These substances act in a general or specific way against harmful agents found in plants, parts of plants or plant products used in foodstuffs. Their main use is NOT specific for plant protection, but they may be used for the protection of crops or seeds.
Their use is of interest because of the different functions they perform:
- Repellent
- Insecticide
- Fungicide
- Molluscicide
- Natural defence mechanism stimulator
- Attraction
- Disinfectant
They are regulated by the EC Regulation No. 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and European Council regarding the marketing of plant-protection products, and the European Commission will carry out an assessment, providing a prior application has been made, to approve them and authorise their use throughout the EU indefinitely. This requirement is set out in Article 23 and the procedure is described in the document contained in SANCO/10363/2012
It should be stressed that basic ingredients are neither more nor less safe than plant protection active substances. As in all substances, their safety depends on the use and the dosage used.
Once the basic ingredient is approved and appears in the Implementing Regulation (EU) 540/2011, part C, in the case of products formulated exclusively with them, no prior registration is required for their use, as they are not considered to be plant protection products. They may only be used in accordance with uses approved by the Commission.
Currently, the approved basic ingredients are:
| Onion oil
|
Sunflower oil
|
Clayey charcoal |
| Beer | Chitosan | Sodium chloride (salt) |
| Horsetail | Diammonium phosphate | Fructose |
| Sodium hydrogen carbonate | Calcium hydroxide | Lecithin |
| Hydrogen peroxide | Mustard seed powder | Sucrose |
| Willow bark | Whey | Talc E553B |
| Nettle | Vinegar |
And the basic ingredients that have not been approved are:
| Landes pine tar | Paprika extract | Potassium sorbate |
| Achillea millefolium L. | Satureja montana L. essential oil | Origanum vulgare L. essential oil |
| Arctium lappa L.(aerial parts) | Artemisia absinthium L. | Artemisia vulgaris L. |
| Rheum officinale root extract | Tanacetum vulgare L. |
In the organic farming industry, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 889/2008 the use of basic ingredients considered foodstuffs, as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002, and are of animal or vegetable origin, is permitted. Furthermore, they should not be used as herbicides, but only for pest and disease control.
