DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

           PESTICIDE AND PLANT PESTICIDE MANAGEMENT DIVISION

                REGULATION NO. 634. COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS


(By authority conferred on the director of agriculture by  section  15  of
Act No. 198 of the Public Acts of 1975, being  S286.765  of  the  Michigan
Compiled Laws)


R  285.634.1   Fertilizers for agricultural crop production.
  Rule 1. Additional plant nutrients, other than nitrogen, phosphorus, and
potassium, claimed to be present in any form  or  manner  in  agricultural
fertilizers, shall be guaranteed on the elemental basis at levels not less
than the following:

Boron		0.125% minimum		Iron		0.10% minimum
Calcium		1.00% minimum		Molybdenum	0.04% minimum
Magnesium	1.00% minimum		Sulfur		1.00% minimum
Manganese	1.00% minimum		Zinc		0.50% minimum or as
Copper		0.50% minimum or as			a chelate at 0.125%
		a chelate at 0.10%

  History:  1979 AC.


R  285.634.2   Specialty fertilizers; micronutrient content.
  Rule 2. Additional plant nutrients, other than nitrogen, phosphorus, and
potassium, claimed to be present  in  any  form  or  manner  in  specialty
fertilizers, shall be guaranteed on the elemental basis at levels not less
than the following:

Calcium		1.00%			Iron		0.10%
Magnesium	0.50%			Manganese	0.05%
Sulfur		1.00%			Molybdenum	0.0005%
Boron		0.02%			Zinc		0.05%
Copper		0.05%			Chlorine	0.10%	

  History:  1979 AC.


R  285.634.3   Placement of micronutrient guarantees on label.
  Rule 3. Guarantees or claims for the additional plant  nutrients  listed
in R 285.634.1 and R 285.634.2 are the only ones that  will  be  accepted.
Any of the elements guaranteed shall appear  in  the  guaranteed  analysis
section of the label immediately following the guarantees for the  primary
nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

  History:  1979 AC.


R  285.634.4   Slowly available plant nutrients.
  Rule 4. (1) A fertilizer label shall not bear a statement that  connotes
or implies the presence of a slowly available plant nutrient,  unless  the
nutrient is identified.
  (2) When a fertilizer label implies or connotes  that  the  nitrogen  is
slowly available through the use of  words  such  as  "organic,"  "organic
nitrogen," "ureaform," "long lasting," or similar  terms,  the  guaranteed
analysis shall indicate the percentage of water insoluble  nitrogen.  This
requirement shall not apply to manipulated animal and composted  vegetable
materials distributed as such and not  mixed  with  other  materials.  The
label shall not bear a reference to slowly available nitrogen  when  water
insoluble nitrogen is less than 15% of the total nitrogen.
  (3) The term "coated--slow release" may be accepted  as  descriptive  of
products and shall be  allowed  on  labeling  when  the  manufacturer  can
provide acceptable data substantiating the claim.

  History:  1979 AC.


R  285.634.5   Specialty fertilizer labeling format.
  Rule 5. The following information, if  not  appearing  on  the  face  or
display side of a container in a  readable  and  conspicuous  form,  shall
occupy at least the upper third of a side of the container  and  shall  be
considered the label:
  (a) Net weight.
  (b) Brand name and grade.
  (c) Guaranteed analysis:
	Total nitrogen (N)                         _______________%
	___________% Ammoniacal nitrogen (if claimed)
	___________% Nitrate nitrogen (if claimed)
	___________% Water insoluble nitrogen (required when
			terms described in R 285.634.4 are used)
	Available phosphoric acid (P205)          ________________%
	Soluble potash (K20)			  ________________%
	Additional plant nutrients
  (d) Sources of nutrients when shown.
  (e)  Potential  acidity  or  basicity  in  terms  of  calcium  carbonate
equivalent per ton (if claimed).
  (f) Name and address of the registrant.

  History:  1979 AC.


R  285.634.6   Soil conditioners.
  Rule 6. A registration shall not be issued for a product that represents
itself by label or supplemental  material,  leaflets,  or  advertising  to
improve the physical nature of the soil by altering the soil structure, by
making soil nutrients more available,  or  otherwise  enhancing  the  soil
media resulting in beneficial crop response, unless  the  manufacturer  or
distributor of the product can provide scientifically acceptable data from
experimentation which give reasonable  assurance  that  such  benefits  as
claimed can be expected to occur and are of definitive  benefit  to  plant
growth.

  History:  1979 AC.


R  285.634.7   Tonnage reporting.
  Rule 7. Tonnage reports and fee payment shall be on a form  provided  by
the director of the  department  of  agriculture  and  shall  be  for  the
semiannual periods of January 1 to June 30, and July 1 to December 31,  of
each  calendar  year.  The  reports  shall  cover  all  fertilizers,  soil
conditioners, and peat products sold for soil application in  this  state.

  History:  1979 AC.


R  285.634.8   Rescission.
  Rule  8.  Regulation  No. 200,  being  R   285.200   of   the   Michigan
Administrative Code and appearing on pages 3108 to  3111  of  the  1964-65
Annual Supplements to the Code, is rescinded.

  History:  1979 AC.