From vankante@UVS.EDU.SR Tue Aug 31 11:05:07 1993 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1993 02:02:51 -0400 From: "Percy E. van Kanten" To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: Re: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree Bob Thomson writes: > Does anyone on the "network" have information about this tree or can you > point us to someone who does? I am no botanist but with the help of the Encyclopedia of Suriname I will try to give a fast first answer. I will also seek additional information from more able coleagues at our University. Two related plants, bith refered to as "Neem" grow in Suriname. Both are originally from Asia and have been brought to Suriname by immigrants from India and/or Indonesia. Both are of the family of Meliaceae (and thus it seems tom me that they are related to the Mahogany) and both have feather-like compound leaves. The leaves of both are known to be effective medicine against scabies and rash. One is Melia azedarach L. with 1 cm long light purple flowers and a yellow or brownish fruit. The other is Melia azadirachta L. (= Azadirachta indica Juss) with white flowers. The latter has cultural/religious significance for Hindu's; in India it is a sacred tree. An extract of its leaves is used against fever. The plant contains a bitter resinous gum that has anitseptic properties. Its leaves are used to prevent rice to be invested by insects. I did not find anything about use as fertilizer. Hope this helps. Regards, Percy van Kanten _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Ir Percy E. van Kanten | vankante@uvs.edu.sr | phone/fax (+597) 47 7129 University of Suriname | POBox 755,Paramaribo,Suriname From london@calypso Tue Aug 31 11:10:16 1993 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 93 11:08:44 EDT From: Larry London To: london@sunsite.unc.edu Subject: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree This section is from the document '/.pub/academic/agriculture/sustainable_agriculture/mailing-lists/devel-l/devel-l.002'. >From caribdesk@IGC.APC.ORG Mon Aug 30 22:35:28 1993 Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1993 12:04:51 PDT From: Bob Thomson To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree >From bthomson@web.apc.org Mon Aug 30 11:56:07 1993 Received: from web.apc.org by igc.apc.org (4.1/Revision: 1.104 ) id AA29554; Mon, 30 Aug 93 11:56:00 PDT Received: by web.apc.org (Smail3.1.28.1 #6) id m0oXELr-0001q0C; Mon, 30 Aug 93 14:53 EDT Message-Id: Date: Mon, 30 Aug 93 14:53 EDT From: bthomson@web.apc.org (Bob Thomson) To: igc!caribdesk Subject: Information on the Nim (Neem?) tree Status: RO /* Written 1:09 pm Aug 30, 1993 by bthomson in web:at.general */ /* ---------- "Information on the Nim (Neem?) tree" ---------- */ From: Bob Thomson Subject: Information on the Nim (Neem?) tree Greetings from IFAT, the International Federation for Alternative Trade. I've just had a visitor from UCIRI, a co-op coffee producers federation in Mexico which exports organic coffee to a number of alternative trading organizations that are members of IFAT. They have some seeds of a plant called the Nim or Neem tree which is good for nitrogen fixation and has properties which also make it a good organic pesticide. It originally comes from Bangladesh but apparently is well established in Burkina Faso and other parts of Africa. They got seeds from a farm in the Canary Islands. They've been looking for information about the tree, its cultivation and properties for some time and have found very little in the way of written material. Does anyone on the "network" have information about this tree or can you point us to someone who does? The UCIRI representative will be coming back to our office on Wednesday (Sept.1) and it would be a nice demonstration of the power of computer networking to be able to show him that one can actually use all this fancy technology to find information that is useful to small farmers. From london@calypso Tue Aug 31 11:10:28 1993 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 93 11:08:58 EDT From: Larry London To: london@sunsite.unc.edu Subject: Re: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree This section is from the document '/.pub/academic/agriculture/sustainable_agriculture/mailing-lists/devel-l/devel-l.002'. >From aphilipp@NAS.EDU Mon Aug 30 22:36:40 1993 Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1993 15:35:20 EST From: Alwin Philippa To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: Re: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree Bob, The National Academy of