The discarded peels of aloe vera can be used as a natural pesticide, helping farmers protect staple food crops from harmful insects, research suggests.
The discarded peels of aloe vera can be used as a natural pesticide, helping farmers protect staple food crops from harmful insects, research suggests.
Globally, between 20% and 40% of crop yields are lost to pests, which has a direct impact on food security and nutrition, according to CABI (the parent organization of SciDev.Net).
Aloe vera is a stemless, cactus-like plant that is widely cultivated in Australia, China, India, Jamaica, Mexico, South Africa, Tanzania and the U.S. Its gel-like substance is used to heal wounds, sunburns, and skin diseases, and to prevent baldness.
However, aloe vera peels or rinds are considered worthless and usually disposed of as agricultural waste.
“It’s likely that millions of tons of aloe peels are disposed of globally every year,” says Debasish Bandyopadhyay, an assistant professor in chemistry at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, U.S., and principal investigator on a study to find ways to add value to aloe while reducing waste.
“We proved that [aloe] vera rinds’ derived extracts act as a feeding deterrent and eventually kill agricultural pests,” Bandyopadhyay tells SciDev.
