as a partial replacement for fertilizer or growing media, such as peat. Arugula and lettuce were grown in greenhouse pot studies with treatments comprised of BSFL frass (BSF), vermicompost (VC), and peat, and compared to a 100% peat control (CP). Yield, productivity, greenness, and tissue nutrient concentrations were measured. Arugula and lettuce produced the highest fresh weight and dry weight in the BSFL treatments. Primary macronutrients (N, P, K) and Mg in both crops were also highest in the BSFL treatments. Secondary macronutrients (Ca, Mg, S) and micronutrients produced more variable results (B, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn). Lettuce produced larger yields but had much lower concentrations of nutrients compared to arugula. In small amounts, 10–20%, BSFL frass can serve as a good replacement for peat in leafy green crops. It is an especially beneficial way to recycle organic side streams in different industries and reduce waste production overall.


Impacts of black soldier fly, (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larval frass on tomato production

July 2023

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243 Reads

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6 Citations

Journal of Economic Entomology

The "insects as food and feed" movement is gaining considerable momentum as a novel means to provide protein to people (i.e., food) and other animals (i.e., feed). Insects require significantly fewer resources, such as water and land, to produce, process, and distribute as a food or feed source. While the production of insect biomass has received considerable attention for use as food or feed, little is known about the value of the residual materials remaining after digestion. One insect, the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), can generate large quantities of residual (i.e., frass) that is high in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These materials could serve as a partial replacement for fertilizer or peat, thus creating added value to the insects as food and feed sector. Greenhouse studies were designed to investigate the use of frass in vegetable production. In pot studies with tomatoes, different ratios of peat:vermicompost and peat:insect frass were compared to a 100% peat control. Across all other parameters, tomato fruits and vegetative biomass did not produce significant differences across treatments, indicating results were comparable to the control (i.e., 100% peat). Thus, replacing peat with black soldier fly frass is a viable option and could allow for the peat industry to become more sustainable and regenerative. However, it should be noted that average individual tomato fruit weight was significantly (P < 0.05) higher (by 19%) in the vermicompost 10% treatment compared to the control, which did not differ from treatments including black soldier fly frass.


Location, array configuration, and panel types for both sites.
Characterization of Agrivoltaic Crop Environment Conditions Using Opaque and Thin-Film Semi-Transparent Modules

March 2023

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137 Reads

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11 Citations

Energies

Agrivoltaics (APV), the co-location of agriculture and photovoltaics (PV), addresses an inherent competition for land usage. Taking the same dual-use concept to the urban landscape, rooftop APV can provide locally grown food in areas of need while providing distributed energy generation. In this multi-year investigation, different APV plots in northern Colorado, USA, were studied for crop metrics, light transmission, air temperature, soil/substrate temperature and moisture. Crops were grown under different solar panel types including opaque silicon and opaque and semi-transparent (ST) thin-film CdTe technologies. Growth conditions were characterized showing generally improved conditions and moderated temperatures under the panels. The ST-CdTe panels had increased photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) compared to both opaque panel types without a significant corresponding increase in temperature.


Fig. 1. Volumetric soil moisture contents at the 5.1 cm depth for the unplanted control and plots planted with barley varieties 'Arivat', 'Hayes Beardless', 'P919', 'Robust', 'UC603', 'UC937', 'Washford Beardless'. For the four measurement dates, bars are means ( + standard deviations) of two replications. Season means represent volumetric soil moisture contents averaged across measurement dates. Lowercase letters above season means indicate results from a Tukey's post-hoc test that followed a linear mixed model for cover crop treatment effects on soil moisture content. Means that share a lowercase letter are not different, P < = 0.01.
Fig. 2. Daily total precipitation and daily average air temperature during barley cover crop growth in 2016-2017. Irrigation to saturation was provided at seeding (21 November 2016) and two weeks after planting.
Fall-sown small grain cover crops for weed suppression and soil moisture management in an irrigated organic agroecosystem

