The right product for the job: on-label or EAMU?
What information can I find on a crop protection product label?
What information is available in an EAMU notice?
Last time, we reflected on the complementary roles of products with label approval and those with extension of use (EAMU) authorisations when it comes to crop protection for ornamentals.
We’ll now have a look in more detail at what you can find out from the label information on an ornamentals-specific product such as our fungicide Switch, and from the EAMU conditions for using a broad-spectrum fungicide such as Amistar on ornamentals. All product labels and all EAMUs follow a standard format and the information they contain can really help your decision-making.
Ornamentals on the label: Switch
The first section in the label leaflet states the product name and official registration (MAPP) number. Check the number is the one most up to date (you can do that by searching the product name on the official database held by the Health and Safety Executive) and that the approval is still in force. Switch is MAPP No 15129 and the current approval runs until the end of April 2024.
It also gives the product formulation, in this case a water-dispersible granule, and the active ingredients – cyprodinil and fludioxonil – and their concentrations.
This is followed by some key hazard warnings and a list of label-approved uses together with permitted maximum dose, maximum number of treatments and any harvest interval required. On-label uses for Switch include both outdoor and protected ornamental plant production. The dose rates for each of these differ, but up to three applications per year are permitted in either case.
Note, too, the reminder that using the product ‘in a manner inconsistent with the label’ may be an offence.
Safety precautions are set out in terms of the operator and environmental protections you must take when applying Switch, including the application equipment to be used and protective clothing that must be worn.
On page 3 of the label you will find directions for use. Details of the product’s properties are spelt out first, including advice that Switch should be used as a protectant or in the early stages of a disease outbreak, and on its use in a resistance management programme.
That’s followed by a list of the diseases Switch controls on each of the crops included on the label. Botrytis is the only one specified for ornamental plant production, but it will give you an idea of what else may be incidentally controlled.
Application instructions for each crop start on page 5. Information on rates is included again here, alongside recommended minimum spray intervals (seven days for ornamentals) and what we know about crop tolerance – Switch has been successfully used at the recommended doses on a range of species and cultivars without crop damage. However, because of the large number of species and cultivars of ornamentals grown in the UK, cultivar susceptibility should always be checked by treating a small number of plants in the first instance. We also detail the small number of species where multiple applications have resulted in some phytotoxicity symptoms and warn against using Switch on impatiens and Persian violet (Exacum affine).
On page 9 you will find instructions for mixing and spraying, including the recommended maximum concentration for ornamentals (80g per 100L) and after-spraying procedure; while more information on resistance management, including the number of times Switch should be used in a programme, is given on page 10.
Find the Switch label in our quick lable finder, click here.
Ornamentals under an EAMU: Amistar
Plant protection products with extensions of authorisation for ornamental crops can be found by searching the Health and Safety Executive database of EAMUs (secure.pesticides.gov.uk/offlabels/search.asp).
For example, searching for fungicides to control botrytis in ornamental plant production results in a table showing seven options, including Amistar. The table gives brief details of the crops included in the EAMU authorisation, together with the specific diseases the EAMU was requested for on these crops.
Clicking on the Amistar EAMU authorisation link sends a download of the EAMU notice to your device. It carries the same legal weight as the Amistar label – think of it as, in effect, an additional component of the Amistar label that details the instructions and restrictions relating to your use of Amistar on ornamentals. You need to take account of all the general conditions on the Amistar label itself, together with ornamental-specific information on the EAMU notice.
The first line of the EAMU notice bears the EAMU number; in this case it’s number 3388 of 2018, the year it was issued (the number is presented in a slightly different format in the official database; in this example it would be 20183388). It’s important to make sure you’re using the most recent EAMU as the conditions are often updated. Check the EAMU is still valid: this one is aligned with the main authorisation date for Amistar, currently June 2027.
Next is confirmation of the product name, its active ingredients and concentration, and the product MAPP number – all these must match the information on your Amistar pack and its label.
The explanatory notes will include details of any previous extension of authorisation that has been superseded together with the statement that efficacy and phytotoxicity haven’t been tested for the EAMU so the user bears these risks.
This particular EAMU, however, does include advice on reducing phytotoxicity risks, under ‘advisory information’. Here you will also find details of the crop protection uses the EAMU has been granted for, in this case a range of diseases on crops in ornamental plant production both under protection and outdoors. The main label for Amistar includes uses for both field and protected crops (strawberries outdoors and under permanent protection, for example) which is why this EAMU is able to include both situations for ornamentals, and will clarify the full range of pathogens the fungicide is active against.
The notice then goes on to outline the application method the EAMU permits; application restrictions for ornamental crops; and recommendations for resistance management programmes.
The final section explains the statutory conditions specific to applying Amistar to ornamentals, including dose rates, maximum permitted number of treatments and interval between applications, environmental protection restrictions and crop-specific operator safety precautions.
Remember, you also need to read the non crop-specific parts of the Amistar label itself for the complete information on formulation, hazard warnings, operator and environmental protection, mixing, spraying and after-spraying procedure, and more detailed advice on resistance management.
Two ornamental EAMUs for Switch
Although ornamental plant production is listed on the Switch label, a couple of highly specific uses could not be included. These are, however, permitted under two EAMUs with the usual grower risk proviso.
EAMU number 2274 of 2015 covers its use as a treatment in flower-bulb dipping to help reduce the spread of basal rot, a disease difficult to control and for which few other treatments are available.
EAMU 4254 of 2019 allows spray applications to fruit trees when grown as nursery stock before any fruit is cropped. These trees must not be sprayed if any fruit is present, and any produced within 12 months of the last application has to be destroyed.