Sciences' Office of International Affairs recently published a report " NEEM: A TREE FOR SOLVING GLOBAL PROBLEMS" (ISBN 0-309-04686-6, 1992, 152 pp,, $19.00 +S&H). The report can by ordered through the National Academy Press (Phone: 1-800-624-6242) Alwin Philippa National Academy of Sciences Washington, D.C. From london@calypso Tue Aug 31 11:10:45 1993 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 93 11:09:17 EDT From: Larry London To: london@sunsite.unc.edu Subject: Re: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree This section is from the document '/.pub/academic/agriculture/sustainable_agriculture/mailing-lists/devel-l/devel-l.002'. >From veerasam@CC.GATECH.EDU Tue Aug 31 11:04:18 1993 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1993 01:30:05 EDT From: Veerasamy Aravindan To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: Re: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree Being from a place where neem trees are just one of things you get for granted, I did not pay much attention to how it is being cultivated... It just grows on the roadside and is a common site in the southern parts of India. It is not "cultivated", but grows on its own. I understand that I am kinda "lay man"-ish here. However, I know that neem trees have good medicinal properties. Traditional medicinal pratice (called Ayurvedic medicine as opposed to the Allopathic western medicine) uses neem seeds and leaves for quite a few illnesses. Neem leaves have some property (think it is anti-bacterial) which makes it a good medicine against different poxes (I have seen it commonly used for chicken pox). My 2 cents worth... --Samy (veerasam@cc.gatech.edu) > >From bthomson@web.apc.org Mon Aug 30 11:56:07 1993 > Subject: Information on the Nim (Neem?) tree > > > I've just had a visitor from UCIRI, a co-op coffee producers federation in > Mexico which exports organic coffee to a number of alternative trading > organizations that are members of IFAT. > > They have some seeds of a plant called the Nim or Neem tree which is good > for nitrogen fixation and has properties which also make it a good organic > pesticide. It originally comes from Bangladesh but apparently is well > established in Burkina Faso and other parts of Africa. They got seeds from > a farm in the Canary Islands. They've been looking for information about > the tree, its cultivation and properties for some time and have found very > little in the way of written material. > > Does anyone on the "network" have information about this tree or can you > point us to someone who does? > From markh@ORA.COM Wed Sep 1 10:16:48 1993 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1993 23:53:45 PDT From: Mark Harrington To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: Neem Tree ECHO (Educ concerns for hunger org) has the seeds and some info on propagation and use available. Apparently the twigs are excel lent toothbrushes as well. they are slightly alkaline and neutralize the acidic plaque. They have an interesting intern newsletter. ECHO, 17430 Durrance Rd., North Ft. Myers FL 33917-2200 voice 813 543 3246 Cheers... -- Mark Harrington email: markh@ora.com phone: (H) 707-526-0867 (W) 707-576-2434 From Brij.Mathur@F165.N109.Z1.FIDONET.ORG Wed Sep 1 10:39:20 1993 Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1993 17:20:00 -0400 From: Brij Mathur To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree Provide mailing address to Brij Mathur at VITA to receive information NEEM. * Origin: VITAnet - Arlington, Virginia : 703/527-1392 (1:109/165) From KAREN_WESTLEY.parti@PARTI.INFORUM.ORG Wed Sep 1 10:48:33 1993 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1993 09:30:00 -0400 From: KAREN_WESTLEY.parti@PARTI.INFORUM.ORG To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: BOOK ON NEEM Book on Neem Natural Crop Protection in the Tropics by Gaby Stoll (1988) contains useful information on neem as an organic pesticide. You can order the book from UNIPUB 4511-F Assembly Drive Lanham, MD 20705-4391 tel: (301) 459-4391 The book costs US$25 Hope this is useful. Karen Westley International Ag-Sieve Rodale Institute From MIKE_SANDS.parti@PARTI.INFORUM.ORG Wed Sep 1 20:15:33 1993 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1993 14:15:01 -0400 From: MIKE_SANDS.parti@PARTI.INFORUM.ORG To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: MORE INFO ON NEEM Neem has been grown for years in much of South and Sotheast Asia as well as Africa. It is known to have a wide variety of uses, most importantly insecticidal and medicinal. Your mention of it as a