Production of desert locust feeding deterrents from in vitro cultured neem (Azadirachta indica)

Callus was initiated from cotyledon, hypocotyl and shoot tip explants of neem seedlings (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) that were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) agar medium supplemented with MS vitamins, casein hydrolysate, indole-3-acetic acid and benzylamino purine. Shoots regenerated from hypocotyl-derived callus only. Mature 10-12-week-old callus regenerated both shoots and somatic embryos (SEm). The antifeedant activity of different types of callus, leaves and SEm was determined with larvae of the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria in a no-choice feeding bioassay. In vitro tissue-cultured neem had antifeedant properties against the desert locust. To the best of our knowledge the antifeedant activity of neem somatic embryos extracts is reported here for the first time.