HARVESTING NEEM SEEDS SCIENTIFICALLY?
Neem trees bloom for the first time when they have reached the age of 2 to 3 years, and bear fruit at the age of 3 to 4 years. They normally produce fruit once a year, but in some moist zones twice a year. The fruit of the neem can either be shaken off the tree, picked, or stripped from the branches. When ripe it is yellow in colour, about 2 cm in length and oval-shaped. In the soft, sweet fruit there is a light-coloured seed of about 1.5 cm in length, containing one, or sometimes two, brown seed kernels. After harvesting the fruit the ripe pulp should be removed as quickly as possible. In some regions, birds or fruit bats eat the sweet pulp, so that a lot of clean seeds can be found on the ground.
