NeemDirect: Where The World Buys Neem!

Tree of Life
For thousands of years, the people of India have known about the powers of the neem tree. They clean their teeth with neem twigs, heal skin disorders such as ulcers and eczema with neem-leaf juice, drink neem tea as a tonic, place neem leaves in their grain bins and cupboards to ward off insects, and pour neem tea on their plants to repel insects.

Now scientists around the world are researching the possibilities that the neem, a member of the mahogany family, could provide answers to many global problems such as including reforestation, cancer prevention methods, pesticide alternatives, and population control, including a role in the development of a male birth control pill.

"Even some of the most cautious researchers are saying that neem deserves to be called a wonder plant,'" according to Noel Vietmeyer, the study director of a 1992 National Research Council report entitled "Neem: A Tree for Solving Global Problems."

Indian scientists began research on the neem in the 1920s, but their work was little recognized until a German entomologist, Heinrich Schmutterer, witnessed a locust plague in the Sudan in 1959. Schmutterer began researching the neem when he saw that the only plant survivors of the plague were neem trees. Interest in the tree spread, and by 1991, several hundred researchers in over a dozen countries were conducting research on the neem. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been studying the neem tree since 1972.

One of the most promising benefits of the neem tree may be the use of neem extractions in new organic insecticides. According to the World Health Organization, over 20,000 deaths and a million illnesses each year result from misuse or overuse of pesticides in the Third World alone. Neem insecticides have many advantages over traditional chemical methods: research indicates they are not harmful to humans or animals, insects don't become resistant to them, neem extracts do not accumulate in the environment, and they also spare beneficial insects like butterflies and ladybugs.

Entomologists have found that neem compounds can affect more than 200 insect species, including mosquitoes, fruit flies, head lice, Japanese beetles, Colorado potato beetles, Gypsy moths, fire ants, fleas, cockroaches, and boll weevils. The neem serves as a unique insecticide in that its compounds do not immediately kill insects, but rather alter insects' behavior or life processes in subtle ways as to impair the insect so that it can no longer feed, breed, or metamorphose.

The chemical structure of the neem contains only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, in contrast to inorganic, synthetic insecticides. The neem relies on four major compounds which act as antihormones in combating insects, and these are backed up by some 20 or so other minor, less active compounds.

The four major compounds, azadirachtin, salannin, meliantriol, and nimbin, are of the general class of natural products called triterpenes, or more specifically, limonoids. Azadirachtin is the major agent for warding off insects, causing about 90% of the effect on insects. It repels and disrupts the growth and reproduction of insects by interrupting the process of metamorphosis by blocking molting, thus ending the insect's life cycle. Meliantriol and salannin both repel insects by causing them to cease eating. The fourth compound, nimbin or nimbidin, is involved in antiviral activity, affecting potato virus X, vaccinia virus, and fowl pox virus. Other neem ingredients also work as antihormones, including some that are able to paralyze certain insects' swallowing abilities.

It is a fairly simple process to obtain these compounds by extracting them from the seed kernels of the tree. Crushing the kernels and extracting them with water is the most effective way for village peoples to obtain neem insecticides. Scientists have developed more advanced processes and means to convert neem extracts to forms of granules, dust, wettable powders, or emulsifiable concentrates. Scientists have also developed formulations, including the addition of chemicals or chemical modification of the neem ingredients, to increase shelf life of products or to reduce phototoxicity, the damage to sensitive plants.

There are currently four neem-based insecticides available on the U.S. market. AgriDyne Technologies, Inc. manufactures Azatin, Turplex, and Align. Azatin, which was introduced in 1992, is produced for use on ornamental plants, such as greenhouse plants and flowers. Turplex, also introduced in 1992, is used for turf and lawn care, while Align was introduced last year for use on food crops. W.R. Grace manufactures Margosan-O, which is now registered in all 50 states, also for use on food crops. The EPA has approved the use of both Align and Margosan-O for food crops. According to John Cuomo, the director of chemistry research at AgriDyne, the products have been accepted very well by growers, and the company continues to receive many requests for the products.

