Bioassays were conducted in Mauritania to determine the toxicity of botanical insecticides from the tree Melia volkensii Gürke (Meliaceae) to ladybird predators (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of the date palm scale, Parlatoria planchardi Targ. (Homoptera: Diaspididae). M. volkensii seed extract was...

Bioactivity-directed fractionation of the root bark of M. volkensii (collected from Kenya) resulted in the isolation of 2 new natural products, meliavolkinin and melianin C, together with 2 known compounds, 1,3-diacetylvilasinin and melianin B. Jones oxidation of melianin B gave melianin C,...

The use of Melia volkensii as part of an indigenous agroforestry system is already widespread in the semiarid areas of eastern and central Kenya. Farmers speak of the importance of this tree in income generation to help them cover the costs of their children's school fees in many parts of the...

A brief account of glasshouse and field experiments in Kenya, studying responses to water stress in seedlings of different provenances of these 2 multipurpose tree species. Significant differences were observed between the species in response to drought, with provenance differences being greater in ...

Farmers in semi-arid eastern Kenya have developed a system of agroforestry using indigenous Melia volkensii. Trees are grown well dispersed in cropland at a spacing exceeding 10-15 m. M. volkensii is fast growing and deep rooted. Its effect on adjacent crops is minimized by regular crown pruning...

Over the past few decades, farmers in semiarid parts of eastern and central Kenya have developed and practised an agroforestry system using the multipurpose tree Melia volkensii. The tree is grown on crop land, and used for construction timber, fuelwood and fodder, and for its...

This paper provides an overview of some recent achievements in the area of production and utilization of fodder trees in East Africa. Most of the research work reviewed is part of the Agroforestry Research Network for Africa (AFRENA). In the sub-humid highlands the most common form of livestock...

In initial pilot studies, ethyl-alcohol [ethanol] extracts of Melia volkensii were formulated with palm oil and applied topically to adults of Schistocerca gregaria flying on a flight mill and compared to resting locusts. Only low mortality rates (roughly 40%) could be achieved in this way, but the ...

Extracts from dry fruits of Melia volkensii contained growth-inhibiting activity against larvae of Aedes aegypti. The active fraction was eluted from silica gel using hexane-ethyl acetate (1:1, v:v). At a concentration of even 2 µg/ml in water, this fraction prolonged the duration of larval...

A standardized fraction of M. volkensii fruit kernel extract was tested against larvae of Anopheles arabiensis. The LC50 in 48 h was 5.4 µg/ml. At low concentrations this fraction had growth inhibiting activity producing prolonged larval instars, and lethal effects during ecdysis. Further...