fixer of Nitrogen is new to me, and quite frankly I would view it with some skepticism. One example of it's insecticidal properties was demonstrated in the following reference: Olaifa, J.I. & A.O. Adenuga 1988. Neem products for protecting field cassava from grasshopper damage. Insect Science and its Application 9(2):267-270. The authors had significant results using both Neem oil extract (from the seeds) and Neem kernel water extract for the control of grasshoppers in cassava. Both neem products outperformed the chemical control products. A bit of promotion here: The above information is available on a bimonthly basis in the "INTERNATIONAL AG-SIEVE, a sifting of news about regenerative agriculture". Subscriptions to the printed version are $16/year from: Circulation Manager INTERNATIONAL AG-SIEVE Rodale Institute 611 Siegfriedale Road Kutztown, PA 19530 USA Tel: 215-683-1400 Fax: 215/683-8548 Email: agsieve.topic@parti.inforum.org From Rafe.Ronkin@P18.F151.N109.Z1.FIDONET.ORG Thu Sep 2 10:31:31 1993 Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1993 22:13:00 -0400 From: Rafe Ronkin To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L Subject: Info needed on Nim (Neem?) tree > Does anyone on the "network" have information about > this tree or can you > point us to someone who does? Bob, The American Heritage Dictionary, 3d ed. says neem is "a tall, usually evergreen East Indian tree (Azadirachta indica) widely cultivated in tropical Asia for its timber, resin, bitter bark, and aromatic seed oil. [Hindi nim, from Sanskrit nimbah.]" These days, people are finding all kinds of "promising" and actual pharmaceutical chemicals in neem. In many rural parts of India, people chew and brush their teeth with neem twigs (I think the twigs are full of salicylates) as they walk to work in the morning. And some Indians believe that neem embodies male principles (not necessarily pharmacological) in contrast to the peepul or bo tree, Ficus religiosa. -Rafe- R. R. Ronkin ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3212 McKinley Street NW Volunteer: community service Washington, DC 20015 Tel. +1 (202) 244-7023 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Origin: Rafe's point. (1:109/151.18) From DHARRIS@upei.ca Thu Mar 3 12:48:41 1994 Date: Wed, 19 Jan 1994 10:00:47 -0400 From: Don Harris Reply to: Agriculture Discussion To: Multiple recipients of list AGRIC-L Subject: Neem seeds Not too long ago there was a discussion on the net of the neem tree and all its benefits. Does anyone know where this discussion is archived or more importantly a source for neem seeds? Please reply directly to me, thanks. Don Harris National Research Council University of Prince Edward Island 550 University Ave., Charlottetown, P.E.I. Canada, C0A 1R0 902-566-0794, Fax: 902-566-0756 dharris@upei.ca Article 17198 of rec.gardens: Path: samba!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!darwin.sura.net!wupost!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!ivgate!axolotl!mtask!Bob.Batson From: Bob.Batson@mtask.omahug.org (Bob Batson) Newsgroups: rec.gardens Subject: Neem & Beneficial Insects Message-ID: <88.2bf4a148@axolotl> Date: 13 May 93 21:48:41 CST Reply-To: bob.batson@mtask.omahug.org Organization: Multitasking Systems, Kansas City Sender: news@axolotl.omahug.org (UUscan 1.10) Followup-To: rec.gardens Lines: 62 Neem Active Ingredient Can Adversely Affect Beneficials In past issues of _HortIdeas_, we've enumerated the unique properties of insecticides derived from the tropical neem tree, Azadirachta indica: effectiveness against many pest species, low risk to human health, and low toxicity to beneficial insects. But recent research indicates that sub-lethal doses of azadirachtin (the main insecticidal chemical in neem-based products) applied to European corn borers can adversely affect the development of beneficials (Diadegma terebrans) which parasitize the borers. Azadirachtin applications did not significantly affect parasitization rates, but death rates of the beneficials were significantly greater if the borers they parasitized were exposed to azadirachtin---many of the beneficials were unable to survive to adulthood after emerging from azadirachtin-exposed hosts. The researchers conclude that successful integrated pest management for the borer, combining a neem-based insecticide and parasites, would need imported parasites because the local parasite population couldn't be self-sustaining. This is not to say that neem insecticides should not be used as components of IPM for European corn borers (or for other pest insects where