From Agblade@world.std.com Sat Sep 17 23:33:42 EDT 1994
Article: 3596 of alt.sustainable.agriculture
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From: Agblade@world.std.com (David W Wheat)
Subject: Re: Natural Pesticides
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You can learn more about Neem extract (azadirachtin) from AgraDyne,
417 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108 or W.R. Grace, Horticultural
Products, 62 Whittemore Ave., Cambridge MA 02140.  I  thik it is
on the market from Grace, not sure about AgraDyne.  It is only 
registered in the U.S. for non-food greenhouse crops, ornamentals, 
and turf.

Nicotine sulfate (''Black Leaf 40'') is highly toxic, and is not much
used in agriculture.  Still used in home gardens I think.  LD-50 only
50 mg/kg.  ''Rotenone'' (many other names) is a similar botanical 
insecticide used on a lot of crops and pests (toxic to fish).

David Wheat
dwheat@mcimail.com



From wmglover@pipeline.com Sat Sep 17 23:34:16 EDT 1994
Article: 3601 of alt.sustainable.agriculture
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From: wmglover@pipeline.com (William Glover)
Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture
Subject: Re: Natural Pesticides
Date: 15 Sep 1994 23:19:49 -0400
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>In article <aquilla.1128561000G@sadye.emba.uvm.edu>, 
>aquilla@salus.med.uvm.edu (Tracy Aquilla) writes: 
> 
>>I am not too clear on what the active ingredients are, but neem seed oil 
>is 
>>purportedly an effective broad-spectrum insecticide with relatively 
>moderate 
>>toxicity. I don't know about the leaves though. 
 
The active ingredient in the seeds of the Neem tree (Azadirachta indica,
native to the Indian subcontinent and now pantropical) is azadiractin, a
very safe (LD50 rating of >13,000) and extremely effective pesticide
against virtually all insects. Now EPA approved and being marketed in North
America under various trade names such as Margosan-O, BioNEEM, and Neemix. 
 
As I have several dozen Neem trees, I concoct sufficient for my needs
easily enough when the trees are in fruit by putting a few seeds in a
blender with water. The Neem is a remarkable as well as handsome tree,
every part of which has long been used in India for a great variety of folk
remedies for man and beast. 
 
Warm regards,  
 
William Glover                          email: wmglover@pipeline.com 
Mango Corners, Jones Estate             fax:   809-469-0119  
NEVIS, West Indies 
 


From wmglover@pipeline.com Mon Sep 26 22:47:51 EDT 1994
Article: 44587 of rec.gardens
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From: wmglover@pipeline.com (William Glover)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Neem Trees - Publicity not always hype
Date: 24 Sep 1994 20:53:41 -0400
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>Does anyone know anything about Neem trees (Azadirachta indica).  
>Recently I have seen a lot of hype about Neem trees and how they 
>are a tropical evergreen tree of environmental promise...  
 
Jay Ostaffe, 
 
As the Neem is a very adaptable, fast-growing, drought-resistant, tall and
handsome evergreen shade tree, it is useful for reforestation on a variety
of soils. A constituent of the seed, chemically known as azadirachtin, is
highly effective against virtually all chewing, biting, and sucking insects
that afflict plants, e.g. aphids, whitefly, mealybugs, caterpillars. 
Azadirachtin is now being extracted commercially from Neem seed and
marketed as a spray concentrate in North America (with EPA approval) and
the UK under such trade names as Margosan-O, BioNEEM, and Neemix. Not
inexpensive to date, but it does work and is innocuous (so far as yet
known) to birds and mammals. The LD50 rating is >13,000. 
 
The Neem is native to the Indian subcontinent where branches long have been
hung in village granaries to ward off insect predators. All parts of the
tree have been used for centuries in folk medicines to treat a great many
different ailments of man and beast. Sounds like the perfect plant, but in
hospitable soils and climates it escapes easily and can become invasive.
Probably would do well in southern Florida if not already there. Have about
20 Neem trees and would be glad to send seeds when next available to anyone
furnishing a conventional mailing address. Once harvested, however, the
viability of the seeds is brief. 
 
Warm regards, 
 
William Glover                                  email:
wmglover@pipeline.com 
Mango Corners, Jones Estate             fax:   809-469-0119  
NEVIS, West Indies 
 
 


From conradr@gpu.utcc.utoronto.ca Mon Sep 26 22:48:40 EDT 1994
Article: 44603 of rec.gardens
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From: conradr@gpu.utcc.utoronto.ca (c. richter)
Subject: Re: Neem Trees
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In article <9409241959.AA27007@inet-gw-1.pa.dec.com>,
V381::OSTAFFE <OSTAFFE%V381.decnet@npt.nuwc.navy.mil> wrote:
>Does anyone know anything about Neem trees (Azadirachta indica). 
>Recently I have seen a lot of hype about Neem trees and how they
>are a tropical evergreen tree of environmental promise.  I do not
>know much else.  Will they survive in South Florida?   Are they
>worth growing?  Why are they considered an environmental promise?

