9. Integrated plant protection (IPM) |
The Principles of Integrated Plant Protection have to be applied. Preventive (indirect) measures and observations in the field on pest, disease and weed status must have been considered before intervention with direct plant protection measures takes place
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9.1 Prevention (= indirect plant protection)
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The prevention and/or suppression of key pests, diseases and weeds can be achieved or supported among other options especially by the:
- Choice of appropriate resistant/tolerant cultivars.
- Use of an optimal replanting interval or similar strategy to prevent diseases and weakness.
- Use of adequate cultivation techniques, (e.g. green cover, pruning, removal of infected prunings, alternate mowing); pruning not only removes dead tissues but also allows proper ventilation and more effective spray coverage.
- Use of balanced fertilisation (especially low nitrogen input) and irrigation practices.
- Protection and enhancement of important natural enemies by adequate plant protection measures.
- Utilisation of ecological infrastructures inside and outside production sites to enhance a supportive conservation biological control of key pests by antagonists.
IP guidelines must (see 8.1.3.c) describe a basic selection of preventive measures that have to be implemented.
Use of adequate cultivation techniques (e.g. green cover, pruning, removal of infected prunings, alternate mowing); pruning not only removes dead tissues but also allows proper ventilation and more effective spray coverage.
Use of optimum fertilisation (especially low nitrogen input) and irrigation practices.
Diseases
Balanced nutrition and irrigation by using reasonable amounts of N and water for a moderate tree vegetation to prevent a humid environment that favours pathogens and scales.
Remove mummified fruits after harvesting and during winter pruning to prevent Monilia infections.
The risk of sharka and ESFY disease must be minimised by timely removal of infection sources from orchards and their surroundings (see Section 3).
Pests
Lepidoptera
Diptera
Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Medfly)
- In new plantations an adequate spatial separation of cultivars with successive ripening times can reduce infestation risks.
Drosophila suzukii (Spotted-wing drosophila)
- Remove all the fruits after harvest.
Scale insects
Comstockaspis (= Quadraspidiotus) perniciosa (S. José Scale)
Pseudaulacaspis (= Diaspis) pentagona (White Peach Scale)
Pseudococcus comstocki (Comstock mealybug)
- Parasitoids of scale insects must be preserved and encouraged. The level of parasitisation should be assessed.
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The prevention and/or suppression of key pests and diseases should be supported among other options especially by:
- Hygiene, proper disinfection or cleaning of buildings, clothes, hands, tools, booms, tanks, sprayers and machines is recommended.
- Preventing the carryover of organisms which transmit a phytohygenic damage potential, when spread.
Examples: Weeds like Cyperus esculentus or Rorippa palustris, nematodes like Globodera rostochiensis, fungi like Plasmodiophora brassicae with machines.
The prevention and/or suppression of key pests and diseases should be supported among other options especially by the:
- Choice of appropriate resistant/tolerant cultivars;
- Avoidance of vigorous shoot growth susceptible to pests and disease (e.g. reducing fertilisation and irrigation).
Diseases
Prevent damage by insect pests in reproductive organs and fruits, as they can favour fungal infection.
The use of copper formulations as a preventive measure is advised, but not during blooming and not on susceptible cultivars.
The cultural practice of removal of sources of infestation or infection (e.g. Monilia spp., canker, brown rot) as far as practically possible is required. In particular:
- Winter and summer pruning is required to remove sources of infections of Monilia and bark/trunk diseases,
- Remove and/or destroy fallen leaves affected by Taphrina deformans.
Phytophtora and related soil borne diseases such as Armillaria etc: cover the trunk base with copper solutions and/ or calcium carbonate, by using a brush provides additional protection.
Cherry cultivars and rootstocks resistant or less susceptible to bacterial canker or spot should be selected. Pruning may only be done in summer.
Pests
Lepidoptera
Cydia (=Grapholita) molesta (Oriental Fruit Moth), Anarsia lineatella (Peach Twig Borer), Leafrollers Adoxophyes orana
Damages are expected to be higher on late ripening varieties.
Applications with winter oils may reduce the populations of Lepidoptera overwintering in bark as well as scale populations.