Although the neem seems to have endless possibilities, there are some disadvantages that need to be overcome. According to the NRC study, "the truth is that despite all its properties and promise, some impediments must be overcome and many uncertainties clarified before neem's potential can be fully realized." For example, neem products sometimes degrade and lose their pest-control properties when exposed to sunlight. This has been mitigated in some U.S. products by the addition of sunscreen. Cuomo said that the AgriDyne products do not contain sunscreen because it is not necessary for them to be effective. On a positive note, he said because of the UV breakdown and the hydrolysis of the neem products, they decompose rapidly, preventing buildup in the environment.

Although there appear to be few adverse human health effects of neem ingredients, further toxicity tests need to be conducted. Toxicity tests on fish and other wildlife also require investigation. Another disadvantage of the use of neem insecticides is that they kill insects by delayed action, so they work slower than synthetic pesticides. Consumers who have become accustomed to instant results may be impatient with the slower action of neem insecticides. Cuomo said that although AgriDyne's products are slow-acting, they are very effective if used for a full season.

Are vegetables healthy?
VEGETABLES ARE good for health. But, are the vegetables healthy and eco-friendly? No, say the experts.
Agricultural scientists say most of the vegetables coming to the market are generally harmful, as farmers use more toxic chemicals and insecticides. They are likely to contain residues of insecticides.

To persuade the farmers to adopt safe pest management measures, a `vegetable exhibition', with special reference to integrated pest management strategies, will be held at the Agricultural College and Research Institute (ACRI) in Madurai, on March 26. The exhibition is open to the public. The State-level exhibition brings together farmers from all vegetable-growing districts such as Theni, Ramanathapuram, Pudukottai, Tiruchi and Dindigul. The `healthy' vegetables will be on display.

The ACRI Dean, N. Kempu Chetty, said the purpose was to make farmers produce vegetables free of toxic chemicals. And that was possible only when they tried out biological control methods.

According to N. Muthukrishnan of the Department of Entomology, ACRI, the focus of the exhibition would be on vegetables and vegetable-related technologies. Brinjal, tomato, chillies, gourds and cauliflower were among the vegetables that would be displayed.

Farmers as well as domestic growers could go in for neem oil, instead of pesticides. This is the tip for growing healthy vegetables.

"When we procure vegetables from the market, they contain chemicals, and that can be avoided by adopting our suggestions," he said. There are also ways of increasing the productivity of vegetables and reducing the cost of production.

With over 300 farmers expected to take part in the exhibition, some leading companies in vegetable technology will introduce new technologies to the farmers.

The National Horticultural Research and Development Foundation, Nasik, and the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University are the co-sponsors.

Going organic is the way
Shubhra Gupta
Think ghee, think cholesterol? No, not after the introduction of a low-cholesterol, organic version of the product. In fact, organic foods offer you a range of healthier, heartier substitutes.

Ghee without cholesterol? Vegetarian eggs? Sounds like a contradiction in terms, but a couple of new products point towards a trend which, up till now, has been confined to urban, well-heeled pockets: Going organic is the way to be.

Specially created for the Indian market, Le Bon Ghee positions itself as a `healthier' product, with 80 per cent less cholesterol. Currently manufactured by Le Bon's sister concern in Belgium through a process called `decholesterolisation', the ghee is available at select stores in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh. "It is the same process we use for our butter," says Sumeet Anand, CEO, Dabon International Pvt Ltd, "but the intention with the ghee is to preserve its natural taste, as our consumers remember it."

If you remember, ghee in most traditional North Indian homes would be bought in 18 kg tins (one kg of superior ghee would cost Rs 5), which would last a month. No one used any other medium while cooking: These were the pre-Dalda days, and much before vegetable oils flooded the market. But with the robust lifestyles they led in those days, people could afford to use so much of ghee.

