An application for the re-licensing of Asulam, the active ingredient in bracken control herbicide Asulox, has been approved in the UK for the 2022 season.

Since 2013, Asulam has been available on an emergency licence which is reviewed annually by the Health and Safety Executive and Defra.

Approval for the 2022 season was confirmed on Tuesday, and the herbicide can be applied from 1 July to 12 September. All leftover stocks of Asulam on farms must be disposed of by 28 October.

However, similar to previous years, Asulam can only be used in handheld or tractor-mounted sprayers if the land is under a conservation agreement. In NI, this means land has to be part of the Environmental Farming Scheme.

Aerial application through the likes of helicopter sprayers is permitted on land that is not under conservation management, although this method of spraying is not common in NI.