Bracken Control Group

Key Features

The end of season use up period, at the end of the Emergency Authorisation for Asulam, finished on 31st October 2019.  It is now illegal to apply or store Asulam.

It has been confirmed that a further Emergency Authorisation will be issued to allow the use of Asulam during the 2020 season, but this will apply to application by helicopter only. Application from hand-held or ground-based equipment will not be authorised. See the Aslam page for more detail.

Also, for aerial spraying the required buffer zone against surface water bodies will be increased from 50m to 90m. This will increase the area of bracken that cannot be sprayed significantly. 

Indications are that the conditions were very favourable for bracken growth during the 2019 growing season.  It appears that this led to faster rates of encroachment from existing bracken beds into new areas.