December 2022

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71 Reads

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1 Citation

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems

Adoption of cover crops in arid agroecosystems has been slow due to concerns regarding limited water resources and possible soil moisture depletion. In irrigated organic systems, potential ecosystem services from cover crops also must be considered in light of the concerns for water conservation. A constructive balance could be achieved with fall-sown small grain cover crops; however, their impacts on irrigated organic systems are poorly understood. Our first objective was to determine the ability of fall-sown small grains [cereal rye ( Secale cereale L), winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.), barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) and oat ( Avena sativa L.)] to suppress winter weeds in an irrigated, organic transition field in the southwestern USA. Small grains were planted following the legume sesbania ( Sesbania exaltata (Raf.) Rydb. ex A.W. Hill) during Fall 2012 and Fall 2013. In Spring 2013 and 2014, weed densities and biomass were determined within each cover crop treatment and compared against unplanted controls. Results indicated that both barley and oat were effective in suppressing winter weeds. Our second objective was to compare weed suppression and soil moisture levels among seven barley varieties developed in the western United States. Barley varieties (‘Arivat’, ‘Hayes Beardless’, ‘P919’, ‘Robust’, ‘UC603’, ‘UC937’, ‘Washford Beardless’) were fall-sown in replicated strip plots in Fall 2016. Weed densities were measured in Spring 2017 and volumetric soil moisture near the soil surface (5.1 cm depth) was measured at time intervals beginning in December 2016 and ending in March 2017. With the exception of ‘UC937’, barley varieties caused marked reductions in weed density in comparison with the unplanted control. Soil moisture content for the unplanted control was consistently lower than soil moisture contents for barley plots. Barley variety did not influence volumetric soil moisture. During the 2017–2018 growing season, we re-examined three barley varieties considered most amenable to the cropping system requirements (‘Robust’, ‘UC603’, ‘P919’), and these varieties were again found to support few weeds (≤ 5.0 weeds m ⁻² ). We conclude that several organically certified barley varieties could fill the need for a ‘non-thirsty’ cover crop that suppresses winter weeds in irrigated organic systems in the southwestern United States.


Insect left-over substrate as plant fertiliser

February 2021

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399 Reads

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46 Citations

Journal of Insects as Food and Feed

The production of insect protein as human food and livestock feed (entomophagy) may provide a more environmentally beneficial alternative to traditional animal agriculture. However, the resulting waste product from insect production has resulted in large accumulations of left-over substrate and frass. Due to its nutrient and microbial profile, this left-over product has the potential to be utilised as a biofertiliser for high value crop production. Studies have been conducted using the frass of various insects (e.g. black soldier flies, houseflies, and mealworms) to monitor its impact on crop productivity. Overall, frass tends to have similar or better results when compared to inorganic fertilisers, especially when combined with them. Aside from productivity and growth, frass may also preserve soil fertility by decreasing leaching and infiltration, and reducing the prevalence of disease and pathogens. In addition, chitin found in frass also has beneficial properties for plant/crop growth and disease resistance. Monitoring the dietary inputs of industrially reared insects may be the best way of mitigating the potential negative impacts of frass application, such as increased electrical conductivity and heavy metal toxicity. No single study confirms all of these benefits at once. Future studies should focus building onto these results by demonstrating systems levels benefits.


