Bwa-yo - Société Audubon Haiti

136 Nim
Figure 16.4 A. indica is planted typically along the boundary of land devoted to annual
food crops. It has a tendency to gradually invade on moist sites.
Utilization of neem as a natural source of insecticide has increased gradually over
the past decade. In 1981, early experiments on La Gonave were conducted by applying
crushed seed into vegetable pots planted with cabbage, cucumber and tomatoes.
Increased vigor and protection against major pests was observed (Welle et aI., 1985). It
was also noted that tilapia fry were killed by neem seed dropping into an outdoor fish
tank. Neem has been used as an alternative to Chlordane in nurseries by CARE and
PADF throughout Haiti (Josiah, 1989) and on an agri-business scale by ODH in the Culde-Sac
(Fig. 16.5a-d). The active ingredients extracted from the seed kernel, primarily
azadirachtin, are responsible for disrupting the metamorphosis of insects and act as a
feeding deterrent. The biochemicals are systemic, being taken up by the host plant
(NRC, 1992).
The cake of the oil seeds is used as fertilizer and the aromatic leaves are reported
to be used as fodder in India. The proximate analysis of A. indica is shown in Table
16.1.
Propagation: The propagation of neem in Haiti has been largely from seed sown in
rigid container systems such as the Rootrainer and the Winstrip. Fresh seed does not
require pre-treatment when sown within a couple of weeks from harvest. As in other
species of the Meliaceae, looping of the hypocotyl is a problem, affecting up to 7% of
emergents in Winstrips, with deformed root systems and poor vigor (Larson et a!.,
1985). These emergents are replaced by transplanting pre-germinated seed or by proportionally
increasing the sowing rate and selecting out the deformed seedlings. Most
common nursery disease problems include: leaf spot caused by Cercospora, perhaps C.