Neem does not tolerate any frost, but if large enough it will grow 
back from a damaging frost to some extent.  There are people growing 
it now in FL and CA.  Seeds are available from Richters at email    
71550.3411@compuserve.com.




From conrad@richters.com Tue Nov  8 23:23:32 EST 1994
Article: 47116 of rec.gardens
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From: conrad@richters.com (Conrad Richter)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: REQUEST: Neem tree info
Message-ID: <2092uc4w165w@richters.com>
Date: Mon, 31 Oct 94 07:45:12 EST
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z005114b@bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us (Joan Bradley) writes:

> I am now the proud owner of a neem tree in a one-gallon pot. It was 
> a gift. How much water and fertilizer does it need? How big does it get? 
> I'm in South Florida. How do they fare in this area? I'd appreciate 
> learning about this before I plant it and would hope some of the 
> knowledgeable people "out there" could help.

A gift?  You what enlightened friends you have.  Neem is a fascinating 
plant with some pretty remarkable medical, insect-inhibiting and other
commercially useful properties.  It has been the subject of a lot of 
research in the last few decades. 

This summer I collected seeds in Ghana where it has become naturalized
as it has in much of the tropics.  It is very hardy -- ethnic East Indians
tell me it is almost weedy in its disposition, and indeed the USDA has 
some concerns over its potential to become the next _Schinus_ in Florida. 
(I say they need not have much concern for while it is agressive I have 
never seen it become a nuisance.)

I understand that there are people trying to develop strains that are 
frost tolerant, but as far as I know nothing significant has come of the 
efforts yet.  So, for now, assume that it will suffer badly if it gets 
hit by frost.  Indeed, it doesn't even like temperatures below 60F -- in 
our greenhouses they suffer badly during the winter months when our 
greenhouses drop to 50F nightly.  

Neem will grow in full or partial shade, needs heavy feeding (high N) and
doesn't mind copious water if it can get it.  I have the notion to promote 
neem as a house plant, since it seems to do very well in bright windows.  
Would require the occasional heavy pruning, but otherwise it requires little 
care.  And it has its own pest defense system...

There is a book out on neem put out by the National Research Council 
called _Neem: A Tree for Solving Global Problems_ (1992).  (We are planning
to list it in our next catalogue.  Sorry, Adam, I couldn't help myself, 
but at least I avoided mentioning the price.)

Conrad Richter 

RICHTERS HERBS                     | Info:                 info@richters.com
Goodwood, ON  L0C 1A0, Canada      | Catalog Requests:  catalog@richters.com
Tel +1-905-640-6677  Fax 640-6641  | Conrad Richter:     conrad@richters.com


From steve.pickett@ectech.com Tue Nov  8 23:24:57 EST 1994
Article: 47180 of rec.gardens
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From: steve.pickett@ectech.com (Steve Pickett)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: REQUEST: Neem tree info
Date: Wed,  2 Nov 1994 02:12:00 GMT
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TO: z005114b@bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us
FROM: steve.pickett@ectech.com
SUBJECT: Neem Info

Z{|}I am now the proud owner of a neem tree in a one-gallon pot. It was
Z{|}a gift. How much water and fertilizer does it need? How big does it get?
Z{|}I'm in South Florida. How do they fare in this area? I'd appreciate
Z{|}learning about this before I plant it and would hope some of the
Z{|}knowledgeable people "out there" could help.
Z{|}--

Joan,
Here is a copy of a message to me on this topic.

<quote>
From: William Glover <wmglover@pipeline.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 1994 15:44:37 -0400
To: steve.pickett@ectech.com
Subject: Neem Tree Q & A

Steve Pickett,

Glad you received the seeds. Don't know that I'm so glad to have all the
questions, but here goes:

>How big does the Neem get (height and width)?

40 feet high x 20-30  feet wide in the tropics.

>How fast does it grow?

Two feet or so a year, in the tropics.

>Is the root structure such that it can be planted near a sidewalk (and
>not lift the cement)?

Nevis, W.I. is where the sidewalk ends. Have no idea, but most any sizeable
tree will lift sidewalks. Don't think it would lift sidewalks anywhere in
the USA outside of Key West, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands.
The Neem is a *tropical* tree; seedlings are killed by frost and larger
ones can take only a few degrees below 0 F for a very short time.

>Can other things grow under it, or does it sterilize the soil?

Grass, sansevierias, stapeliads, and baby neems grow under mine.

>What is it's shape (conical, open, twisted, upright, umbrella, spreading,
>...)?

