Nufarm fungicides cleared for use on backyard crops

Nufarm Americas reported March 12 two of its leading fungicides have been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to treat select greenhouse vegetables and transplants, herbs and fruit grown in people’s backyards.

The expanded labels for Cleary 3336F and EG fungicides are part of the company’s goal of providing the turn and ornamental industry with pest management options for a wide range of edible crops.

“Since 2010, Nufarm has undertaken a systematic label improvement program aimed at appropriate greenhouse vegetables and it has led to a whole host of new ornamental labels,” Nufarm technical services manager Rick Fletcher said. “This is a response to the rising interest of greenhouse growers to broaden their crop offerings and business opportunities by growing vegetable transplants for sale by retail outlets. It is a long-term priority for Nufarm to support the industry and add all of these uses.”

The new labels for 3336 F and EG mean lawn care operators and arborists no longer have to worry about picking up and then applying multiple products to backyard fruit, now classified as an agricultural crop.

“We worked with the EPA and were granted the ability to include backyard fruit on our turf and ornamental label,” Fletcher said. “This is all about understanding market conditions and responding to market needs, and that’s what Nufarm is doing.”