Neem oil questions

14 years ago

Hi there!

I don't know if this is the right forum in which to ask, but it seems right so here goes anyways ;)

I bought some "Neem oil Extract" to use in my garden which is a sorta square-foot garden and as organic as is reasonable to me. As I was searching around here in the forums to learn more, I came across a post that mentioned the active ingredient, azadirachtin, and how it gets separated out of the oil during the processing. So I dug deeper, checked the MSDS for the stuff I bought, and it lists the active ingredient as "Clarified hydrophobic

Extract of neem oil." As I continued to dig, I found a link (http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/biopesticides/ingredients/factsheets/factsheet_025007.htm) which describes both the azadirachtin and the "Clarified hydrophobic Extract of neem oil." Specifically, it says, "When the natural neem oil is removed from the seeds and treated with alcohol, virtually all of the azadirachtin and related substances separate from the oil itself. The remaining oil - without the azadirachtin - is called Clarified Hydrophobic Extract of Neem Oil. Azadirachtin acts in the following ways: It deters certain insects, such as locusts, from feeding and it interferes with the normal life cycle of insects, including feeding, molting, mating, and egg laying."

So it would appear that what I bought, "Clarified hydrophobic Extract of neem oil" is missing the important bit which is the sole reason for buying the neem oil in the first place. Very frustrating. Once again I was fooled by Marketing, labeling and Big Garden Centers. I feel like I bought orange juice with all the vitamin C and sugar removed.

Do any of you folks out there know if I should even bother spraying this stuff on my plants (which do seem to be having problems, hence the purchase)? Does the rest of the neem oil without the active ingredient have any beneficial properties? If not, I'm just going to compost it or something. Maybe use it to shine up the tires on my car.

Thanks

Here is a link that might be useful: Linked version of the above

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Comments (5)

Kimmsr
14 years ago
What does the label on the container you bought say about the use of this product? What is this product for?
Keep in mind that information found on the internet may, or may not, be accurate.
Perhapes this link to information form Cornell would be useful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Neem Oil Extract
Super_KD
Original Author
14 years ago
It is supposedly "for organic gardening" as a pesticide, fungicide and miticide. I just went and looked again, and there is no OMRI seal, so I need to pay MUCH better attention to labels if I want to try to stay organic with things like this. I'd prefer to not use anything at all, but growing just for the bugs is impractical.
The information that I found online may not be accurate, but I believe it is, since it is the MSDS for the actual product, and an EPA document.
Thanks for the further reading. I'm an information junkie :)
It looks like the section of your link headed "Neem oil products " confirms that the azerawhateva stuff is removed from those types of products. Now for some more research to find out if that is really the active ingredient.

Thanks again
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ILGuerrillaGardener
14 years ago
I use neem seed oil along with a liquid silicon product which acts as both an emulsifier as well as a surfactant for the neem oil product.

For neem seed oil I would recommend the Dyna-Gro Neem Seed Oil product (available from Amazon.com if nothing else) and the Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt Liquid Silicon.

Another foliar application that is worthy of consideration is the use of neem seed meal (aka neem seed cake). Take 1/2 cup of neem seed meal with 2 tablespoons of kelp meal and 1/2 tsp. of liquid silicon and aerate for 12-24 hours. Apply to branches, leaves, etc. until it's dripping wet.
Awah Eric
6 years ago
Hello! I consumed about 20 tea-spoons of neem oil for two days and since then I can't percieve any smell. I wish to find out if the oil could be the cause.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years ago
You should be asking this of your doctor or other qualified physician. There is no way anyone here is qualified to answer this question.