Efficacy evaluation of a commercial neem cake for control of Haematobia irritans on Nelore cattle

Abstract

Much attention has been given to the development of botanical insecticides to provide effective natural control of cattle ectoparasites without harming animals, consumers, and environment. This study evaluated the efficacy of a commercial neem cake in controlling Haematobia irritans infestation on cattle. The study was conducted at the Embrapa Southeast Cattle Research Center (CPPSE), in São Carlos, SP, Brazil, from April to July 2008. The neem cake mixed in mineral salt in a 2% concentration was provided to 20 Nelore cows during nine weeks and had its efficacy evaluated by comparison of the infestation level against a control group. Fly infestations were recorded weekly by digital photographs of each animal from both groups and the number of flies was later counted in a computer-assisted image analyzer. Quantification of neem cake components by high-performance liquid chromatography revealed the presence of azadirachtin (421 mg.kg(-1)) and 3-tigloyl-azadirachtol (151 mg.kg(-1)) in the tested neem cake. Addition of the 2% neem cake reduced mineral salt intake in about 22%. The 2% neem cake treatment failed to reduce horn fly infestations on cattle during the 9-week study period.

Interaction and activity of nematophagous fungus Duddingtonia flagrans on Haematobia irritans (Diptera: Muscidae)

“…The presence of this resistance in the parasite population leads to uncontrolled use by the producer, incurring high production costs, increasing the risk of human and environmental contamination and the chances of there being traces in the meat and milk (Barros, 2004;Chagas et al, 2010).…”

“…It is worth noting that, by properly controlling herd infestations, the productive gains will be more evident, benefitting producers in general (Chagas et al, 2010).…”

“…The horn fly's hematophagous activity is not its most damaging characteristic (Brito et al, 2005), but the painful (irritating) and incessant bites cause severe stress in the animals. Consequently, this "irritating and painful" activity of the fly is reflected in lower animal productivity, resulting in economic losses for the producer (Chagas et al, 2010). Bianchin et al (2004) reported that the weight loss of the animals may reach 10%, while the bites directly damage leather quality (Saueressig, 1992;Guglielmone et al, 1999).…”

Weight gain and control of endo- and ectoparasites of beef heifers treated with allopathic, herbal and homeopathic drugs

“…Neem cake added at 2% ratio to the mineral mixture also failed to reduce infestation by horn flies in Nellore bovines treated for two months (CHAGAS et al, 2010).…”

Resistance of beef cattle of two genetic groups to ectoparasites and gastrointestinal nematodes in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

“…To evaluate the number of ticks, all the R. microplus females with diameter of 4.5 mm or more (Utech et al, 1978) found on the left side were counted, while the number of D. hominis larvae were removed and counted on the entire body. The evaluation of infestation by horn flies was done using the method described by Fraga et al (2005), as adapted by Chagas et al (2010), which consisted of photographing the dorsal region of each animal using a Sony digital camera and counting the number of flies by computer image analysis, using the Microsoft Paint program. For analysis of the endoparasite load, the fecal samples were removed directly from the rectum and placed in plastic bags.…”