BASF amends accepted at EU level

BASF have gained acceptance for a change in the field restrictions around the active ingredient metazachlor, included in products such as Springbok and Shadow.

Following EU re-registration in 2010, metazachlor-containing products have been restricted to use ’once every third year on the same field’ by CRD. In response to concerns from growers and advisors, BASF applied to CRD in March 2010 to have the restriction amended.

Will Reyer, BASF’s Field Crop Marketing Manager said: "We recognised the restriction around rotational use of metazachlor was causing difficulties for growers and that a more flexible approach would be helpful. As of today, February 2012, we are pleased to say that our proposed change has been accepted by the EU Standing Committee on Food Chain and Animal Health (SCFCAH) paving the way for the restriction in the Annex I inclusion Directive to be amended.

The new wording is expected to be: "applications shall be limited to a total dose of not more than 1.0kg metazachlor/ha in a three year period in the same field."

"We are now clarifying with CRD the timelines for implementation of this amendment on product labels and will advise growers and advisors as soon as we receive confirmation." says Will Reyer.

"Despite not being the only company selling metazachlor, we’ll still take the lead in these areas. It’s something we are doing across Europe and see it as part of our commitment to fully supporting our product range".