# Complete a plant protection product application record in Malta

URL: https://leafwrit.com/mt/application-record-fields/
Reviewed: 2026-10-23

For a Maltese professional user, the application record describes the treatment actually carried out: the product and its authorisation number, when it was used, the dose, the identified location, the treated extent, and the crop or situation. Regulation 2023/564 sets out different entries for surface treatments, closed spaces and seeds or plant reproductive material. Choose the appropriate category before filling your journal. [^1]

## Start with the treatment category

The Annex distinguishes treatment of surface areas, treatment of or in closed spaces, and treatment of seeds or plant reproductive material. Surface areas include agricultural fields, amenity areas, railway tracks, non-crop areas and greenhouses other than those in the closed-space category. Seed potatoes are expressly included as an example of plant reproductive material. [^1]

That distinction determines the denominator of the dose and the measure of the treated quantity. A convenient field name does not settle the classification. For a working diary, put the category alongside the event reference, then use headings that make the appropriate measurement visible. This avoids trying to describe a store treatment with the same hectare-only row used for an open field. [^1]

| Application category | Dose basis in the Annex | Treated extent | Location information |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Surface area | Product kilograms or litres per hectare | Hectares treated | Geospatial aid-application land unit where available, otherwise the alternative identification method |
| Closed space | Product kilograms or litres per cubic metre or square metre | Facility volume or surface area | Store or greenhouse number and alternative identification method |
| Seeds or reproductive material | Product kilograms or litres per kilogram, tonne or number of seeds | Weight or seed number treated | Alternative identification method; batch where applicable |

The Annex allows appropriate adjustments to units and asks that the fraction of a unit or area treated be indicated where appropriate. Its separate footnote for multi-layered facilities requires the total area treated. These qualifications belong with the column headings, rather than being lost when a table is copied between seasons. [^1]

## Identify the product from its own documents

Record the product name and authorisation number together. Those two identifiers appear in every application category in the Annex. They describe the plant protection product used; an active-substance name alone is not the pair of identifiers specified there. [^1]

Maltese implementing regulation 2(2) requires labels mentioned in Regulation 1107/2009 to be written in Maltese and English. Keep the bilingual label available while transcribing identifiers. Preserve punctuation, letters and number groups as they appear on the product document. Use the [Malta authority and label overview](/mt/) when organising the supporting authorisation information. [^2]

As an editorial working method, add a document reference beside the journal entry. It can point to the label copy or other product paperwork held in your own archive. This reference helps a colleague resolve a shortened name without substituting a similarly named product. Mark an unresolved transcription for investigation; obtain the actual identifier instead of completing it from memory.

## Record the date and the conditional start time

The Annex specifies a date for all three use types. For surface treatments it adds the start time, in hours, where relevant. Its example explains that relevance includes a use restricted to particular times of day, or a case in which the timing matters for that particular use. A time column therefore has a defined purpose rather than being a substitute for the date. [^1]

Keep the initial field note with the completed electronic entry. When copying a date from a contractor report, distinguish the application date from the invoice date, booking date and date of data entry. These are practical transcription distinctions: the application field describes the use. If work spans separately recorded events, retain the connection between the event references and the dates actually reported.

## Keep dose and total product quantity distinguishable

For a surface treatment the Annex expresses dose as the amount of product, in kilograms or litres, applied per hectare. The adjacent size field is the number of hectares treated. These are separate values with separate units. The record should allow a reader to distinguish a rate from the total product used. [^1]

**Invented arithmetic example, not a treatment recommendation:** a fictitious entry describes 0.40 hectares treated at an invented product rate of 1.25 litres per hectare. Multiplying the two numbers gives 0.50 litres of product. The example shows the relationship between units; it supplies no product, authorised crop, permitted dose or instruction to spray. Do not copy the invented rate into an operational record.

In a spreadsheet, use unambiguous headings such as “product rate, L/ha” and “treated area, ha”. Keep any calculated total in a separately named column. Avoid a single heading called “quantity” for all three concepts. For a real entry, obtain the actual rate and extent from the person who performed the treatment, and retain any correction that resolves a unit misunderstanding.

## Link the location to the treated part

For surface treatments, the Annex uses the land unit from the geospatial aid application where available. Article 1(2) requires Member States to provide appropriate alternative identification methods where the location cannot be identified that way, or where that approach is not required for the type of use. The method must identify the location and, where relevant, its geospatial position. [^1]

Prepare a simple correspondence list between local field names and the identifiers used in your records. Preserve the historical name when a parcel nickname changes. If only part of a unit was treated, show the relevant fraction where appropriate, as required by the Annex footnote. Do not silently replace the treated extent with the area of an entire holding. [^1]

A useful office review starts with a row selected by someone unfamiliar with the job. Ask them to locate the treated place using the recorded reference and supporting map or parcel document. Resolve ambiguous abbreviations with the operator. This exercise checks how intelligibly your own records describe the event; it is not an official inspection procedure.

## Use crop and growth-stage information precisely

The Annex calls for crop names, situations or land uses in line with EPPO codes where applicable. For surface treatments and closed spaces, growth stage follows the BBCH monograph where relevant. The growth-stage footnote identifies uses restricted to particular stages, or cases where stage matters for the particular use. Article 1(3) assigns Member States the task of making corresponding common names and stages available to professional users. [^1]

Keep the crop wording and code in separate columns if your working system accommodates both. That arrangement makes the description readable while retaining the structured identifier. Where stage is relevant, preserve the actual observation or report used for the entry. An application date alone cannot explain which stage the operator observed.

