Neem: A Novel Biocide for Pest and Disease Control of Plants

Plant extracts have recently captivated scientists’ attention as a potential source of biocide for plant protection. This is due to the health and environmental risks associated with the widespread use of synthetic chemicals with adverse effects on humans, nontarget organisms, and the agroecosystem. As a result, more environmentally friendly and safe alternative approaches to synthetic compounds are desirable. Neem (Azadirachta indica) has been identified as a promising biocontrol agent with low toxicity and high efficacy among several plant products for potential chemotherapeutic elements in plant pest and disease management systems. The biocidal potency of neem is attributed to its azadirachtin active ingredient, which impacts some metabolic processes in insects such as protein synthesis, changes in biological fitness, impaired sexual communication, and chitin synthesis. This systematic review intends to gather all the available scientific data regarding the application of neem and its formulations in pest and disease control of plants. The PRISMA (preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis) framework was employed in collecting data for the study. Findings from this review study have demonstrated the use of neem as an effective biocontrol agent for plants’ pests and diseases and have provided a solid foundation for future studies on the plant.