Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

Neem Oil Neem oil has become a popular insecticide and fungicide that is used by many gardeners. It is natural, organic, and relatively safe. It can be used to control or kill a wide range of pests, and it’s available on the NZ market.  There are a few different types of Neem Oil and - surprise surprise! – they have different modes of activity and control different organisms in different ways.  Neem comes from the neem tree (Azadirachta indica), (India, Sri Lanka, Burma, etc). The tree produces nuts which are ground and cold-pressed to extract their oil. The active ingredient in neem that harms insects is called azadirachtin and the cold press process ensures that it does not degrade. Further processing removes the azadirachtin from the rest of the oil. The remaining oil is called “clarified hydrophobic neem oil”.  How does Neem Oil work when sprayed on a plant? Well it may disappoint you, but when the leaves are coated, insects are not killed by the deposit, but it makes the leaves taste bad, so the damage i