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Growers of horticultural crops frequently suffer from a lack of approved crop protection products. The problem is that whilst their crops are valuable, individually they are too small for agrochemical companies to bear the high cost of registering products for use on them. For larger crops it is also difficult when the pest or disease is only localised or infrequent.
Horticulture’s access to pesticides through minor-use permits is now coordinated and managed by AgAware Consulting Pty Ltd, through a Horticulture Australia project. This will assist all horticulture industries to protect their crops from plant pests, diseases and weeds, by providing access to protection products that wouldn’t otherwise be available for use. The project undertakes the assessment of product suitability, resistance, IPM, residues and exports in its evaluations.
- Growers are required to only use registered or permitted pesticides on their crops.
- Not all vegetables have the range of protection products available to maximise production and quality.
- The project allows growers to access pesticides currently not available.
- The pesticides selected will give consideration to chemical suitability, resistance, IPM, residues and exports in its evaluations.
- The vegetable industry needs to become more proactive in managing diseases, insects, weeds and pesticides.
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