Neem for Sustainable Pest Management and Environmental Conservation
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Dated: June 2015
Author: Ramesh C. Saxena
An issue of ECHO Asia Notes featuring the article 'Neem for Sustainable Pest Management and Environmental Conservation' by Ramesh C. Saxena, Ph.D., Chairman, Neem Foundation. Discusses the potential benefits of using neem (Azadirachta indica) products for integrated pest and vector management.
Abstract
To be sustainable, agricultural processes, including pest and vector management must be efficient (effective and economically rewarding), ecologically sound (for long term stability), equitable (in providing social justice), and ethical (in respecting both future generations and other species). Basic and applied research conducted over the past three decades have shown that the use of natural and enriched neem (Azadirachta indica) products can provide a key component in ensuring sustainable integrated pest and vector management. The formidable array of more than 100 bioactive compounds in the neem tree makes it a unique plant with potential applications in pest and vector management. Unlike toxic synthetic insecticides, neem materials do not kill the pest, but incapacitate or neutralize it via cumulative behavioral, physiological, and cytological effects. In spite of high selectivity, neem materials affect more than 500 species of insect pests, phytophagous mites, mites, and ticks affecting man and animals, parasitic protozoans, noxious mollusks, plant parasitic nematodes, pathogenic fungi, and harmful bacteria and fungi. Results of large-scale field trials have illustrated the value of neem-based pest management for enhancing crop productivity. Neem is useful as windbreaks and in areas of low rainfall and high wind speed, it can protect crops from desiccation. Neem trees are being planted on a large scale in southern China and Brazil. Neem has also been grown in Australia, in many countries in Africa, Latin America, Caribbean islands, etc. Neem has much to offer in solving agricultural and public health problems, especially in rural areas. Increased awareness of the potential of neem tree by creating awareness of its potential would go a long way in promoting its acceptance for pest management and improvement of plant health, animal health, human health, and environmental health.
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