Neem Tree

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2. Review of Literature Neem is the most versatile, multifarious trees of tropics, with immense potential and native to Indian sub-continent (Roxburgh, 1874). It has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for more than 4000 years due to its medicinal properties. Neem is called ‘arista’ in Sanskrit a word that means ‘perfect, complete and imperishable’. Most of the plant parts such as fruits, seeds, leaves, bark and roots contain compounds with proven antiseptic, antiviral, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, antiulcer and antifungal uses. The Sanskrit name ‘nimba’ comes from the term ‘nimbati swasthyamdadati’ which means ‘to give good health’. The benefits of neem are listed in ancient documents ‘Charak-Samhita’ and ‘Susruta-Samhita’, which form the foundation…show more content…
Neem tree is the most researched tree in the world (Thakkar, 1997) and is said to be the most promising tree of 21st century. It has great potential in the fields of pest management, environment protection and medicine. Neem is a natural source of insecticides, pesticides and agrochemicals (Brahmachari, 2004). Neem is a large tree growing about 25 m in height with semi-straight to straight trunk, 3 m in girth and spreading branches forming a broad crown. A neem tree normally starts fruiting after 3-5 years. In about 10 years it becomes fully productive. From the tenth year onwards it can produce up to 50 Kg of fruits annually (Kumar and Gupta, 2002). The plant is reported to live up to two centuries. The tree has adaptability to a wide range of climatic, topographic and edaphic factors. It thrives well in dry, stony shallow soils and even on soils having hard calcareous or clay pan, at a shallow depth. Neem tree requires little water and plenty of sunlight (Girish and Shankar, 2008; Sateesh 1998). The tree grows naturally in areas where the rainfall is in the range of 450 to 1200 mm. However, it has been introduced successfully even in areas where the rainfall is…show more content…
Neem grows on altitudes up to 1500 m (Chari, 1996; Jattan et al., 1995; Tewari 1992). It can grow well in wide temperature range of 00C to 490C. It cannot withstand water-logged areas and poorly drained soils. The pH range for the growth of neem tree lies in between 4 to 10. It grows on almost all types of soil including clayey, saline and alkaline soil, but does well on black cotton soils and deep well drained soil with good sub-soil water. Neem trees have the ability to neutralize acidic soils by a unique property of

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