Who is Gowan Company? Why did Gowan decide to add AZA-Direct, an azadirachtin product, to its product line? Who is EID Parry? There are already several "Neem" products on the market, why did Gowan decide to add another product to the mix? What is the difference between Neem Oil products and AZA-DIRECT? What is the mode of action of AZA-DIRECT? Does AZA-Direct have any effect on adult insects? AZA-Direct is touted as a superior azadirachtin formulation, but aren’t all azadirachtin products alike? But AZA-Direct is only a 1.2% product how can you say you have the highest purity technical and yet be only 27 to 40 percent of the azadirachtin concentration of competitive products? Wouldn’t one be better off buying the higher percent concentration product to realize cost savings from shipping etc. What makes AZA-Direct a more effective formulation of azadirachtin?

Q.	Who is Gowan Company?
A.	Gowan Company is a leader in the development and marketing of specialty agricultural products headquartered in Yuma, Arizona.
Q.	Why did Gowan decide to add AZA-Direct, an azadirachtin product, to it’s product line?
A.	Gowan’s goal is to manufacture and distribute the highest quality azadirachtin products available for agricultural use in the USA. To accomplish these goals we have partnered with EID Parry Ltd. of India. Parry consistently produces the highest quality azadirachtin technical. The combined partnership of Gowan and Parry combines technical expertise of azadirachtin research and common-sense experience for the US specialty crop market.
Q.	Who is EID Parry?
A.	Parry is a 213 year old Indian company that was the first to provide Indian agriculture with fertilizer and crop protection chemicals, establish school and other philanthropic projects for Indian farmers, and was the first Indian sugar manufacturer. Dr. Senrayan, EID Parry’s technical expert, is in the US to work with Gowan on technical and agronomic issues relating to azadirachtin on US specialty crops.
Q.	There are already several "Neem" products on the market, why did Gowan decide to add another product to the mix?
A.	Gowan Company has been serving the specialty crop market for more than 38 years and has earned a reputation for providing not only products, but also knowledge of how they may be used most effectively by the grower. Because of the rapid growth in demand for organic products, Gowan’s technically oriented sales force and development team is in an ideal position to provide the best product and help solve problems as more and more growers try these products. AZA-DIRECT is formulated with azadirachtin, which is extracted from seeds of the neem tree. This product is technically a second-generation azadirachtin product, not neem oil.
Q.	What is the difference between Neem Oil products and AZA-DIRECT?
A.	Neem oil is extracted from crushed neem seeds. This method results in a product that is mostly oil with very low concentrations of bioactive products.
Q.	What is the mode of action of AZA-DIRECT?
A.	AZA-Direct protects plants by acting on the insect pest in multiple ways. Feeding deterrence, repellency, growth regulation, and contact toxicity are the primary means of managing pest insect populations. Of these methods, contact toxicity is the least expressed method of control.
Q.	Does AZA-Direct have any effect on adult insects?
A.	Direct effects on adult insects include repellency and feeding deterrence. Some soft-bodied insects such as aphids may exhibit mortality from direct exposure to AZA-Direct. In order for growth regulation to manifest itself in insects, the insect must be in a juvenile stage (larva or nymph) and must ingest AZA-Direct.
Q.	AZA-Direct is touted as a superior azadirachtin formulation, but aren’t all azadirachtin products alike?
A.	Products registered as biological insecticides containing extracts from the neem tree must contain azadirachtin. Constituents of the neem seed include oil, azadirachtin (several analogues), and other bioactive limonoids. AZA-Direct is formulated with the highest quality technical grade azadirachtin available. The azadirachtin in AZA-Direct is extracted using an eco-friendly solvent in a patented process. The resulting technical material has low oil, ester, and water content resulting in a very stable product that exhibits long shelf life. Extremely low levels of impurities and the highest levels of bioactive molecules including azadirachtin, nimbin, salanin, and characterized and non-characterized limonoids result in a superior technical material.
Q.	But AZA-Direct is only a 1.2% product how can you say you have the highest purity technical and yet be only 27 to 40 percent of the azadirachtin concentration of competitive products?
A.	It is not uncommon to confuse the concepts of purity and concentration. Purity refers to the quality of the individual components of the active ingredient and concentration refers to the quantity of the active ingredient that is diluted with carrier materials that allow practical use of the product. These carriers are often emulsifiers and oils that enhance the activity (act as synergists) of the active ingredient. If one compares the effective rates of AZA-Direct to competitive azadirachtin products, AZA-Direct exhibits equal or greater biological efficacy on a per pound azadirachtin-to-azadirachtin basis. The recommended rates of the AZA-Direct formulation are higher than competitive products to compensate for lower concentration of azadirachtin, but this increase use rate is offset because lesser or no quantity of additional crop oil is needed.
Q.	Wouldn’t one be better off buying the higher percent concentration product to realize cost savings from shipping, etc.
A.	No. Higher concentration of technical is only one aspect of the product. Products derived from biological sources are often unstable. Storage stability can be compromised by the inclusion of fats, esters, water, and other ingredients in the technical material. Additionally, azadirachtin is quickly broken down in nature by UV light and other common elements.
Q.	What makes AZA-Direct a more effective formulation of azadirachtin?
A.	The refined extraction process, the natural oil and food grade emulsifier in AZA-Direct not only enhance the stability of the product but also help in absorption into the leaf tissues resulting in translaminar activity which is especially important for control of such pests as dipteran leaf miners.