Diptera
Drosophila suzukii (Spotted-wing drosophila)
Sustainable early harvest can be important in reducing exposure of fruits to the pest.
Use of netting in highly favourable areas is recommended
Scale Insects and bark pests
Cover the trunk base and branches with calcium carbonate, by using a brush may remove overwintering scale infections. Additionally, it prevents to some extend attacks caused by Lepidoptera larvae as goat moth Cossus cossus (Cossidae) or Synanthedon (Sesidae).
Branches attacked by Scolytidae beetles, especially in cherry, should be removed by pruning.
Others
Marmorated stink Bug: Use of nets to avoid the entry of the pest and damages on fruits.
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9.2 Risk assessment and monitoring
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Interventions to control pests, diseases and weeds must be based on adequate monitoring methods and tools to determine whether and when to apply direct control measures.
Robust and scientifically sound warning, forecasting and early detection/diagnosis systems (decision support systems) as well as sound threshold values are essential components for decision making.
The official forecasts of pest and/or disease risks, or officially established threshold levels defined for the region must be taken into account before treatments.
Diseases
Based on weather recordings, especially during spring, an early risk assessment is made in relation to regional damage records and orchards case history. Wherever possible, use forecasting models.
Insects
Degree-days and phenology models for the need of reinforcement in key phenology times or the timing of other treatments; combined with other methods suitable for important pests (e.g. visual assessment, pheromone traps, traps baited with food based attractants, beating, coloured sticky traps.
Visual assessment (e.g. aphid and mite in spring and summer; overwintering pests on branches, egg and mobile form counting of tetranychids).
Lepidoptera
Cydia (=Grapholita) molesta (Oriental Fruit Moth), Anarsia lineatella (Peach Twig Borer), Leafrollers (e.g. Adoxophyes orana)
Regular monitoring by pheromone traps when mating disruption is not applied or traps with food attractants Combo traps when available (pheromone + attractant) in mating disruption system, sampling of damaged shoots and fruits, especially on early season, to determine the infestation level.
Captures on pheromone or food attractant traps can be used in a combined manner with degree-days and phenology models if they are available and officially validated.
On plums, Cydia funebrana
Must be monitored using pheromone traps and control measures only applied where necessary.
Diptera
Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Medfly)
Monitoring by traps baited with food based attractants starting early in the year (at the end of winter) or, if possible, all year round.
Sampling of fruit to determine the infestation level.
Rhagoletis cerasi (Cherry Fruit Fly), R. cingulata
On cherry and sour cherry, must be monitored using yellow sticky traps.
Drosophila suzukii (Spotted-wing drosophila)
Monitoring by traps baited with food based attractants all year round. It is very important to observe fruit regularly as they begin to ripen. Special care must be taken close to harvest, for assessing the infestation level.
Thrips
Taeniothrips meridionalis (Flower thrips) Frankliniella occidentalis, Thrips major (Summer thrips)
These insects injure mostly nectarines. Damages can be serious on flowers but mainly on young fruits. Attacks close to harvest are difficult to predict (such as beating).
Tetranychidae
Panonychus ulmi (European red mite) Tetranychus urticae (Two-spotted spider mite)
Visual monitoring on mobile forms and eggs.
Others
Myzus persicae
Monitoring shoots attacked by active aphid colonies and honeydew production to determine timing of control. Check for the presence of mummies and other natural enemies.
Halyomorpha halys (Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB))
Early detection by using traps such as dark green pyramid traps or transparent sticky panel traps. Some lures are also available, but because the lure available is an aggregative pheromone, it is useful to place the pheromone traps outside the orchard.
Predators and parasitoids
Monitoring by suitable methods (e.g. visual assessment, beating) to assess beneficial-pest ratio.
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Empirical threshold values should be replaced by more scientifically sound approaches, like DSS, and expert systems.
When information from large-scale decision support tools (e.g., official warning systems, DSSs) is used, it is strongly recommended to adapt this information to local conditions, by accounting for weather variability, cultivar susceptibility, sanitary status of the vineyard, previous pesticide sprays, etc.
