The role that this many sided but very familiar and humble plant of neem plays in our country’s economy is worth being emphasised. This also has many lessons for our future planners for health and environmental care. We shall point this out in the section entitled some prospective suggestions later. Here we are concerned with some interesting aspects of its commercial cultivation and exploitation.
Agro-forestry is a new word that has come into prominence in recent years. In very lay terms, this means the application of agricultural practices to forest development. This is most useful for dry land farmers who would like to get maximum profits from growing such tree crops best suited for dry lands where water fall is not much.
Neem is one of the most suited plants for this purpose. Such trees (an other example is subabul with its many sided benefits) axe unaffected by droughts and floods and also assure an unfailing profit. They also aid in conserving soil moisture and enriching soil fertility.
Trees such as neem fetch good and regular return from the sixth years of planting. A hectare of neem trees assures Rs., 7,500/- worth seeds each year. The seed yield gradually increases to stabilise in the tenth year of planting, when the income can be as high as Rs. 15,000/- per year (as shown in a report of 1990).
A good procedure is to raise a mixed plantation of neem and teak both of which are very useful and need similar climatic conditions. This is what has been already done by some progressive farmers of Tamil Nadu.
Extracting neem oil from the seeds had been a cottage industry in India. Soon after Independence Planning Committee of our Country had prepared a scheme of promoting this industry in a big way by opening one Centre for oil extraction by modem means and on an industrial scale.
The idea was to utilise the entire neem seed crop of our country and also to release the edible oils which were being used till then to soap formation and others which would therefore be based henceforth only through non-neem oil. However, it is only Tamil Nadu which has registered a great advance in neem seed production.
This state alone collects twenty one thousand and two hundred seventy tons per year; its oil production is one thousand six hundred and eighty tons. Both are planned to be increased much further (1985 report).
England had planned to import neem oil from our country on a large scale. However this idea was given up soon since a very foul and repulsive smell was found to arise during such a massive use of neem oil industrially. But ways have been found now to remove the bitterness of the oil almost completely and also reduce the foul smell to a great extent. Washing – soap manufacturing with neem oil is a great industry now.In view of its many sided utilities probably, there has grown many an interesting custom in connection with neem tree.
This is considered a bhuloka kalpataru a wish-fulfilling Tree of this Earthly World in contrast to what grows in the world of the gods above, the devaloka kalpataru. Shastras of Indian Architecture or Vastu list a group of five sacred and auspicious trees that should be grown around houses. Neem is one of them. The others are vata (banyan), Pippala (peepul) udumbara (gular) and bilva [bael).
The entire tree is considered to be purifying to the whole atmosphere. Mystics presume that the abundant inflorescences of this plant is conducive to promote a spiritual atmosphere.
A very common and still much prevalent custom is to usher the New Year with eating neem and jaggery. In Maharashtra a chutney is made on the day of the gudipaduva or the Chaitra Prathama, the New Year with the young leaves and flowers of neem, pepper, hing, rocksalt, jeera, omum, tamarind and jaggery. This chutney is digestive as well as appetising.