Effect of neem-derived plant protection products on the isopod species Porcellionides pruinosus (Brandt, 1833)

Abstract

Neem-based products have gained major attention over the last few years due to their wide range of applications in pest management, and have been in the focus of biological plant protection research in the past decade. Yet, there is limited information available to understand the side effects of these neem-derived pesticides on non-target species in soil. Therefore, Porcellionides pruinosus, a terrestrial isopod, was chosen as a non-target species to investigate such possible effects. Two different experiments were conducted to study two different neem-derived plant protection products, i.e., NeemAzal T/S (1% azadirachtin) which is a commercial product registered in the EU, and neem leaf extract from dried neem leaves (1%).The latter simulates the plant protection product, is domestically produced, and widely used by farmers in India and other tropical and subtropical countries. Findings are consistent with previous results obtained with other non-target organisms, i.e., neither of the tested neem products have adverse effects on the mortality of P. pruinosus. However, further research on a wider range of soil organisms is needed to prove the safety of neem-based products as biological control agents and to be part of integrated pest management.