Insects
Scale insects
Diaspidiotus (=Quadraspidiotus = Comstockaspis) perniciosus (S. José Scale) Pseudaulacaspis (=Diaspis) pentagona (White Peach Scale) Pseudococcus comstocki (=Comstock mealybug)
Use of sticky or pheromone traps to detect movements of crawlers or emergence of adults can be used starting on early spring.
Others
Sampling secondary pests with pheromone/kairomone or blue coloured sticky traps if available is recommended (e.g. mealybugs, scales, thrips).
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9.3 Direct plant protection method
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Where indirect plant protection measures are not sufficient to prevent a problem and forecasts and threshold values indicate a need to intervene with direct plant protection measures, priority must be given to:
- Those measures which have the minimum impact on human health, non-target organisms and the environment.
- Biological, biotechnical* and physical methods must be preferred above chemical methods if they provide satisfactory control.
*: Biotechnical control methods are defined in applied entomology as highly specific procedures that influence the behavior or development of pests without direct biocidal activity, such as mating disruption, deterrents, sterile insect technique.
Control method to be used if available and effective:
- Bacillus thuringiensis must be used for control of leaf roller and noctuid caterpillars where effective.
- Phytoseiid predatory mites must be preserved and utilised in integrated mite management. This is feasible by avoiding the use of non-selective pesticides (especially pyrethroids) and limit exposure of non-target organisms.
To prevent resistance, in case more than one spray per season is applied, rotation of plant protection products with different mode of action should be adopted
Diseases
There are specific restrictions concerning the number of fungicide applications (refer to 9.3.1). Rotation of fungicides is encouraged to prevent resistance development.
Insects
Lepidoptera
Cydia (=Grapholita) molesta (Oriental Fruit Moth) and Anarsia lineatella (Peach Twig Borer), Adoxophyes orana (Leaf roller)
On peaches, nectarines and apricot mating disruption must be used as the basic control method wherever possible. Circumstances where mating disruption is not possible must be specified in regional/national guidelines. Where an additional or alternative control measure is required, priority should be given to use of selective compounds.
In regions where infestation is low, and especially in young orchards, removal of infested shoots by pruning in summer should be the first option.
Regional / national guidelines must specify threshold trap catches above which insecticide application is permitted.
On plums, Cydia funebrana
Mating disruption or more selective insecticides such as insect growth regulators or Bacillus thuringiensis are preferred, but in regions where damage occurs close to harvest use of broader spectrum short persistence insecticides is permitted
Diptera
Drosophila suzukii (Spotted-wing drosophila) wherever approved, mass trapping is advised. Selective insecticides must be used where necessary. At the time of the completion of the present guideline, D. suzukii is a new pest in Europe and integrated control strategies are still not well defined. Due to this reasons a specific exception is admitted for non-selective insecticide use (see 9.3).
Scale insects
Comstockaspis (=Quadraspidiotus) perniciosa (S. José Scale)Pseudaulacaspis (=Diaspis) pentagona (White Peach Scale), Pseudococcus comstocki (=Comstock mealybug)
Parasitoids of scale insects must be preserved and encouraged. The level of parasitisation should be assessed. Scale insects should be controlled where necessary by application of mineral oil or poly-sulphurs in the dormant period. As last resort, these measures may be supplemented with application of selective insecticides in summer where necessary.
Where applicable, mechanical removal is advisable as an additional measure.
Thrips
Taeniothrips meridionalis (Flower thrips) Frankliniella occidentalis, Thrips major (Summer thrips)
These insects injure mostly nectarines. Damages can be serious on flowers but mainly on young fruits. Attacks close to harvest are difficult to predict; attention must be given to harvest interval.
Based on the poor efficacy of the monitoring tools available, the history of the orchard can be an acceptable reason for the application of control measures; for flower thrips is preferable a post blossom spray (for an alternative pre blossom spray only products known to be selective to honey bees are accepted).
For a single pre harvest treatment attention must be given to harvest interval.
Others
Scolytus rugulosus, S. amygdali, Xyleborus dispar (on plum)
Alcohol-baited mass-trapping can be used to control it.
