Crop Protection 22 (2003) 799

Book review

The UK pesticide guide 2003

R Whitehead (Ed.); British Crop Protection Council,Farnham and CABI Publishing, Wallingford, ISBN 085199 689 2, Price d32.50 [There is also the e-UKPesticide Guide ISBN 0 85199 690 6 at d58.69 incl. vat]

This annual publication continues to be a must forany one involved in the use of agricultural pesticides inthe United Kingdom. The 2003 edition is especiallyimportant in keeping users aware of the implications ofmany pesticides no longer being supported as a result ofthe EU Pesticide Review. While many active substanceswill cease to be approved in July 2003 and must bedisposed of by December 2003, some have been given atemporary reprieve for some essential uses until 31December 2007. After information on how to use theGuide, the introductory section contains a list of activesubstances and products for agricultural/horticulturaluse which are not supported in the European review.This is followed by a list of the products (15 activesubstances) and the crops on which continued use ispermitted until 2007. The introductory section also givesdetails of the approval for on-label and off-label uses.Reference is also made to the use of an approvedproduct on a minor crop without the need for a SpecificOff-Label Approval (SOLA), under the Long-termArrangements for Extension of Use. A further 12 parts,similar to previous editions including data on protectionof water sources and LERAP, complete the first section.Section 2 lists 120 commercially available adjuvants.These vary from surfactants, oils (mineral or vegetable),polymers and other chemicals that act as spreaders,wetters, and stickers. In the listing of some adjuvants,application of a pesticide at half or less than theirapproved dose is indicated. In wanting to reduce costs,this looks very interesting for users, but without seeingspecific labels and seeking advice from those who havehad previous experience with them, it is not possible toidentify which adjuvants are most suited to a particularpesticide or crop.

The active substances, including mixtures, permittedfor individual crops and their pests (some grouped for

convenience) are listed alphabetically in Section 3. Off-label uses are also indicated. The main part of the Guideis Section 4, which provides profiles of all the activesubstances, or mixtures of them, approved for use in theUK—in total 493 are listed, involving about 1400formulated products. In each profile details are givenof approved products, their uses, efficacy, crop safety/restrictions, personal protective equipment required andpre-harvest intervals.

In the next Section Products still approved but nolonger notified for inclusion in Section 4 are listedtogether with the expiry date of their approval. Lastly inSection 6 are several appendices giving addresses ofsuppliers, useful contacts, keys to crop and weed stages,a key to the numbers used in the Guide for labelprecautions, and a key to abbreviations and acronymsused. The Guide is completed with an index for theproprietary names of products.

Although designed for users in the UK, this guide willbe extremely useful for those in other countries withsimilar crops and pest problems, and for countries wherethere is less information on the suitability of differentpesticides. Compared with many countries, certainpesticides are not approved in the UK, as the risksassociated with their use to the operator applying thepesticides, the environment or the consumer areconsidered unacceptable.

As changes do not occur once a year, there is a sisterpublication, the user friendly e-UK Pesticide Guideon CD-ROM, that enables users to have to linkSOLA data with the Pesticide Safety Directorate(PSD) website to enable users to access the officialNotices of Approval and a direct weblink to acomprehensive online MRL database at the Leather-head Food International.

Graham MatthewsDepartment of Biological Sciences International Pesticide

Application Research Center, Imperial College of

Science, Technology and Medicine, Silwood Park, Ascot

SL5 7PY, UK

E-mail address: g.matthews@ic.ac.uk

doi:10.1016/S0261-2194(03)00050-4