Predicted taxonomic richness map combining the 37 wild Capsicum L. taxa potential distribution models. Darker colours indicate greater numbers of taxa potentially overlapping in the same areas
Conservation gap analysis results per assessed wild Capsicum L. taxon. Taxa are listed by descending priority for further conservation action by priority categories (high priority [HP, red], medium priority [MP, orange], low priority [LP, yellow], and sufficiently conserved [SC, green]). The red diamond represents the final conservation score combined (FCSc‐mean) for the taxon, which is the average of the final ex situ (FCSex, black circle) and in situ (FCSin, black triangle) scores. Results of the conservation assessments within each strategy (sampling representativeness score ex situ [SRSex], geographic representativeness score ex situ [GRSex] and ecological representativeness score ex situ [ERSex] for ex situ; and sampling representativeness score in situ [SRSin], geographic representativeness score in situ [GRSin] and ecological representativeness score in situ [ERSin] for in situ) are also displayed
(a) Predicted further collecting priorities hot spots map for wild Capsicum L. taxa. The map displays richness of areas within the potential distributions of the 37 wild Capsicum taxa that have not been previously collected for ex situ conservation, with up to ten taxa in need of further collecting potentially found in the same areas. Sites where existing germplasm of taxa has been collected are overlaid. (b) Predicted further in situ protection priorities map for wild Capsicum. The map displays richness of areas within the potential distributions of the 37 wild Capsicum taxa that are outside of current protected areas, with up to ten taxa found in the same unprotected areas. Protected areas are displayed in green
Modelled distributions and conservation status of the wild relatives of chile peppers (Capsicum L.)

November 2019

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775 Reads

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53 Citations

Aim To fill critical knowledge gaps with regard to the distributions and conservation status of the wild relatives of chile peppers (Capsicum L.). Location The study covered the potential native ranges of currently recognized wild Capsicum taxa, throughout the Americas. Methods We modelled the potential distributions of 37 wild taxa in the genus, characterized their ecogeographic niches, assessed their ex situ and in situ conservation status, and performed preliminary threat assessments. Results We categorize 18 of the taxa as “high priority” for further conservation action as a consequence of a combination of their ex situ and in situ assessments, 17 as “medium priority,” and two as “low priority.” Priorities for resolving gaps in ex situ conservation were determined to be high for 94.6%, and medium or high with regard to increased habitat protection for 64.9% of the taxa. The preliminary threat assessment indicated that six taxa may be critically endangered, three endangered, ten vulnerable, six near threatened and 12 least concern. Main conclusions Taxonomic richness hot spots, especially along the Atlantic coast of Brazil, in Bolivia and Paraguay, and in the highlands of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, represent particularly high priority regions for further collecting for ex situ conservation as well as for enhanced habitat conservation.


Figure 1. Potato supply chain, including differentiated supply chain. CPAC, the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee; CCPGA, the Colorado Certified Potato Growers Association.
Denver Food Vision Pillars.
Connecting Urban Food Plans to the Countryside: Leveraging Denver’s Food Vision to Explore Meaningful Rural–Urban Linkages

April 2019

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394 Reads

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21 Citations

Sustainability

Cities are increasingly turning to food policy plans to support goals related to food access, food security, the environment, and economic development. This paper investigates ways that rural farmers, communities, and economies can both support and be supported by metropolitan food-focused initiatives. Specifically, our research question asked what opportunities and barriers exist to developing food policies that support urban food goals, particularly related to local procurement, as well as rural economic development. To address this question, we described and analyzed a meeting of urban stakeholders and larger-scale rural producers related to Colorado’s Denver Food Vision and Plan. We documented and explored “findings” gleaned from a supply chain diagraming and data compilation process that were then used to inform an event that brought together diverse supply chain partners. Three findings stand out. First, facilitating dialog between urban food policymakers and rural producers to understand potential tensions, mitigate such tensions, and capitalize on opportunities is essential. Second, perceptions and expectations surrounding “good food” are nuanced—a timely finding given the number of preferred procurement programs emerging across the county. Third, critical evaluation is needed across a diverse set of value chain strategies (e.g., conventional and alternative distribution) if food policy intends to support heterogeneous producers, their communities, and urban food policy goals.


Citations (8)


... Insect co-products, particularly frass derived from BSF larvae production, are increasingly being used as fertilizer (Terfa, 2021). Frass from nine insect species -including BSF, mealworms, and crickets -has been demonstrated to be nutrient rich, and therefore highly suitable for fertilizing crops (Chavez et al. 2024;Beesigamukama et al., 2022;Dzepe et al. 2022). Quilliam et al. (2020) have shown that frass from BSF larvae reared on various types of organic waste streams is comparable to synthetic NPK fertilizer with respect to crop yield. ...