Upright, erect, and moderately spreading.

>Can it be trimmed to have the lower branches up off the ground?

Yes. Can stand any amount of pruning.

>Can you walk under it?

If the lower branches are cut away.

>What is the fruit like?

Ovoid, yellow, with about 2 mm of flesh around the seed.

>What can the fruit be used for (eating, jams, jellies, fodder, compost,

Doesn't taste very good. Have no idea if considered edible in India and Sri
Lanka. Leaves and branches said to be suitable for cattle fodder, but my
neighbor's sheep won't touch them.

Primary use for seeds nowadays is for the extraction of azadirachtin for
bioinsecticides such as those being marketed under the names of Margosan-O,
BioNEEM, and Neemix.

>Is it a messy tree?

Not especially. Little leaf litter, but abundant fruit fall in season.

>How close together can they be planted?

I have a number planted 2-3 feet apart as a windscreen.

>Why the concerns about it being invasive?

It naturalizes readily in warm, arid climates. One should always be
concerned about exotics being invasive and crowding out native species.
Think about kudzu and water hyacinth in southern US, lantana in Hawaii,
prickly pears in Australia, Brazilian pepper trees in Florida, etc.

>Lot's of questions.

True. Happy you didn't ask how much a big one weighs as my scale is broken.


> I looked it up in my Sunset Garden Book, and it was
>not listed, neither the common nor the botanical names.

As far as I know, on the US mainland neems are only in southern Florida and
but recently introduced.

Warm regards,

William Glover
<unquote>

I have also spoken to some local people who have come up dry on info.
Even Hortus 3rd didn't have info which suprised one nurserywoman. I'm
trying to propagate some seeds, but no luck yet.

Let me know how it goes.

Steve
---
 * QMPro 1.52 * Vegetarians eat vegetables.  Beware of Humanitarians!


From paul.maser@megasystem.com Tue Nov  8 23:27:01 EST 1994
Article: 47217 of rec.gardens
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Apparently-to: JOAN BRADLEY
Subject: REQUEST: Neem tree info
From: paul.maser@megasystem.com (Paul Maser)
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Distribution: world
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Date: Wed,  2 Nov 94 07:18:00 -0800
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JB>I am now the proud owner of a neem tree in a one-gallon pot. It was
  >a gift. How much water and fertilizer does it need? How big does it get?
  >I'm in South Florida. How do they fare in this area? I'd appreciate
  >learning about this before I plant it and would hope some of the
  >knowledgeable people "out there" could help.
  >--

JB>Joan Bradley

I've been raising a couple of neem trees for a few years. A one
gallon pot is probably too small, but it appears that you can
bonzai them. I finally transplanted mine into twenty gallon pots
and they loved it. Now they're up to about four feet and much
healthier. They are tropical trees and can't take frost. In
southern Florida you can probably leave them outdoors most of the
year. I give mine a small amount of miracle grow on occassion. To
water, lift the pot and when its almost dry, soak it.

Best Regards;
Paul



From syd9@juno.com Sat Feb 21 00:14:39 1998
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 15:53:27 -0700
From: "Shirley Y. Deines" <syd9@juno.com>
To: sustag-public@twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu
Cc: heman@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu, london@sunsite.unc.edu
Subject: Neem Tree

Here is something you might find very interesting about The Amazing Neem:

"Bugs Hate It

Because the people of India have long known that neem leaves repel
troublesome insects, they place leaves in beds, books, bins, cupboards,
and closets.  In 1959 a German entomologist and his student became
involved in neem research after witnessing a massive locust plague in the
Sudan during which billions of locusts devoured the leaves of every tree
except the neem.

Since then, scientists have learned that the neems' complex chemical
arsenal is effective against more than 200 insect species as well as
various mites, nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and even several viruses.  In
one experiment, researchers placed soybean leaves in a container with
Japanese beetles.  Half of each leaf had been sprayed with neem extracts.
 The beetles devoured the untreated halves of each leaf but didn't touch
the treated portions.  In fact, they died of starvation rather than eat
even tiny portions of the treated leaves.

Such experiments suggest the possibility of developing an inexpensive,
nontoxic, and easily prepared alternative to certain synthetic
pesticides, In Nicaragua, for example, farmers mix pounded neem seed with
water ^× 80 grams of seed per liter of water.  They soak the pounded seed
for 12 hours, strain out the seeds, and then spray the water on the
crops.

Neem products do not kill most insects outright.  Neem sprays alter an
insect's life processes, so that eventually, it can no longer feed,
breed, or metamorphose.  But while need products act against bugs, they
do not appear to be harmful to birds, warm-blooded animals, or humans."
(Quoted from theAWAKE! February 22, 1998 issue)

I would suggest you get a copy of this as it contains some very
"informative" information about the Neem tree.

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