Neem Oil - Research reports

I've read several short web based reports regarding neem oil as a pesticide/fungicide many of which were by companies marketing neem oil but until tonight hadn't found any decent independent scientific analysis of the use of the product.

The link below is to a report (pdf) published following a Neem workshop in Germany in 1992. It contains several papers covering controlled experiments by researchers in a number of countries. I found some of the papers interesting and informative.

http://www.trifolio-m.de/info_service/workshops/Proceedings_Workshop_1.pdf

This next link is to a site detailing dilution and application rates. Note that one of the things I picked up in one of the above papers is that if using neem as a fungicide it has to be very well mixed with water and that just shaking it about doesn't mix it sufficiently.

Neem Insect Spray: Making And Using Neem Garden Spray

 

It's a brilliant product in my opinion Dave. There is one restaurant we frequent that has a tree (often confused with the Persian Lilac Tree here (the Melia azedarach). The Neem tree (Azadirachta indica) is briliant for medicinal useage including getting rid of unwanted critters in a hot country ...

 

i mixed a bit washing up liquid n warm water with it,used it as fly repellent for the horses n used it on my morning glory to get rid of greenfly great oil xx

 

My experience with Neem + Horticultural soap in this thread:

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/...ion/34222-insecticide-lettuce.html#post432999

 

I have always used neem oil , mix it with a natural soap from the health food shop and away you go. The soap keeps it suspended so you can spray it.

 

ebay have some good ones,get pure neem oil thou and mix it yourself x

 

Neem from ebay - I bought three small bottles. Horticultural soap came from Amazon marketplace. let me know if you would like me to look up the eBay'er I got it from.

 

Most health food type shops should sell it.

 

interasting, i work as a chemist in the essential oil and fragrance industry. i havent read the posts so far and will give you my views on neem oil.

to me, its initial aroma is of onion and garlic. once the more volatile di- and tri- propyl and butyl sulphides have aifed off after 1/2 hour dry-down it becomes more "bacony" which is a hint of its fixed (non volatile) oil content. its odour becomes fattier and more rancid with time. the fixed oil qualities are the reason it is used on hair in asian countries. it leaves lubrication and sheen once the odour has gone.