Seed treatment

Date: 6 May 2020

For the use of a plant protection product for seed treatment it is foreseen in Article 33 of REGULATION (EC) No 1107/2009 that only one Member State shall evaluate the application for all zones. Mutual recognitions, generally only possible for countries where the reference Member state is located in the same political zone, are explicitly mentioned as possible from any Reference Member State of the EU.

The draft “Guidance document on the authorisation of plant protection products for seed treatment” (SANCO/10553/2012) is currently under revision. However, the draft document stresses that for the evaluation and authorisation process of a plant protection product intended for seed treatment the evaluation of the treatment process of seed (operator exposure studies and model calculation) and the evaluation of the sowing process in the field (dust occurrence during sowing or drilling) has to be considered.

According to Article 49 of the Regulation, placing on the market and use of seeds treated with plant protection products authorised for a specific use in at least one Member State shall not be prohibited, unless there are substantial concerns that treated seeds are likely to constitute a serious risk to human or animal health or to the environment. The label and related documents for treated seeds shall include at least the name of the plant protection product used for seed treatment, the name(s) of the active substance(s), standard phrases for safety precautions and risk mitigation measures set out in the product authorisation, and, in addition, any national requirement.

Jasmin Philippi