Organic Fruit Production
Organic Production Materials
One of the more challenging aspects of organic fruit production is the limitation on what production inputs and materials can be used. In general, ‘natural’ materials are allowed, and ‘synthetic’ materials are prohibited. However, there are exceptions, and USDA keeps a list of ‘prohibited naturals’ and ‘allowed synthetics’, based on technical reviews and decisions from the National Organic Standards Board. Examples of allowed synthetics include pheromones for insect control, non-PVC plastic mulch, and several disinfectants. Examples of prohibited naturals include arsenic, strychnine, and tobacco dust.
Using prohibited materials is one of the most common problems organic growers encounter. You may lose your certification entirely, or only lose the ability to market your current crop as organic, depending on the situation. The critical step to take: contact your certifier for any material about which you have a question. Do not take the word of a vendor. Some certifiers offer material reviews (e.g. WSDA , OMRI ) and put their seal on the product if they have found it to be in compliance. They evaluate products at the brand name level and produce lists every year that are continually updated. Brand name lists are important since a generic product (e.g. horticultural oil) can be formulated differently by various companies; due to inert ingredients some will be in compliance with the organic standard, others will not. Key references for materials can be found in the Organic Compliance Manual .
Materials are an important part of the organic system plan. You will need to describe what materials you anticipate using in the upcoming year. If you don’t have to use them (e.g. low pest pressure), no problem. If you have to use a material not in your system plan (but allowed under the standards), you need to notify your certifier and update your plan. This step also helps the certifiers prevent problems if the proposed material is not allowed.
More and more production materials are becoming available. Many mainstream agricultural supply companies have extensive product lines for organic growers. Certain products, such as mating disruption pheromones, are widely available for the tree fruit industry. Manufacturers and vendors of products increasingly are having their products reviewed by OMRI and/or WSDA to enable more trouble-free marketing. Many products that are primarily tree fruit may only be reviewed by WSDA and not OMRI, so it is a good idea to check both lists. WSDA and OMRI do not certify any products; they review them for compliance with the National Organic Standard, and then pass judgment as to whether or not they are compliant. The USDA does not keep a complete list of allowable and prohibited materials, only the two mentioned above. The European organic system does have a comprehensive list of allowed and prohibited materials but this does not include brand name products. WSDA has started to evaluate brand name products for compliance with European, Canadian and Japanese organic standards.
For fruit growers exporting to other countries, you must ensure that your
materials (and all practices) are also compliant with the law in the destination
countries. Several important fruit production materials allowed under the
USDA rule are not allowed in Europe (e.g. antibiotics for fireblight control,
giberrelic acid, sodium nitrate). WSDA Organic Food Program does certify
to European
and Japanese standards, and this can be very helpful for fruit exporters