Azamax and Neem

Lots of people here swear by Azamax, and report issues with using Neem Oil. (that neem alone is ineffective)
 
I have always been troubled by the fact that Azamax - while having Azadirachtin (Neem) as its active ingredient - lists 98.8% "other ingredients".  No further information is available in the MSDS.
 
So, I have always had good luck with straight Neem oil.  Others have mixed success.  Because I feel that neem oil and a couple of teaspoons of dish soap is cheaper than AzaMax, I'd like to hear input from others who have good luck with Neem oil.
 
My secret is pretty simple...  Before adding Neem oil to the sprayer, emulsify it FIRST in a small container.  Add that solution to the water after mixing well.
 
Anybody else? What is your method?  Got any secret additives?

Good question, I've had good luck with neem last year and this year opted for Azamax. This year with the major aphid infestation I keep harping about, I can say the Azamax has worked great...So far, no re-infestation of treated plants after 3 weeks while neighboring (touching) untreated plants slowly got overran (and then treated). I too am mixing a tiny bit of dish soap in the Azamax. I'm just put off by how expensive it is...but it does work. I find the Azamax does not smell near as bad as neem does but still repels very good. Also goes without saying, spray at night or completely out of the sun and keep the plant out of the sun (I wait a day)...blast the aphids off with water and be kind to beneficial insects that you may stir up and relocate them before you treat for maximum affect. If I had to say which is better? I'm leaning towards the Azamax.

Neem smells bad?  That's odd... I kinda like it.

I use both together. I feel the people that have trouble with pure neem extract is they don't follow the directions.  Neem makes the plants look really healthy if you use as spray application.  It will not work as fast or as well imo as the azamax to kill and prevent pests. So I use azamax @ a rate of 1oz per gallon at first when the aphids really start to go crazy then the rest of the season I spray neem and soil drench occasionally. No worries

With the soil drench...do you find the peppers tasting neemish?

No...  Not at all.

 

The other ingredients are phytochemicals called limonoids, extracted from citrus

I use both as well as Monterey (Spinosad), but each by themselves and all in a rotation. One cycle I will use only azamax, then the next just neem, etc.
 
I get great results from all three of those, but each one is good for specific purposes/bugs. And I spray preventatively.
 
 
I do know that neem can redily be used in combination with other things, I just like to keep em separated. (you gotta keep em separated!)
 
 
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Update:

Last week, I did a side by side comparison of Neem and Azamax.

Neem: mixed 2 TBSP of Neem and 1 TBSP 7th Generation dish detergent in a mixing cup. Stirred until emulsified. (from clear yellow to peanut butter-ish color) Then, added this to 1 gallon of water in a sprayer. Shook the sprayer vigorously before pumping and loading the spray line. (pulling the trigger) Sprayed one large eggplant and several small pepper plants in one gallon containers. All were infested with aphids, after a recent fertilizing.

Azamax: mixed 2 TBSP Azamax in 2 gallons of water. (package instructions allow quite a bit of variance in application) Shook sprayer vigorously before pumping. Applied to several fully mature plants. All were infested with aphids.

My results: Absolutely no difference in end product between Neem and Azamax. All insects that were present on both plants were dead in place, presumably due to suffocation from the oil in both products. Within one day, ALL plants were 100% clear of live aphids, with the exception of a few that were freshly placed at terminal buds by ants, which were seen to be actively attempting to farm. At the end of the same day, those aphids were no longer in the place previously observed. (all plants)

My conclusion: Unless we are talking about specific insects not discussed in this experiment, I can find absolutely no difference in the effectiveness of the product. For those who have had issue with the effectiveness of the Neem, an assessment of mixture and application needs to be done.

If I had to say which is better? I'm leaning towards the Azamax.

Click to expand...

I can't say for sure, because I only had aphids. (maybe different for other pests) However, Azamax has a different mixing ratio than Neem. And it's got quite a range. I always assume that most people mix on the high side, because the typical train of thought with humans seems to be that "more is better". Undoubtedly, if you mix more, you get better results. But the point for me, is which product is better overall, all things considered. And at this point, with the information that I have, I say Neem. Dollar for dollar, Neem is winning for me.

solid7 said:

Lots of people here swear by Azamax, and report issues with using Neem Oil. (that neem alone is ineffective)
 
I have always been troubled by the fact that Azamax - while having Azadirachtin (Neem) as its active ingredient - lists 98.8% "other ingredients".  No further information is available in the MSDS.
 
So, I have always had good luck with straight Neem oil.  Others have mixed success.  Because I feel that neem oil and a couple of teaspoons of dish soap is cheaper than AzaMax, I'd like to hear input from others who have good luck with Neem oil.
 
My secret is pretty simple...  Before adding Neem oil to the sprayer, emulsify it FIRST in a small container.  Add that solution to the water after mixing well.
 
Anybody else? What is your method?  Got any secret additives?

Click to expand...

I'm interested to hear what the other 98.8 is as well as I've found my plants (not just chilis, even my bonsais and my spider plants) quite sensitive to the azamax, usually f-in up the plants to a slight to moderate degree-and the tds from the leachate from the plant after taking it in or even the straight solution to be extremely high and I notice a rapid effect/change on the plant.

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YAMracer754 said:

I'm interested to hear what the other 98.8 is as well as I've found my plants (not just chilis, even my bonsais and my spider plants) quite sensitive to the azamax, usually f-in up the plants to a slight to moderate degree-and the tds from the leachate from the plant after taking it in or even the straight solution to be extremely high and I notice a rapid effect/change on the plant.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

 
Somebody in a thread around here clarified that the ingredients are citrus flavonoids, which I was able to easily confirm.
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Now, I have a hard time believing that it's just neem extract and orange peels, but it would be a very serious thing to sell a product like that under false pretenses.  So, innocent until proven guilty...

Glad to hear it. I just picked up a gallon jug of Bonide Neem RTU for $15, normally $20+. Never tried it before and last year the maters got slammed by aphids. Planned on being ready this year.

I am not using Azamax per se but an equivalent product available here, which is also 3.2% azadiractin in a tiny 15ml bottle.
I mix it/emulsify it with insecticidal soap. Use this combo for years already, never had a problem.
 
The reason why I don't just get any random "Neem oil" from ebay etc. is that there, concentrations differ, some are concentrates, some not, they are often made for cosmetics etc... saying that normal "Neem Oil" is inconsistent in what it actually is and how much you need to dose. With Azamax or similar where it has 3.2% azadiractin I always know how much to dose. (1ml/L, so if I make a spray of 250ml it's just a super-tiny amount).
 
By the way, whether Neem itself has any major benefit for prevention and killing whatever aphids, I can't even say. Reason being that normally the insecticidal soap already takes care of everything when I spray. (Seriously, I love insecticidal soap, so easy to use, non toxic, smells fresh and never failed me). So what part the Neem/Azamax then plays, who knows. But it's definitely not hurting anything. But I guess I could do just spraying my soap and would possibly not  even need Azamax/Neem.

You're right about the different versions of Neem.  If you are so inclined to buy it, however, all you need to look for, is pure, cold pressed, or concentrated.  No diluted versions, or with added ingredients.