Know your EAMU from your EAMU…

A quick glance over the Agrii vineyard toolkit; grapevine approved pesticides list, and you will see the repetition of the word EAMU in the last column. This may be a term that you are very familiar with; certainly in grape-growing the use of an EAMU is far more common than our colleagues in arable farming. However, it is important to understand exactly what an EAMU means for you as a grower and for us as an industry. 

There are three key approval types currently in the UK; ‘Full on-label approval’, ‘Extension of Authorisation of Minor Uses’ (EAMU) and ‘Emergency Approval’. A Full Approval is the gold star, years of rigorous testing for efficacy and safety and likely to have plenty of trial work to back up it’s price tag. An Emergency Approval will have a short life span (usually 120 days) and will be a response to an exotic or novel pest invasion. 

Our more commonly used EAMU is a half way home and an excellent approval that can be of huge benefit to growers of “Minor Crops” and a faster route to market for manufacturers. If a full-label approval takes seven years and circa £3 million to bring to market, an EAMU can be achieved in as little as 12 months and typically will cost £5-10k. Many products approved under EAMU in the UK will have a full approval outside of the UK (Cosine for example has a full approval in France) so the manufacturer can rely on this wealth of experience and data to gain the EAMU being granted in a different market.

When using a product under an EAMU there are many restrictions that must be adhered to;

♦ Growers must read the EAMU label in full and retain a hard copy before the product is used.

♦ Growers must fully comply with the statutory and safety conditions on the Label or EAMU.

♦ The application method must be the same as stated on the label, in accordance with the codes of practice and COSHH assessment (e.g. outdoors crops only)

♦ The grower must not exceed the statutory MRL (Maximum Residue Level) as the result of product being used off-label.

♦ Most importantly, the product is used at the grower’s risk!

There are over thirty different EAMUs available for use in grapevines in the UK, all with their own specific guidance notes and restrictions. Before you plan to use a product under EAMU gain a copy of the EAMU and familiarise yourself (and your team) with these restrictions. There are many tools available to growers for getting at these elusive EAMUs; the WineGB Green Book, CRD website or through your BASIS qualified agronomist. Agrii customers can benefit from access to all EAMUs along with trial data, weather and disease forecasting and briefings through our customer intranet – AgriiPlus. Just speak with your usual Agrii agronomist to create an account.