Aphids
Myzus persicae (Green Peach Aphid) and Myzus cerasi (Black cherry aphid)
For stone fruit crops, where aphids readily develop resistance to insecticides, special care must be taken to preserve the natural enemies of aphids. Selective aphicides must be used if their efficacy is still demonstrated.
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Weed management should be achieved, as far as possible, by non-chemical methods.
Diseases
Plastic cover decrease humidity of the fruit and leave surface during rainy weather.
Pseudomonas syringae Stone fruit bacterial canker or spot: Sprays of copper compounds must be applied to apricot and cherry orchards at bud-burst and leaf fall.
As a basic method, mechanical removal of weeds near the trunk could prevent infestations of Capnodis tenebrionis especially when irrigation is not applicable.
Insects
Nets and/or plastic covers avoid contact of pests with fruits and trees.
Diptera
Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Medfly)
On peaches and nectarines, mass trapping or attract & kill should be used wherever possible Where an additional or alternative control measure is required, priority should be given to use of selective compounds.
Rhagoletis cerasi (Cherry Fruit Fly)
On cherry, a short persistence insecticide should be applied for control where necessary. An approved feeding attractant may be used to enhance the efficacy of insecticides.
Drosophila suzukii (Spotted-wing drosophila)
Exclusion netting should be considered the basic control method.
Scale insects
Mites
Tetranychidae
Panonychus ulmi (European red mite) Tetranychus urticae (Two-spotted spider mite)
Products with mechanical mode of action should be used to control it.
Thrips
Taeniothrips meridionalis (Flower thrips) Frankliniella occidentalis, Thrips major (Summer thrips)
Removal of leaves touching the fruit can greatly reduce the damage after fruit colouring.
Others
Halyomorpha halys Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB)
In areas with a high population density, exclusion netting should be considered.
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9.3.1 Restrictive use of pesticides
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IP guidelines must (see 8.1.3.d) classify pesticides (to be used for the key pests, diseases and weeds) in three categories: 'permitted' (green list), 'permitted with restrictions' (yellow list) and 'not permitted' (red list) based upon±
- Their toxicity to man
- Their toxicity to key natural enemies
- Their toxicity to other non-target organisms
- Their pollution potential for the environment (soil, water, air)
- Their ability to stimulate pests and diseases
- Their selectivity
- Their persistence
- Their potential to develop resistance in target
- Incomplete or missing information
- The necessity of use.
Regularly updated data on the eco-toxicological profiles of pesticides are compiled by IOBC cf. toolbox).
All agrochemicals used must fulfil the basic requirements of GAP.
- The plant protection product applied must be officially approved for the target, as indicated on the product label, or for officially approved off-label uses.
- In countries that have no official registration schemes yet, reference is made to the FAO Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides.
- All pesticide applications must comply with the statutory conditions regarding the specific crop, maximum permitted total dose, maximum number of treatments, spray intervals and pre-harvest interval, as indicated on the product label or authorised off-label uses.
- Since label doses are maximum doses approved by the registration authorities, reduced dosages are possible, (especially in herbicides).
Chemical soil disinfection is not allowed.
Based on the general criteria, the following categorization of certain pesticides and pesticide groups is established. It may require up-dating with the development of new products.
Not Permitted*
- Non-naturally occurring plant growth regulators,
- Organochlorine pesticides,
- Persistent herbicides,
- All acaricides toxic to Phytoseiid mites,
- Antibiotics.
Permitted with Restrictions*
The following categories compounds don't fit in IPM schemes, however sometimes their use might be unavoidable, Guidelines must define clearly the restrictions and permitted indications (yellow list principle):
- Copper-based products: (maximum of 4 kg/ha of copper ion /year.
- Benzimidazole fungicides (maximum of 2 applications/year.
- Dithiocarbamate fungicides (maximum of 3 applications/year).
- IBE fungicides (maximum of 3 applications/year).
- Dicarboximide fungicides (not permitted anymore in Europe; maximum of 3 applications/year).
- Broad-spectrum insecticides, their use should be limited to the secondary pests or to the mandatory control of quarantine organisms (if not possible by others methods). Their eventual use must be justified by monitoring and use of a tolerance threshold.
