Reading the label before you spray

Every crop protection product sold in India carries an approved label. It is not packaging copy: it is the legally registered instruction for that formulation, listing the crops it is cleared for, the pests it is cleared against, the quantity per unit area, the waiting period before harvest and the safety equipment you need.

Read four things before you open a container. First, the crop — a product cleared for paddy is not automatically cleared for vegetables. Second, the target pest or disease. Third, the quantity and the water volume. Fourth, the pre-harvest interval, which decides whether your produce is safe and saleable.

If the advice you are given at a counter differs from the label, the label wins. Ask for the leaflet, and if something is still unclear, call the manufacturer. Our agronomy team answers these calls every day and would much rather take the question than see a crop damaged.

Keep the leaflet until the container is finished and disposed of. If anything goes wrong — poor control, crop injury, an accident — the label and batch number are the first things anyone helping you will ask for.