Today, however, increasingly sedentary days and nights, when the most strenuous thing you do is push computer keys, and an alarming increase in the incidence of heart disease has forced people to re-evaluate their dietary habits. The very latest research dubs even `good cholesterol' bad, making ghee a strict `no-no' in most households. But if, like most old-timers, you believe in the efficacy of ghee for strong bones (when consumed in small quantities, of course), or like most old-fashioned cooks, you know that nothing tastes quite like ghee, then a low-cholesterol ghee is a good idea.

At Rs 145 for a 500 gm tin pack, Le Bon Ghee is pricey, but it goes down well on the taste-aroma-texture scale: It smells just the way it should, and is also satisfactorily grainy. Soon, the ghee will travel to Southern stores, promises Anand, who is currently test-marketing Le Bon's freshly-packed paneer.

Organ egg, a new egg brand, boasts of an interesting USP. It terms its pack of six eggs priced at Rs 22 as `herbal', and `satvik' (pure). The hens are fed on a special `vegetarian' diet fortified by herbs.
Haryana-based Tagma Agrotech Ltd's research in innovative organic foods, and specifically `dietary engineering' has resulted in the eggs, which are said to have `ultra-low' cholesterol (80-120 mg per egg compared to 200-240 mg in conventional eggs).

Sanjiv Wadhera, a director with Tagma Agrotech Ltd, refuses to divulge more than the fact that the hens are fed a mix of ashwagandha, neem and other herbs. "The eggs are also high in vitamin E, and zinc, and most importantly, the sodium content is very low, less than half of the conventional egg, suitable for those with hypertension," he says.
A taste trial proved nice. The aroma is pretty much egg-like, but the lingering after-taste that egg-haters abhor isn't there. Organeggs are available in high-end stores in Punjab, Haryana and New Delhi. The placement is still being worked out, says Wadhera, given the pricing. In September-October, the eggs will head South, via Mumbai.

Going organic is, in a sense, going back to the way it used to be. A time when fertilizers did not automatically mean harmful chemicals, and when the vegetables and fruit you ate came from soil, which would be replenished with healthy manure and mulch.

A visit to the Dubden Healthy Living Store, located in a swish New Delhi `urban village', tells you that eating organic has just become easier, because that's the intention of Jayashree and Ganesh Eashwar: To provide the consumer a range of organic foods. "It could be one organic product as opposed to another, which could be more or less expensive, but the important thing is that you go away with something that is organically grown and produced," says Ganesh Eashwar, who along with his wife, quit high-profile, fat-salaried corporate jobs to run the store.

The thing with staying on the organic track, always assuming you've decided to go the route (with a 15 to 20 per cent hike in your monthly grocery bill because that's how much more organic produce costs, on an average), is the difficulty in finding it all under one roof. Dubden stocks not just vegetables and fruits, but also pickles, jams, preserves, cooking oils and whole grain breads, which says Jayashree, are all sold out long before the day is done. So you'll find Navdanya products, as well as other brands, which may not necessarily be organic, but are `healthier' options, on the shelves.
The spacious store also has corners that displays hand-made woollen garments, as well as a counter where you can get a whole bunch of essential oils. Just the fact that the store has so much space is indicative of the way things are: There are not so many people who have turned organic just yet.

The Eashwars, who started out with a farm on the outskirts of Bangalore, soon realised that departmental stores give cursory attention to organic products, with a neglected, ill-stocked shelf or two. And that NGOs who work directly with farmers do not have the tools to link up directly with consumers. "Basically, what we are doing is the opposite of NGOs — by linking with others who do the same thing, we are making sure that we manage to provide a range of products — rice from the South and the North East, pulses from the hills for example, in our own store, and in other stores. Pretty much like the old time barter system," they chuckle together.

My favourite, from the Dubden store: sun-dried fruit, good for a post-meal treat, or a mealtime snack. Both the banana and mango, which one chose from an array of other fruit, were tasty and aromatic.

Tips for eco-friendly landscapes
Here are some Nature Scaping ideas that may help you in your yard.