- Synthetic pyrethroids must not be permitted wherever possible. However, as a short-term measure, whilst research is undertaken to identify more selective control methods, synthetic pyrethroid insecticides may be used on stone fruits in the following circumstances:
Maximum of 1 application/year in emergency situations, shortly before harvest, if no alternatives are available. In case of demonstrated damages provoked by Drosophila suzukii or Haliomorpha halys, and under same conditions as above, a maximum of 2 applications/yearis permitted as a specific short term measure. IP Guidelines which permit the use of pyrethroids must have an active research program to identify more favourable alternatives. - Post-emergence applications of herbicides are permitted in any case only after harvest.
- Persistent herbicides with DT90<1 vegetation period (spring-autumn): the situations of their exceptional use must be clearly specified (e.g. in the first three years after planting, maximum of one dose-equivalent per annum). and the risk of residues in olive oil be monitored.
*The list of "non-permitted" and "Permitted with restrictions" still contains group of active ingredients no longer allowed in Europe; if these groups are still allowed outside Europe than these rules must be followed:
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The use of reduced dosages is recommended wherever possible in accordance with national documentation, experience and legislation.
In Europe EPPO standards are also used as references.
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9.3.2 Resistance management
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Where the risk of resistance against a plant protection measure is known and where the level of pests, diseases or weeds requires repeated application of plant protection products in the crops, IP guidelines and IRAC / HRAC/ FRAC** have to provide clear recommendations or mandatory requests for an anti-resistance strategy to maintain the effectiveness of the products.
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- IRAC = Insecticide resistance action committee
- HRAC = Herbicide resistance action committee
- FRAC = fungicide resistance action committee
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9.4 Lists to be compiled as part of IP guidelines
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IP guidelines must establish for each crop:
- A restrictive list of key pests, diseases and weeds that are economically important and require regular control measures in the region / crop concerned.
- A list of the most important known site-specific natural antagonist(s), with information on their importance in each crop. The protection and augmentation of at least 2 antagonists must be mentioned in advanced as a desirable objective sustainable production systems.
- A list of preventive and highly selective direct control measures to be used in the IP program (“green list”). See explanations and examples in the IOBC-WPRS Tool Box.
- A list of pesticides to be used with restrictions (“yellow list”): A selected group of plant protection products that do not qualify for the “green list” but should be available to the grower despite certain negative aspects, (especially for reasons of resistance management or earmarked for exceptionally difficult cases). These listed products are permitted only for precisely identified uses with clearly defined restrictions.
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9.5 Application and recording of pesticides
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All pesticide applications must be registered with name, date, crop-pest / crop- disease combination, dosage and field identification where applied.
Buffer zones of adequate size between treated crop areas and sensitive off-crop areas, (surface water, springs, ecological infrastructures), must be observed, (see point 2.6).
The official pre-harvest intervals to minimise pesticide residues must be followed and should, if possible, be extended. They must be recorded for all applications of crop protection product and evidence should be provided that they have been observed. In situations with continuous harvesting, systems must be in place in the field to ensure that safety rules are sufficiently followed (e.g. warning signals).
Spraying during windy weather conditions when wind velocity is exceeding 5m/sec, is not allowed.
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It is strongly recommended that the application of pesticides is limited to the smallest possible area (e.g. band spraying, spot treatments, field and site specific localized treatment).
The use of best application techniques available to minimize drift and loss is highly recommended.
Small untreated areas, (zero treatment or "spray windows"), should be maintained in each crop and in each major plot/field except for arthropod pests, diseases and weeds declared as "highly dangerous/ contagious" by national authorities or in cases with high infectious pests or diseases.
Perennial crops: The use of methods to calculate the right dose of pesticides and spray volume to be applied as a function of the plant growth stage and canopy architecture - such as for instance the TRV (Tree Row Volume) or the LWA (Leaf Wall Area) methods – is highly recommended. Always explore this keeping in mind the specific properties of each pesticide-active ingredient.
Reduced dosages (rates) are possible (especially in herbicides) if applied on the user's own risk (declined liability of companies) and if resistance management criteria (especially fungicides) do not impose the full dosage.
