What if my product has a plant-protection effect?

‘plant biostimulant’ means a product stimulating plant nutrition processes independently of the product’s nutrient content with the sole aim of improving one or more of the following characteristics of the plant or the plant rhizosphere:

Important here is also the below from the EU FPR 2019/1009 FAQ document: 

1.3 Does the FPR cover fertilising products containing substances or microorganisms which have a pesticide effect, such as copper compounds or calcium cyanamide? 

Products that fall under the scope of the PPPR are automatically and totally excluded from the scope of the FPR. But this rule cannot apply directly to substances or microorganisms with a known pesticidal or other plant protection effect. 

Therefore, fertilising products containing substances or microorganisms which are authorised active substances in accordance to the PPPR could be under the scope of the FPR and will not necessarily classify as plant protection products. If a fertilising product, which complies with all requirements set in the FPR, happens to contain a substance or microorganism known to have a pesticidal or other plant protection effect, it could still be covered by the FPR, as long as this fertilising product does not have a pesticidal or other plant protection function within the meaning of the PPPR. 

Thus, some substances or microorganisms with a known pesticide effect can also be used in a different way, typically at a lower dosage, to obtain a fertilising or biostimulant effect.
In such case, the product/formulation containing this substance or microorganism can fall under the scope of the FPR if the manufacturer can explain and account for, why at the proposed use instructions, the product complies to the conditions of the FPR and, , does not have a pesticide function. Function is described in Article 2 of the PPPR and refers to products used to protect plants against harmful organisms, to influence the life processes of plants, such as substances influencing their growth, other than as a nutrient or a plant biostimulants, to destroy or prevent the growth of undesired plants or parts of plants. 

This does not mean that a substance or a microorganism does not possess any intrinsic pesticide property. For products containing just one substance, the function or the effect is to be determined based on the use instructions provided by the manufacturer. For instance, copper may be placed on the market as an EU fertilising product (PFC 1(C)(II) inorganic micronutrient fertiliser) if the function or the effect of the product – as used in accordance with the use instructions – is that of remediating copper deficiency in certain soils, and not a plant protection function/effect. 

This is true even though copper might have a pesticidal effect when used in higher application rates, as long as that higher application rate is not described on the label or any other product information. 

Products with a pesticide or plant protection function or effect remain outside the scope of the FPR even if they also have a plant biostimulant function (meaning a fertilising product function). 

The possibility of declaring any additional fertilising function to the plant protection one is to be assessed under the PPPR and the national rules on fertilising products.