Development and Validation of an Eco-Friendly Neem-Based Biopesticide (Azadirachta indica) for Sustainable Agricultural Applications

This study presents a comprehensive investigation is thorough research on the production of green biopesticides using Neem (Azadirachta indica) leaves and Custard apple ( Annona squamosa ) seeds waste as a substitute for synthetic pesticides and present alternative solutions to environmental pollution caused by synthetic pesticides. The extraction of neem leaves was done through both hot and cold maceration process, and the extraction of custard apple seeds was done in Soxhlet extraction using solvents such as ethanol, ethyl acetate, hexane and acetone. Analysis of neem extracts by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) showed that azadirachtin was the predominant bioactive compound and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) of the custard apple seed oil formed that squalene, oleic acid, stearic acid, and palmitic acid were the main compounds. Neem extracts were also attained by cold ethanol extraction which gave chemically stable extracts and hexane gave custard apple seed oil at about 5% w/w with a solvent recovery of more than 90%. It was shown by laboratory tests that up to 80% of the pest population could be reduced, and there were no phytotoxic effects or any other detrimental effect on the soil pH or the well-being of microbes. This data shows that agricultural waste can be turned into high-efficacy low-toxicity biopesticides, which would promote the principles of the circular economy and sustainable pest control.