The applied dose rate and water volume should be adapted to the area where the treatment is needed and its structure. In case of vertical crops such as stone fruit, the crop canopy area has to be considered, since it is recognized that the concentration dose expression - e.g. dose per hL or % - is no longer sufficient. To allow the three‐dimensional nature of the crop to be considered, the dose rate (on the label) should to expressed in e.g. kg or L per ha of Leaf Wall Area (LWA) or in kg or L per m3 of Tree Row Volume (TRV). The grower should have sufficient technical knowledge or external technical support to calculate/determine the LWA or TRV of the orchard(s) he/she wants to spray. The used water volume should also be adapted to the canopy area (for a full cover spray a runoff water volume is recommended). The exact concentration of the product (l or kg per l water used for spraying) is of secondary importance, as long as the required product per unit leaf wall area is deposited by the water over the full canopy. In exceptional cases the concentration (product dose rate/water volume) can be of primary importance, e.g. for treatment of a product with physical action (which depends on the concentration) or a spot application in an "Attract & Kill" strategy.
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9.6 Efficient and safe storage and handling of pesticides
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The basic requirements of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) with respect to storage (9.6.1), safe handling application and training (9.6.2) and disposal of surplus mix, obsolete pesticides and empty containers (9.6.3), must be fulfilled and outlined in IP guidelines.
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9.6.1 Storage
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Pesticides must be stored in accordance to legal regulations, in a locked room and separated from other materials. Keys and access to the pesticide store must be limited to workers with formal training in the handling of pesticides. Pesticides must only be stored in their original package.
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9.6.2 Safe handling, application and training
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There must be adequate facilities for measuring, mixing and filling the products.
Adequate emergency facilities, such as running water, eyewash facilities, first aid box and emergency procedures, must be provided to deal with potential operator contamination.
Operators must have appropriate protective clothing and equipment for all operations involving chemicals.
All sprayer operators must have appropriate training and hold, where relevant, the appropriate certificate of competence.
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9.6.3 Disposal of surplus mix, obsolete pesticides and empty containers
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Surplus mix or tank washings must either be sprayed onto a designated untreated part of the crop or disposed of by a registered waste contractor or applied in a biodegradation unit.
The safe disposal of spare pesticides must be planned and recorded. They must only be disposed of through an approved chemical waste contractor. Empty pesticide containers must be rinsed with water three times and the rinse water returned to the spray tank. Empty containers must not be re-used but should be crushed or perforated to prevent re-use.
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Under normal circumstances surplus spray mix should not occur. However, if surplus should occur, disposal must comply with local regulations. Applications onto designated fallow land should demonstrate that this is legal practice and that there is no risk of surface water contamination.
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9.7 Spraying equipment (pesticides) and technique
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The basic requirements of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) with respect to the operation and maintenance of spray equipment must be fulfilled and outlined in IP guidelines.
The equipment must be kept in a good state of repair. Adequate functioning of the equipment must be verified before each treatment. A thorough technical service of the equipment, (especially manometers and nozzles), should follow the national rules and obligations.
Equipment must be verified every 4 year (3 years from 2021) or according to the national guidelines by a competent organisation for correct operation and calibration.
The use of aircraft and helicopters is forbidden, except for situations where access to the plot is impossible because of exceptional weather conditions, or if plot topography allows no other way of spraying.
Radial flow air assisted sprayers traditionally used for tree and bush fruit spraying are often inefficient and generate high levels of spray drift. Wherever possible spraying equipment and spraying conditions minimising the health risk of the operator and drift must be preferred and tractors must be fitted with a cab.
The spray impact on the environment can be minimised by the proper calculation of the amount of product needed per ha.
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The use of drift reduction techniques with the least drift and pesticide loss should be encouraged whilst maintaining efficacy.
When new sprayers are purchased it is recommended to select models with automatic flow to reduce residues and discharges Localised treatments with protein and/or pheromones are strongly advised against fruit fly.
Spraying equipment and spraying conditions minimising the health risk of the operator and drift should be preferred.
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9.8 Pesticide residues
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Legal requirements of pesticide residues must be fulfilled.
The occurrence of pesticide residues on fruits at harvest must be further minimised by maximising safe-to-harvest intervals, taking also into account the risks of concentration.
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