Design your garden so plants with similar water needs are located together.
Limit or reduce your grass, which requires more irrigation and fertilizer than other areas of the garden. Where you use grass, make sure it is healthy. Water once a week to encourage deep roots that filter pollutants from runoff and last longer in drought.
Incorporate more native trees, shrubs and ground covers that will provide food and shelter for birds, butterflies and wildlife.
Create curving beds around and among trees to link them visually and reduce lawn maintenance.
Use eucalyptus or melaleuca to avoid destroying natural cypress areas.
Walk frequently through your garden to examine plants for insects and diseases. Begin treating infestations with soapy water, neem oil, horticultural oil, pyrethrins or similar products that will not harm the environment.
For more information, visit www.co.broward.fl.us/agriculture, or do a search for NatureScape Broward. Diana Guidry, who directs the NatureScape program for the Cooperative Extension Service in Broward, is at 954-370-3725. Commissioner Kristin Jacobs is at 954-357-7002.

In Miami-Dade County, call the Florida Yards and Neighborhoods program at the Cooperative Extension Service, 305-248-3311 ext. 246.

Foot Fungus Alert
A public health problem in yoga studios, athlete's foot responds well to treatment with neem, and its pervasiveness warrants bringing your own mat to class.

Excerpt:
“John Douillard, who practices Ayurvedic medicine in Boulder, Colorado, and is the author of the book Body, Mind & Sport (Crown, 1995), is also the director of player development for the basketball team the New Jersey Nets. As director he has successfully treated numerous cases of athlete's foot. He recommends applying an infusion of neem leaves to infected feet. Neem is a multi-purpose Ayurvedic herb that is especially effective against skin diseases.

To make an infusion, add 1 tablespoon of neem leaves to 1 cup of water and boil down to 1é4 cup liquid; strain out the leaves and let cool. Add a few drops of garlic oil and tea tree oil (which also have antifungal properties) to the infusion. After showering, swab the neem leaf infusion on the feet and blow dry. Ideally, you should wear open shoes, such as sandals, that leave the feet exposed to air. If that's not practical, wear cotton socks and keep shoes dry and clean.

Once the fungus has infected the toenails, it can be stubborn to treat; therefore, Douillard advises taking neem internally. Neem can be purchased in capsules at natural products stores, Ayurvedic pharmacies, or on-line. Follow the dosage recommendations on the label. Be diligent in the treatment regimen; toenail fungus can take up to a year to cure, warns Douillard.”

The Kidney Diseases and Institute of Organ Transplantation (KIOT) has introduced a new system of dialysis that makes use of herbs to treat kidney-related ailments, according to Dr Ravichandran, head of nephrology and transplantation, KIOT.

Explaining the method at a press conference here recently, Ravichandran said the procedure was in keeping with the ancient practice of using herbs to cure aliments. He said today's doctors used modern medicines ignoring the medicinal value of herbs. Patients affected with hepatitis and other diseases showed improvement when treated with herbs like Stevia, Aloe Vera, Neem, Tulsi and Phylanthus in herbal dialysis, he claimed. Besides, they felt energetic and active after the treatment, Dr Ravichandran said.

'The preliminary data gathered by us on herbal dialysis is encouraging and very soon a protocol will be devised to cure skin diseases, diabetes, hepatitis and acute renal failure', he added.

St Thomas farmers get relief from pests
St Thomas - Pests may soon be of little, or no concern, to farmers in the Hall Head and Danvers Pen sections of this parish who have been introduced to an environmentally-friendly insecticide to keep insects away from vegetable crops.

The St Thomas office of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), in collaboration with the Danvers Pen Vegetable Growers' Association and St Jago Farm Supplies in St Catherine, recently organised a training day for the farmers.

The biological insecticide, Neem-X, which is compatible with integrated pest management programmes, was introduced to the farmers by personnel from St Jago Farm Supplies.

Neem-X is extracted from the seeds of the Neem tree, which belongs to a very important medicinal plant. Neem-X effectively controls over 131 species of insect pests such as leaf miners, nematodes, mealy bugs, aphids, whiteflies, caterpillars, fruit flies, paddy bug, plant hoppers among other that infest vegetables, fruits and ornamental crops.

