| Criteria | Guidance | Evidence & Scoring | Importance & Applicability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Criteria 2.4: Criteria 2.4: Practices are adopted to prevent and mitigate the negative impact of the use of agrochemicals 2.4.5 Practices are adopted to reduce the use of herbicides, following a pre-established, annually monitored plan |
The plan to reduce the use of herbicides should cover a maximum period of three years in the case of perennial woody species, and six years in the case of perennial, bi-annual and annual herbaceous species. Practices to be included in the plan include, among others:
a) preference of low-toxicity chemical herbicides and selective chemicals b) use of herbicides sold by authorized vendors, in original and sealed packaging c) rotation of herbicides to reduce resistance (e.g. alternating chemical family) d) application only if weed presence has negative impacts on the safety of the cultivated species (no calendar spraying) and only in the impacted areas (spot application) e) application following threshold levels, application intervals and conditions advised by labels, scientific information or competent experts f) handling according to the label, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), or as recommended by an official national organisation or a competent technician. If the MSDS has no information on re-entry levels, minimum restricted entry interval is 48 hours for WHO class II products and 12 hours for other products g) creation of buffer zones to limit cross contamination h) regular calibration and maintenance of equipment for application a) occurrence of types of weeds b) frequency of applications and typology of treatments for weed control c) effects of weeds on crops safety, quality, and yields d) climatic conditions relevant for weed control Field Operators follow one or more of the above listed practices and/or any other practices with results relevant in their context to reduce the presence of dangerous weeds (e.g. toxic and competitive) and the use of herbicides. Practices are suitable when they result in the reduction or stabilisation at tolerable levels of dangerous weed and of the use of synthetic herbicides. For compliance (score 2) at least the practices mentioned under the first three (3) bullet points, and the third bullet point's sub-bullets a) to h) are followed. OaS provides financial, knowledge and other types of support when field operators do not have sufficient resources to identify and implement suitable practices. The UEBT agrochemicals register can be used to keep track of the practices implemented and the presence of weeds. The UEBT BAP Monitoring tool can be used to report information on the progress in containing dangerous weeds and reducing the use of synthetic herbicides. |
DOCUMENTATION INTERVIEW OBSERVATION 0 - No practices to reduce the use of herbicides are identified and applied Score 2 to be reached by second year |
Importance Critical stepwise Applicability |
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