Author Topic: Cold pressed neem oil for tropicals, are there any sensitive species to it ?  (Read 795 times)

Plantinyum

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I want to spray my greenhouse plants this evening with this , the species that i have are catleyanum and true guava, cherimoya, avocado, pineapple, coffee, dragon fruit, citrus, feijoa, monsterra, banana, surinam cherry. Are any of those sensitive to it, most of the plants do have new growth, at the list with the usage info there is stated that there is a possibility of burning of the new growth by the oil.

CeeJey

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I've used diluted cold-pressed neem oil on two species edit: cultivars of cherimoya and multiple feijoa without issue, and I may have had a slight bad reaction on new growth on a surinam cherry but that could well have been something else (that particular seedling has been sensitive to everything).Also used it on citrus without personal issue.

That said, might be worth testing a small part of each plant just to be sure. I've mostly personally seen bad reactions in the legume family (mimosa silk tree, beans, hummingbird tree)  when trying to deal with pests we have out here but some of my individual plants seem more or less touchy about it. Be interested to see what other peoples' experience is.
« Last Edit: August 19, 2022, 05:31:57 AM by CeeJey »

Plantinyum

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Cee jey, i did exactly this yesterday and mixed a small amount of the solution and sprayed a bit on every species i have in the garden, i made the solution at the weaker side with 4 ml to a liter of water. Today were having a hot day so this should show which one will be sensitive to it .
Hopefully none of the plants end up being, so i can spray the whole garden this evening, if something shows sensitivity i will just skip it and so on....

elouicious

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in my experience yes-

and many factors seem to contribute such that I can't reliably predict when or on what species it will happen-

karanja oil seems to be a bit milder

pagnr

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The mixing process is important with oils. I shake the oil in some water in a jar ( lid closed ) to create a white oil.
Then add this to the spray tank, and top up with the rest of the water.
Then also shake /agitate every so often as you spray,  so some plants don't get a stronger dose at the end of the spray tank.

simon_grow

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Too much intense lighting combined with cold pressed neem can harm newer, unhardened growth. I used to use cold pressed neem but I’ve found that Azera is much better at killing and preventing the bad bugs from harming my plants. It’s a lot more expensive but using a Fogger will give you better coverage and make things more cost effective.

Simon

SHV

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I stopped using neem entirely due to the negative impact it had on my plants following summer applications.  Where I live, the sun is too intense and dilute applications don’t get the job done.  I almost exclusively use Stylet Oil for its insecticidal properties.  I primarily use it for powdery mildew prevention and elimination in grapes and other crops (works great on mango flowers and leaves). Far easier and less hazardous than sulfur. It’s a regulated pesticide/fungicide in CA so you need to acquire a permit from Dept of Ag to purchase and record its use. 

Plantinyum

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Thanks for the insights everyone! I sprayed yesterday evening , i am not at home currently and in sunday i will be able to see how it went. I left around noon and one of the cherimoyas had a slight reaction to it, the newest growth had some burnt spots here and there. I am mosly worried about the fruit set, hopefully it doesnt get burnt....
When i see what are the results i will make my mind about using neem oil in the future, it may work verry well but the side effects may be unnsertain as someone staited above, plus the oil residue left on the leaves may not be fine with the plants. I used the lowest reccomended rate and still had guite an oil residue left on the leaves, i think it may be smothering the leaves and preventing them from breathing.  I just dont feel comfortable with this, thats it ....

Plantinyum

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Yes currently we are having hot days so i this may be the couse for the burning, in the future i will just stick to the general insecticides... neem might be more danger than its worth it....
Our summeras are generally also hot and dry ,this one is just a reccord breaker for drought and high temps.....

W.

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I apply neem oil in the evenings, just before dark. It dries by the time the sun comes up, and I have no problems with leaf burn. I pretty much only use it on citrus, however; those are my most pest-susceptible plants as they attract spider mites like magnets.

Plantinyum

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An update, from all the species i sprayed with the neem oil, only the cherimoya's showed a somewhat bad reaction to it, those were exactly the plants i really badly wanted to not had been affected. The new leaves that got damaged are slowly falling ,not a real big deal, the damage is still not a severe case.








What worries me is if the fruitlets are ok, most of them have a slight light brown hue to them, dunno if this is due to the same hairs they have on their vegetative new growth ,that gives the brown look to it, i hope its from this and not a reaction from the oil. For now not a single fruitlet had fallen off, some have this colloration more than others. The biggest fruit has it the most.
Do those look ok ?






I also sprayed my citrus ,my mandarin and my red pomello had tender new growths ,no damage to those whatsoever.

Plantinyum

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Can someone reccomend me a way i can wash off the neem oil. I think as it sits on the leaves of the cherimoya plants it may do more damaje, most of the leaves are shiny now. I so regret spraying this on the cherimoyas. Any reccomendations ?