Experience and Methods for Greenhouse Farming of Grasshoppers
In recent years, farming grasshoppers in greenhouses has become a trend, with broad market prospects, and many farmers have begun to take up this new type of farming technology. In Zhao County, this new type of farming technology has already begun to sprout -- Hebei Shenhua Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. has been farming grasshoppers in greenhouses for two years now, and so far has bred 9 greenhouses. The main species bred is the Oriental migratory locust, and through these two years of farming, considerable economic benefits have been generated.
Biological Characteristics of Grasshoppers
Grasshoppers are insects used both as medicine and as food. They are oviparous and belong to the order Orthoptera, family Acrididae, class Insecta. According to statistics, the family Acrididae has a total of 859 species of grasshoppers, but only two can be used as medicine and for food, namely the Oriental migratory locust grasshopper and the rice migratory locust grasshopper. Grasshoppers are rich in protein, carbohydrates, insect hormones and other active substances, and also contain vitamins A, B, and C and elements such as phosphorus, calcium, iron, zinc, and manganese. Grasshoppers are not only a delicious delicacy, but also a good medicine for treating illness. Used alone or in combination, grasshoppers can treat many diseases, such as tetanus, infantile convulsions, fever, and asthma. Grasshoppers are dioecious, mate naturally, and are oviparous. Under natural conditions, they reproduce 2 generations per year, namely the summer locust and the autumn locust.
Nutritional Value of Grasshoppers
Grasshoppers are insects used both as medicine and as food. They belong to the order Orthoptera, family Acrididae, class Insecta. There are a total of 859 species of grasshoppers, but only the Oriental migratory locust grasshopper and the rice migratory locust grasshopper can be used as medicine and for food. These two kinds of grasshoppers are rich in nutrients, with tender meat and a delicious taste like shrimp. Grasshoppers are rich in protein, carbohydrates, insect hormones and other active substances, and also contain various vitamins and elements such as phosphorus, calcium, iron, zinc, and manganese. Grasshoppers are also a good medicine for treating illness. According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, grasshoppers used alone or in combination can treat many diseases, such as tetanus, infantile convulsions, fever, asthma, bronchitis, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Grasshoppers are dioecious and oviparous, reproducing 2 generations per year, namely the summer locust and the autumn locust.
Grasshopper Farming Management
The starting development temperature for grasshoppers is 15°C, the maximum development temperature is 40°C, the suitable development temperature is 25-32°C, the relative air humidity is 85%-92%, and the soil moisture content is 15%-18%. Below 14°C or above 40°C, grasshoppers stop feeding and die. When the temperature is 28-30°C, grasshopper eggs hatch. First prepare non-toxic soil and sawdust mixed evenly at a ratio of 1:2, with a moisture content of 20%-30%. Spread 3-5 cm of soil in a container and pat it firm, distribute the grasshopper eggs evenly on the soil, and cover with 1 cm of the mixed soil. Cover the container with plastic film and check once every half day. After spotting small grasshoppers, use a soft brush to move them onto the food inside the greenhouse. Hatching is completed in 10-15 days. Small grasshoppers like to eat fresh and tender wheat seedlings, corn seedlings, weeds and other monocotyledonous plants, and their food intake is very small. Grasshoppers of instars 1-3 should be protected from rain. At 27-35 days of age they grow into adults. During this period they molt once every 5-7 days, for a total of 5 molts.
Each grasshopper lays 70-100 eggs. The company built 4 greenhouses in the first year, and so far has expanded to 9 greenhouses, with a relatively fast reproduction rate. Grasshoppers have the habit of living in groups and migrating. Living in groups and migrating are for feeding and for reproduction and laying eggs. Therefore, after grasshoppers emerge as adults and before they lay eggs, appropriate artificial disturbance should be provided to make them migrate within the greenhouse, so as to increase the quantity and quality of egg laying. The eggs laid should be covered with wheat bran, weeds and other materials to keep them warm and moist before freezing.
Economic Value of Grasshoppers
The market prospects for grasshoppers are very broad, and they contain relatively high protein. The current market price is 20 yuan per jin. Each greenhouse is 100 sq m, 1 sq m can produce 2 jin, each greenhouse can produce 200 jin of grasshoppers, and each greenhouse earns 4,000 yuan, so the benefits are very considerable.
Perhaps many people still do not know the value of grasshoppers, and some may only know that it is an insect, but grasshoppers are also a very nutritious dish. As people become more and more particular about what they eat, grasshoppers are liked by more and more people, so their market demand is also slowly increasing.