title: Development of combined use of neem (Azadirachta indica) and water management for the control of culicine mosquitoes in rice fields.
abstract: Crude neem products have earlier shown considerable promise for control of culicine mosquito vectors in rice fields as a by-product of their agricultural use as fertilizers, but suffer from disadvantages of bulkiness and lack of stability in storage. Relatively stable lipid-rich fractions of neem were shown to be as effective as good-quality crude neem products in control of breeding of culicine vectors of Japanese encephalitis, and also produced a slight but significant reduction in populations of anopheline pupae. Neem-based formulations coated over urea significantly increased grain yield, but used alone did not, whereas combining the use of neem-coated urea and water management by intermittent irrigation had a greater effect on grain yield than that of water management alone. The neem fractions were relatively cost-effective, and the combined water management and neem-coated urea strategy is acceptable to farmers, who are already aware of the benefits of the use of neem-coated urea, and of water management. This technology therefore has considerable promise as an environmentally benign method of rice-field mosquito control that could be sustainably implemented by farmers.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research in Medical Entomology, Chinna Chokkikulam, Madurai, India.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reuben
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Nagasampagi
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles; D003465:Culex; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000191:economics; D005618:Fresh Water; D007306:Insecticides; D008055:Lipids; D009032:Mosquito Control / Q000379:methods*; D014508:Urea / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D007306:Insecticides; D008055:Lipids; D014508:Urea