Neem Tree Ineffective â€" Consultant

May 01, 2002

Dr Wilber Lwande, a principal consultant at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi, Kenya has said the Neem tree, widely believed to repell mosquitos, does not repell them after all, reports Kyetume Kasanga in Masindi.

Dr Wilber Lwande, a principal consultant at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi, Kenya has said the Neem tree, widely believed to repell mosquitos, does not repell them after all, reports Kyetume Kasanga in Masindi.Lwande, an organic chemist and visiting lecturer at Nairobi University, said recent research indicates malaria mosquitos are resistant to the Neem tree.“We have done extensive research in this and recently we published the results which are contrary to this wide belief, but the Neem has several other uses,” Lwande said.He was delivering a paper at a one-day symposium on ‘Community-based Cultivation, Processing and Marketing of Medicinal Plants’, at Nyabyeya Forestry College, Masindi on Friday. The symposium organised by the Budongo Forest Community Development, (BUCODO), a local NGO, attracted participants from Kenya and hosts Uganda. Lwande said the research showed that mosquitos could only be repelled by impregnated bednets and intact potted plants placed at strategic points under roof thatches.Others are thermal expulsion by directly burning medicinal plants.Ends

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});