adverse effects on beneficials are seen; one such example is the tobacco hornworm parasite Cotesia congregata); after all, neem insecticides still have important advantages over some other kinds of insecticides. It does provide yet another illustration of the ecological law that "one cannot do ONLY ONE thing." Whatever kinds of interventions humans make in natural processes, there are liable to be unforeseen consequences which must be addressed. We must deal with those consequences (in this case, by importing parasites as necessary), instead of ignoring them and wishing for an (illusory) "simple and safe" solution to the problem at hand. In short, things tend to be more complicated than we often would like to suppose! Reference: C. McCloskey, J.T. Arnason, N. Donskov, R. Chenier, J. Kaminski, and B.J.R. Philogene (Ottawa-Carleton Institutes of Biology and Chemistry, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA K1N 6N5), "Third Trophic Level Effects of Azadirachtin," _The Canadian Entomologist_ 125(1), January/February 1993, 163-165. (Entomological Society of Canada, 1320 Carling Ave., Ottawa, Ontario. CANADA K1Z 7K9.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reprinted with permission from the April 1993 _HortIdeas_(ISSN 0742-8219). Copyright 1993 by Greg and Pat Williams. HortIdeas is $15 (2nd class mail within the USA) for one year (12 issues). For more information or a subscription, write: HortIdeas, 460 Black Lick Road, Gravel Switch, KY 40328, USA. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- For More Info on Research Reported in HortIdeas... ...write to the author(s) of the original article for a copy of it, and/or additional details. The accepted method for communicating research findings throughout the scientific community is via OFFPRINTS, which are simply reprints of published articles available FREE UPON REQUEST FROM THEIR AUTHORS. IF YOU'RE SERIOUSLY INTERESTED in learning more, go ahead and send a postcard for an offprint! *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Bob Batson bob.batson@p3.f322.n280.z1.fidonet.org | Primary address bob.batson@mtask.omahug.org | Backup address ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Under the most controlled conditions, the experimental apparatus will do exactly as it pleases. From guya@ncatfyv.uark.edu Wed May 19 19:22:45 1993 From: guya@ncatfyv.uark.edu (Guy Ames) Subject: neem To: sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu Date: Wed, 19 May 1993 16:28:43 -0500 (CDT) One neem product--Azatin (tm) (azadirachtin from neem seed extract) has recently received EPA registration for ALL food crops, according to the manufacturer, AgriDyne of Salt Lake City. An AgriDyne representative told me that they will be conducting demonstration projects this year and that it should be commercially available in 1994. I am particularly interested in seeing (at the least) a lab assay of Azatin vs. the plum curculio. I understand that some neem products are effective against other weevils (e.g., rice weevil), so it seems to me there may be some reason to believe it could be effective against the PC. Dan Cooley, I know you're out there (I appreciated your comments about labor and the sustainability of fruit production in this country). Maybe you could put this particular bug in Ron Prokopy's ear. We have no lab or other research facilities at ATTRA, so I have to hope that you fellas in research will look at this possibility...or maybe you can give me some other clues on how to approach this. From wmglover@pipeline.com Mon Sep 26 22:47:29 EDT 1994 Article: 44587 of rec.gardens Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!news.duke.edu!eff!wariat.org!malgudi.oar.net!news.pipeline.com!not-for-mail 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 Organization: The Pipeline Lines: 35 Message-ID: <362hml$75q@pipe1.pipeline.com> References: <9409241959.AA27007@inet-gw-1.pa.dec.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: pipe1.pipeline.com >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 22:48:22 EDT 1994 Article: 44603 of rec.gardens Newsgroups: rec.gardens Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!gatech!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!utnut!utgpu!conradr From: conradr@gpu.utcc.utoronto.ca (c. richter) Subject: Re: Neem Trees Message-ID: Organization: UTCC Public Access References: <9409241959.AA27007@inet-gw-1.pa.dec.com> Date: Sun, 25 Sep 1994 16:21:05 GMT Lines: 14 In article <9409241959.AA27007@inet-gw-1.pa.dec.com>, V381::OSTAFFE 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.