Not All Coppers Are Created Equal - Nor Are Their Labels

T. A. Zitter
Department of Plant Pathology
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853

Issued July 2007

Copper is copper - right?  Not quite!  A detailed look at the labels (regular and 2ee) shows that not all registered copper fungicides in NYS have the same level of metallic copper and the active ingredients also vary.  Only five of the 18 registered copper products listed below are approved by OMRI (Organic Material Review Institute) for consideration in organic production.  There are also variations in the coppers approved for use on various crops, so consult each bag label before purchasing a product.

The table below is based upon the most recent labels available, and most are given on the PIMS (NYS Pesticide, Product, Ingredient, and Manufacturer System) web site, but there are a few exceptions since manufacturers do not always get their new labels to DEC in a timely fashion for approval.  Labels that varied the most were for leafy vegetables (lettuce, endive, escarole, and spinach), as well as for onions, garlic and leeks.  Coppers combined with mancozeb (2 products) are more restrictive in their usage and cannot be used up to the day of harvest, as is true for other copper products.