A Natural Pesticide
Very few safe and non-toxic pesticides are available for use. Having a natural one is an additional bonus. Neem Oil fits these criteria and can be safely used on crops, leaves no dangerous residue in the soil and can effectively reduce or kill pests whilst acting as a fungicide. Agrosurf NOE has been developed to act as an emulsifier so the oil can be easily added to the water before use.
Neem Oil is a vegetable oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of the Neem tree, Azadirachta Indica. It contains a natural Insecticide, acaricide and fungicide called azadirachtin, a complex triterpenoid. It is not strictly a juvenile hormone mimic but has a more complex spectrum of activity. It acts as a potent antifeedant and affects insect metamorphosis and development. In addition to azadirachtin, Neem extracts contain compounds with antifeedant, repellency, growth regulator and oviposition deterrent activities. Also, extracts of neem seeds have been registered as pesticides for use in controlling several insects affecting ornamentals and horticultural crops. Neem Oil is not known to be harmful to mammals, birds, bees, and earthworms.
Neem Oil As An Insecticide
Neem Oil works from inside the plant as it is a systemic insecticide, which means that in addition to foliar spraying, a solution can be poured onto the soil or container compost for plants to absorb it, they take it up into their tissue, and it works from the inside.
Meaning it is absorbed by the plant and distributed throughout the tissue. Once the product is in the plants vascular system, insects intake it during feeding. The compound causes insects to reduce or cease feeding, can prevent larvae from maturing, reduces or interrupts mating behaviour, and, in some cases, the oil coats the breathing holes of insects and kills them.
It is a suitable repellent for mites and is used to manage over 200 other species of chewing or sucking insects, including Aphids Mealybugs Scale Whiteflies.
Neem Oil As A Fungicide
Neem Oil fungicide is effective against fungi, mildews and rusts when applied in a 1 percent solution. It is also deemed helpful for other kinds of issues, such as Root rot, Black spot and Sooty mold.
Procedure
Neem Oil is a dark liquid in its normal state and to convert the form into a sprayable liquid. Lankem has developed an emulsifier system that produces a free-flowing emulsion in an aqueous environment.
Typical formulation:
| |
Neem Oil | 5% |
1% | |
Water | 94% |
Above is a typical formulation and a dosage level of 5% is more than sufficient to offer good performance. The Neem Oil levels can be increased, but the ratio of oil to emulsifier must be maintained at a 5:1 ratio. As this is an oil in water emulsion, the Neem Oil level must always be less than the water level. Going above will swap the emulsion to a water in oil and will drastically change the emulsifier performance.
Process: Mix the oil and Agrosurf NOE together, then add to water and mix.
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