Managing director of St Jago Farm Supplies, O'Brien Johnson, advised the farmers to use pesticides that were recommended by RADA and safe on crops for export markets. He said the Neem-X was safe to use and could be applied to the crop on the day of harvesting because "there is no residual effect".

According to Johnson, the product has an anti-feedant property, which disrupts the ability of insect pests to grow and produce.

"Even if the insects do lay, they lay sterile eggs; therefore, your insect population would be less," he explained.

Johnson noted that even though the insecticide disrupts the reproduction of insect pests, it would not harm friendly insects such as ladybird beetles, wasps, bees and spiders, which are beneficial to plants.
He encouraged the farmers to increase their level of efficiency and production so that they could compete in the global market.

Currently there are some 20 farmers in the Hall Head district growing about 6.07 hectares (15 acres) of scotch bonett pepper and bitter melon (fuga) on a 16.18 hectares (40 acre) plot belonging to the Danvers Pen Vegetable Growers' Association. Eastern Jamaica Agricultural Support projects had assisted the group with irrigation equipment to irrigate the land.

RADA field officer for the Danvers Pen district, Dwight Forrester, told JIS news that insects called aphids had been affecting the corps, causing them to develop a disease called sothymould. He said farmers had been using two fungicides, 'Top Cop' and 'Pegasus," which had controlled the disease "to about 60 per cent".

"We work in collaboration with the exporter and the farmer to ensure that at the end of the day the crop is in good health condition," he said.

Excerpts From: Human Habitat And National Priorities By: Prof Rafiqur Rahman
In India the tree is called the village pharmacy. The seeds, bark and leaves contain compounds called limonoids with proven antiseptic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer and anti-fungal uses.

Environmentally, neem has a reputation as a natural air purifier, exhaling out oxygen and keeping the oxygen level in the atmosphere balanced. Neem's ability to withstand extreme heat and water pollution is well known. It also helps to improve the fertility of the soil and to rehabilitate degraded waste lands. The tree can also play a vital role in controlling soil erosion, salination and preventing floods.

The most promising and profound effects of neem has been found in agriculture as an effective insecticide and pesticide and at the same time neem is ecofriendly. Neem is nontoxic to honey bees and other beneficial insects compared to synthetic insecticides and pesticides. Neem pesticides are now being increasingly used in India on crops like cotton, vegetables, fruit trees, coffee, tea, rice and spices.

Neem derivatives may serve as affordable and widely used available contraceptives. Studies in USA and India indicated the potential of neem extracts to be used both to control male fertility and to prevent women pregnancy. Neem extracts are toxic to herpes and hepatitis B virus. An active ingredient in neem leaves, called irodin A, is toxic to resistant strains of malaria. Either eaten or applied externally neem inhibits allergic reactions. Neem oil or leaf extract has been suggested to cure psoriasis, an extremely debilitating skin allergy.

The United States National Institute of Health reports encouraging results of neem extracts on AIDs. No wonder then that the United Nations declared Neem as the "Tree of the 21st Century".

Neem Oil Protects Flowering Plants Against Diseases
WASHINGTON, March 3--Raindrops falling on the leaves of ornamentals like roses and lilacs can spread nasty fungi to these and other flowering plants. But U.S. Department of Agriculture research shows that oil from a tropical tree stops fungi from infecting the plants.

James C. Locke, a research plant pathologist, said the oil is extracted from seeds of the neem tree native to India. A spray of one-percent neem oil in water "acts like a raincoat" against spores of fungi that are spread by splashing raindrops and wind, he said.

Locke said the oil is the first botanical product to exhibit fungicidal properties and potential use as an alternative to chemical fungicides. On ornamentals, the oil extract protects against diseases like powdery mildew and rust that discolor leaves, at times frustrating gardeners into buying new plants.

"If the spores can't adhere to a leaf, germinate and penetrate the cells, they can't cause disease," said Locke of USDA's Agricultural Research Service. A one-percent spray gave 95 to 100 percent protection to hydrangeas, lilacs and phlox against powdery mildew in numerous field tests. They were run over the past four years by Locke and colleagues in the agency's Floral and Nursery Plants Research Unit at the Beltsville, MD research center.

