EFFICACY OF NEEM SEED DERIVATIVES AGAINST NEMATODES AFFECTING BANANA

Soil applications of powdered neem seed or neem cake at 100 g/plant at planting and, subsequently, at 3-month intervals, reduced the populations ofPratylenchus goodeyi Sher & Allen andMeloidogyne spp. on par with Furadan 5G (carbofuran) applied at 40 g/plant at planting and then at 6-month intervals to banana plants grown in 100-/ containers with controlled levels of banana nematode infestations. Eight months after planting, banana plants treated with powdered neem cake, seed or kernel or with neem oil had 4 to 95 times fewer parasitic nematodes than the untreated control. However, only neem cake powder or neem seed powder applied to unpared banana plants kept the nematode population below the economic threshold.