Semillas Fitó will stop treating the seeds of Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae

From next November 1, the company Semillas Fitó will stop treating the seeds of Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae, meeting the growing demands of society in search of reducing the use of pesticides and preservation of the environment, and in full compliance with European regulations valid. In this way we take another step towards the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations.

The European Commission decided by means of the Regulation of execution EU 2018/1500, of October 9, 2018, not to renew the authorization of the active matter Tiram. This Regulation establishes February 1, 2020 as the deadline to sell and sow seed treated with this active substance.

In addition, the European Directive on the Sustainable Use of Phytosanitary Products, determines, in Article 14, that: Member States shall take all necessary measures to promote the management of pests with low pesticide consumption, giving priority, whenever possible, to Non-chemical methods

“The society and its institutions are demanding from the horticultural producer sector an effort to find solutions that minimize the impact of phytosanitary products on the environment and ensure consumer safety,” as they point out from the company.

In Semillas Fitó they understand that from the beginning to the end of the crop any measure that helps achieve this objective must be introduced; That is why we have made the decision not only to adopt the EC regulations that limit the use of Tiram, "but to go one step further, eliminating phytosanitary treatments of all our Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae seeds".

For the seeds of legumes and sweet corn , for the moment, we will continue with the treatments with the authorized fungicides that are effective, “until we have alternatives that guarantee a lower impact on the environment”.

To meet this new challenge, Semillas Fitó has increased its efforts in prevention and control until the dispatch of all its products. Thus, seed production and extraction systems have been improved, and the latest detection methods have been incorporated into our Quality Control laboratory to confirm that the seed is free of any fungus.

What if you want to continue receiving the seed treated with a fungicide?

In the event that you need to continue receiving our Solanaceae or Cucurbitaceae seed treated with a fungicide, contact our commercial team or distribution network through which, and by express request, we can offer you the following options:

Until December 31, 2019 we can continue selling our cucurbit seeds with Tiram (Proseed®). But you should consider that your planting can only be done until January 30, 2020.

From January 1, 2020 we can market our varieties treated with the fungicide Maxim 480FS (fludioxonil, 48%) authorized in the Netherlands for Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae; Seeds treated with a product, authorized in a member country, can be marketed throughout the European community according to Article 49 of Regulation 1107/2009 EU on the marketing of plant protection products.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in Spanish. This English summary has been prepared with Google Translate and edited for clarity.