A single spray application was sufficient to protect these plants, including times when plants were prone to infection, he said. Additional applications at 7- to 14-day intervals were tried without any damage to the plants, he added.

On plants where mildew had begun to develop, "it was arrested," Locke said. "Neem oil provided control comparable to each of three chemical fungicides." He Said neem seeds also are the source of azadirachtin, the active ingredient in seven botanical insecticides. Azadirachtin is an ethanol extract from neem seeds, but it does not have fungicidal activity.

Locke is testing the oil as a fungicide under a cooperative research and development agreement with W.R Grace and Company, Columbia, MD.

Locke's neem studies are the latest in a line of research that ARS scientists have pursued on uses of the tree's botanical properties in agriculture. Agency scientists in the 1970's identified azadirachtin and ran tests that led to its introduction as a commercial insecticide.

NOTE TO EDITOR: Contact for details James C. Locke, plant pathologist, Floral and Nursery Plants Research Unit, U.S. National Arboretum, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Beltsville, MD. Telephone: (301) 504-6413.

Nowadays Dilip Singh Chawla of Rajpura village in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district saves the leftover curd in his house in an earthen pot.

The curd is allowed to accumulate for 15 days before he mixes it with neem leaves or oil, cow dung, cow urine, a little onion and chilli juice in water and sprays it on his tomato crop. This he repeats every 15 days. The quantity of curd, cow dung, cow urine and water is in the ratio of 3:3:3:100.

So do Neetu Sau of Nagaravi village in Khargone district on his Bt cotton crop and Poonam Thakur of Umeriya village in Indore district on his carrot crop. These are just a few of the hundreds of farmers in Madhya Pradesh who are spraying this cocktail of organic pesticide on their crops.

"Madhya Pradesh started this a couple of years ago. Now, it has begun to yield results," says Dr G.S. Kaushal, Director, Agriculture.

Farmers begin spraying this once the shoots of a crop pop up. "Farmers have adopted this method in over one lakh hectares spread over3,100 villages in the State," he says.

Chawla's story is interesting. His tomato plant, for example, was submerged in water during monsoon for over 24 hours. He did lose the initial fruiting after the floods but since then, he has been harvesting healthy tomatoes at least once a week.

"At least, three tonnes of tomatoes have been harvested so far on the plot of 0.2 hectare. He has got an average of Rs 8 a kg for the tomatoes," Dr Kaushal says.

"In Malgaon village in Khandwa district, farmers growing organic cotton have saved Rs 23 lakh on fertilisers and pesticides," he says.

According to him, a cotton crop on a hectare needs 10 pesticide sprays costing at least Rs 8,000. Bt cotton could need about four sprays costing Rs 3,200. "By using this cocktail of pesticide, the farmers' expenditure is just Rs 1,000 towards labour cost for spraying," he says.

How did the State come upon this cocktail? "Necessity is the mother of invention," Dr Kaushal says. Three years of drought resulted in farmers reducing crop inputs and this forced the State Agriculture Department to look to other ways to help them save their crop from pesticide and insects. "It was by trial and error methods we came across this," Dr Kaushal says, adding "whatever is saved can be used for development."

In fact, Madhya Pradesh has reported good harvest of kharif crop despite lower use of fertiliser and pesticides this year.

Organic farming has resulted in a price tag being attached to things such as cow dung, which now costs Rs 1,000 for a tractor load (3 tonnes).

This has not resulted in any drastic reduction of production. "For the first two years, there was a slight reduction. But this year, the production has been as good as the one like using inorganic pesticide/fertilisers," says Chawla.

Farmers growing Bt cotton in Khargone district have also reported good production. "Seeing the result on my field, other farmers have decided to take up organic cotton farming next year," says Neetu Sau.

"Now, I am asking the farmers to save the curd in old copper vessels as that can led to formation of copper sulphate," says Dr Kaushal.