Reference:

Review – Insect Farming for Food and Feed in the Global South: Focus on Black Soldier Fly Production
Impacts of black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, larval frass on lettuce and arugula production

... This is especially interesting for growers, considering several studies have observed significant increases in vegetable yields with VC application (with inorganic fertilizers) (Atiyeh et al., 2001;Arancon et al., 2003;Alam et al., 2007;Gutiérrez-Miceli et al., 2007;Ansari, 2008;Nongmaithem and Pal, 2011;Narayan et al., 2013;Yourtchi et al., 2013). The use of frass as a horticultural soil amendment can provide application for a growing (potentially local) waste stream in combination with inorganic fertilizers (Chavez et al., 2023). It can provide growers access to a beneficial amendment that is more affordable than VC, while also decreasing peat consumption (Chavez and Uchanski, 2021). ...

Impacts of black soldier fly, (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larval frass on tomato production
  • Citing Article
  • July 2023

Journal of Economic Entomology

... The findings of this research demonstrate that agrivoltaics can be a promising approach for increasing plant growth and production. It was further determined that compared to opaque technology, semi-transparent modules allow for higher light intensity for plants without increasing soil/substrate or air temperature, which is beneficial to crops (Uchanski et al. 2023). ...

Characterization of Agrivoltaic Crop Environment Conditions Using Opaque and Thin-Film Semi-Transparent Modules

Energies

... The physical properties of soil or textural class of the soil were 30% sand, 30% clay, and 40% silt with clay loam texture (Table 3), which is ideal for barley production (Pratt et al., 2023). The soil pH was 4.58 and according to Landon, 2014 this was rated as strongly acidic and this was due to high precipitation of the area which causes large leaching of bases down the soil profile. ...

Fall-sown small grain cover crops for weed suppression and soil moisture management in an irrigated organic agroecosystem

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems

... We utilized all the occurrence datasets obtained before thinning to compute the extent of occurrence (EOO) and the area of occupancy (AOO) as described by the IUCN Red List criteria (Khan et al., 2013;IUCN, 2023). The redlistr R package (Lee et al., 2019) was used to assess the threat status of the ten medicinal plants by calculating the AOO and EOO using the criteria described in Table S4 ( Khoury et al., 2020;Mezghani et al., 2019;Wang et al., 2022). The AOO and EOO in this R package are the two metrics representing the size of the geographic range in the IUCN Standard B (Bland et al., 2017). ...

Modelled distributions and conservation status of the wild relatives of chile peppers (Capsicum L.)

... This concentration overlooks rural areas' distinct experiences and challenges, resulting in a scarcity of tailored policies and interventions to address their specific needs and development goals. As rural-urban disparities in food availability attributes continue to widen, it becomes increasingly imperative to rectify this imbalance in research focus (Jablonski et al., 2019). ...

Connecting Urban Food Plans to the Countryside: Leveraging Denver’s Food Vision to Explore Meaningful Rural–Urban Linkages

Sustainability

... farmers are located in traditional agricultural areas, often remote and inaccessible but possess unique natural and cultural resources (Lin et al., 2023), suitable for developing specialty agriculture. Compared to general agriculture, specialty agricultural farmers face unique production risks, such as high perishability and high climate dependence (Flores et al., 2019), and are also vulnerable to extreme fluctuations in temperature and humidity (Zhao and Yue, 2020). Consumers expect high levels of freshness and flavor from specialty produce (Ruiz-Altisent et al., 2010), so specialty produce needs to be delivered to market immediately after harvest. ...

Use of supply chain planning tools for efficiently placing small farmers into high-value, vegetable markets
  • Citing Article
  • February 2019

Computers and Electronics in Agriculture