The Neem |
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The Neem tree or Margousier in India
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| Azadirachta indica A. Juss 1830 |
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| Classical classification | |
| Vegetable kingdom | Plantae |
| Division | Magnoliophyta |
| Class | Magnoliopsida |
| Sub-class | Rosidae |
| Orders | Sapindales |
| Family | Meliaceae |
| Type | Azadirachta |
| Etymology | - Neem tree, beads tree, Indian Lilac because of its purple flowers (do not confuse it with the Lagerstroemia Indica which is also called Indian Lilac). - Neem tree, Indian lilac, Margosa tree, Persian lilac or China berry. - Proper nouns in India: Nim, Neem, Balnimb (Hindu), Nimba (Sanskrit), Vepu, Vempu, Veppam (Tamil), Vepa (Telugu), and Limba (Gujarat). |
| Active components of the Neem oil | Free fatty acid (as oleic), steraic, linoleic, palitic, myristic. |
| Climat | The pluviometry, between 400 and 1200mm, can content itself with less if the level of the ground water is high enough. It adapts itself to sandy or drained soils (PH 6, 2-7, 0) but also to the poor soils. Favourable temperature to its development: 21°C to 32°C. It tolerates very high temperature but not below 4°C. |
About the Neem
In Brazil, all the fruit and vegetable producers but also all the distributors of farm products know the neem. Since 2001, we use it frequently to cure the animals and for the agriculture.
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The biologic alternative
The azadirachtin extract contained in the neem’seeds was very efficient against the larva that were destroying the foliages, against 13 species of lepidopterous insects and against sawflies.
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Did you know?
When the tree reaches maturity, it can produce until 50Kg of fruits what is equivalent to 30Kg of seeds. These ones constitute the main source of components with some insecticidal properties as the azadirachtin. However, the quantity of azadirachtin contained in the seeds considerably changes according to the climatic conditions, the soil conditions and the genotype of the tree (Ermel 1986 ; Singh 1986).