Firebird is an already approved herbicide used by farmers and growers to control certain broad-leaved and grass weeds in wheat and barley.
 

The new approval means Firebird can be used at a higher concentration (up to 500 mL per ha) whereas it was previously approved at a lower rate (300 mL per ha).
 

The applicant, Bayer New Zealand, had applied to the EPA to allow its use at a higher concentration (up to 700 mL per ha) but the EPA’s decision making committee decided the benefits at this rate did not outweigh the risks.
 

Ray McMillan, EPA’s acting general manager of hazardous substances and new organisms, says the committee noted that there are benefits associated with applying the herbicide at 500 mL per ha that outweigh the risks, and considered that the maximum

application rate should be revised.
 

“Controls for Firebird were amended and buffer zones – or areas alongside the target weeds that cannot be sprayed – have also been set,” he says.
 

Firebird is a selective herbicide containing flufenacet and diflufenican. It was first assessed and approved in 2009.