Effect of Neem-Based (Azadirachta Indica) Pest Control Methods on Okra Yields in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Brian F. Daly and Thomas W. Zimmerman

No 256723, 39th Annual Meeting, July 13-18, 2003, Grenada, West Indies from Caribbean Food Crops Society

Abstract: Neem (Azadirachta indica) products have been used as organic pesticide against a wide variety of agricultural pests in tropical areas of the world. A study was conducted to determine the efficacy of various neem treatments on the pests effecting okra in the U.S. Virgin Islands. A field trial was conducted at the UVI Agricultural Experiment Station incorporating six pest control treatments: diazinon, azatin, neem mulch, neem tea, neem hedge, and control. Okra was harvested three times per week for nine weeks. Marketable fruit weights and number of fruit were recorded. The diazinon, azatin, and neem mulch treatments produced statistically similar numbers of fruit and had similar yields (9.93, 9.74, and 8.36 t ha"1, respectively). All three treatments were significantly (P< 0.05) better than the control (6.76 t ha"'). Total yield and number of fruit were significantly less than the control for the 'home-made' neem tea treatment made from leaves. Production from the neem hedgerow treatment was significantly lower than all other treatments, most likely due to competition for light and moisture. This study indicates that azatin and neem mulch are organic pest control options that produce okra yields similar to those achieved when using the synthetic commercial insecticide, diazinon.

Keywords: Agribusiness; Agricultural and Food Policy; Crop Production/Industries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 8
Date: 2003-07-13
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/256723/files/2-3.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:cfcs03:256723

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.256723

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in 39th Annual Meeting, July 13-18, 2003, Grenada, West Indies from Caribbean Food Crops Society
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().