For practitioners

The users of plant protection products must observe certain rules to ensure that the required effect can be achieved from the products, that the safety of consumers, residents and the user himself is assured and that the impact on the environment is still acceptable.

Plant Protection Act regulations

The Plant Protection Act includes a series of provisions which apply consistently to all plant protection products:

• Plant protection products may only be used if they are authorised (exceptions include deadlines for using up stocks of products whose authorisation expires on a particular date).
• The product may only be used for authorised or approved fields of use, which means for specific crops and harmful organisms or for a specific use.
• In amateur gardening, only products which are labelled as registered for this area of use may be applied.
• Plant protection products may only be used outdoors on areas which are used for agricultural, forestry or horticultural purposes. For other kinds of areas such as streets, field boundaries, roadsides, embankments, business premises, driveways and parking areas, a certificate of exemption is necessary which is issued by the competent authorities in the federal states.
• Plant protection products may only be used directly in or next to water with a certificate of exemption.

Any breach of these regulations constitutes an administrative offence and can be punished with a fine.

Restrictions, directions for use, pre-harvest intervals

As part of authorisation, the BVL specifies restrictions and directions for use for the individual products and decides on the pre-harvest interval between the last application and harvesting. These regulations must be printed on the packaging by the manufacturer. The user should therefore read the label and the instructions for use carefully; in this way he has all the information he needs for using the product safely.

Good professional practice

The Plant Protection Act demands that plant protection products are used in accordance with good professional practice. This includes, for example, limiting the use of plant protection products to the minimum amount considered necessary, selecting products which are most suitable for the respective situation, using suitable and reliable equipment and disposing of remaining spray and rinsing fluid properly. The Bundesministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz (BMELV) has summarised the principles of good professional practice in a publication.

Parallel trade

The Common Market of the European Union allows trade with plant protection products as part of the free movement of goods between the different states of the European Union. Plant protection products which are authorised in an EU Member State and are identical in their composition with a product authorised in Germany (reference product) do not need to be authorised in Germany in order to be able to be placed on the market or used here. However, as from 14 June 2011 onwards they have to be approved for parallel trade according to Article 52 of EC Regulation 1107/2009 (parallel import permits will be issued for the corresponding plant protection products until the date stated). The list of valid parallel import and parallel trade permits for parallel trade can be retrieved in the right-hand column.

Approval is also required for parallel trade for the use of plant protection products which the operator acquired in another Member State for his own use. Details on submitting applications, procedures and decision criteria can be found under the heading “for applicants > parallel trade”.

A plant protection product for which an approval for parallel trade has been granted is to be used in the same way as the corresponding reference product. It may only be used for fields of application which are authorised or approved for the reference product. Similarly, the conditions of application and restrictions which were laid down for the reference product must be observed. The two-year deadline for using up stocks according to § 6a (3) of the Plant Protection Act also applies to plant protection products intended for parallel trade.

The federal states are responsible for plant protection product monitoring. Such monitoring also includes operator inspections. These inspections are also for parallel trade products.

Personal protective equipment

The BVL guidelines on personal protective equipment for handling plant protection products describe the demands made on elements of personal protective equipment which can be required as part of authorisation in order to be able to exclude harmful effects to users' health when handling the products. The elements of personal protective equipment are head gear, eye and respiratory protection, protective suit and standard protective gloves for plant protection, rubber apron and protection for the feet.

Protective suits for handling plant protection products and standard protective gloves for plant protection are certified by the Saxon Textile Research Institute (stfi).

Advice

Advice and training is offered by the official plant protection service in the federal states. Associations and societies also provide information on how to use plant protection products wisely and correctly.