Use the [IPM monitoring guide](/mt/ipm-monitoring-sheet/) for observations that precede a decision. An observation, a proposed intervention and a completed treatment are different events. Give each its own date and reference so a monitoring visit is not accidentally transcribed as a pesticide application.

## Handle greenhouses by the relevant Annex row

Closed-space entries identify the store or greenhouse number and use the alternative identification method. They record a treated facility volume in cubic metres or a surface area in square metres, with the matching product dose. In a multi-layered facility, the Annex footnote specifies the total treated area. The surface-treatment row separately includes greenhouses other than those in the closed-space row. [^1]

For your working notes, describe what was treated: the facility, its relevant section and the extent used in the calculation. Preserve the original measurement unit alongside any conversion. If an office summary uses hectares while the source report uses square metres, make the conversion transparent and retain the underlying figures. Select the category by the treatment described rather than by a generic greenhouse filename.

## Record seed treatments against the treated material

The seed and reproductive-material row expresses both the dose and amount by weight or number of seeds, with adjusted units where appropriate. It calls for the crop name in line with EPPO codes where applicable, and the batch number where applicable. The identification method is the alternative method referred to in Article 1(2). [^1]

Use a batch reference that stays with the treated material in your own paperwork. Distinguish the treatment event from a later planting operation. For seed potatoes, the Annex explicitly places the treatment of that reproductive material within this category; it does not require you to pretend that the batch was an area sprayed in the field. [^1]

## Keep the application row separate from IPM monitoring

ARPA’s legacy Annex 10 monitoring template has headings for parcel, date, pest, pests present and traps checked, with name, identity and year above the table. It belongs to guidance version 3.7 dated 5 February 2020. Those headings describe monitoring and do not supply the product, authorisation and dose fields in the application-record Annex. [^3][^1]

Keep the monitoring record connected to the treatment through your own reference system. A “no intervention” decision can remain with the observations without generating a fictitious use row. Where an application did occur, complete its actual product and quantity information independently. The [BiedjaCam guide](/mt/biedjacam-crop-plan/) explains another distinct record: the crop plan in ARPA’s published digital workflow. [^4]

## Obtain the completed event from a contractor

Article 4 of Regulation 2023/564 requires a professional user working under a contractual arrangement to give the contracting person access to, or a copy of, the records without undue delay or restrictions. Use that record to complete the farm’s event information, retaining the supplied report with any transcription. [^1]

Agree who receives the report and which parcel names the parties will recognise. Review the product identifier, date, dose and treated extent together before filing. If a correction arrives, keep its explanation associated with the relevant row. The [electronic-record guide](/mt/electronic-pesticide-records/) covers structured data, timing and provision of information; the [ARPA inspection guide](/mt/arpa-pesticide-inspection/) connects application records with purchases and other pesticide evidence.

## Review the completed entry as a coherent account

Read across the row in ordinary language: this identified product was used on this date, at this rate, on this identified extent, for this crop or situation. Then review the category-specific details, such as a relevant start hour, growth stage, facility measurement or batch reference. This sequence follows the information groups in the Annex. [^1]

For a manual quality review, compare the row against its source report. Look for a moved decimal point, an overwritten unit heading, a duplicated event or an abbreviation that obscures the product identity. Record the resolution next to the original information. Keep a readable copy of the headings with an exported table so a recipient does not have to infer the meaning of a bare number.

## Prepare a column dictionary before sharing a workbook

Create a companion dictionary that explains each heading, expected value and measurement. For product identity, distinguish the trade-name text from the authorisation identifier. For the treatment date, specify the order of day, month and year in your own workbook. For rate, describe the numerator as formulated product and the denominator as the treated area, volume or material quantity. These distinctions follow the Annex’s separate information groups. [^1]

Use the dictionary to prevent accidental reinterpretation during handover. A contractor’s abbreviation might be familiar to a sprayer operator but obscure to an administrator preparing an attachment. Explain which entries identify a parcel, a facility or a batch. Retain the original description when translating an informal Maltese location name into an English office summary. The objective is intelligibility across the people handling the same event.

For a structured export, examine the raw values as well as the displayed table. A number that looks tidy after rounding may differ from the original measurement. An identifier containing leading zeroes may change if treated as an ordinary number. Preserve such identifiers as text in your working file. Document any conversion formula beside its input columns so the relationship can be reconstructed without guessing.

## Review exceptional applications by their documentary details

The Annex covers situations beyond a conventional cropped field: amenity areas, railway tracks, non-crop surfaces, storage facilities, empty grain stores and reproductive material. Its headings accommodate those different settings through the use category, identification method, extent and crop or situation. A record design restricted to agricultural crop names would omit the stated alternatives. [^1]

When preparing an amenity record, explain the situation and location rather than inventing a harvest crop. For a storage treatment, retain the store reference with the relevant cubic or square measurement. For a propagating-material batch, preserve the association with its weight or seed count. These are applications of the Annex categories, not advice about which product can be used in any of those settings. [^1]

Make an exception list for your own data review. Describe a mismatched unit, missing identifier or unclear location in a short, specific enquiry to the original reporter. Identify the affected event, the questioned value and the document needed to resolve it. Keep the eventual answer connected to the original entry rather than scattering corrections across unrelated messages.

## Connect restrictions to the historical application

Article 55 requires proper use of plant protection products, including compliance with the conditions established for authorisation and specified on the labelling. Preserve the label relevant to the actual product and use. Keep any supporting restriction information identifiable alongside the application without replacing the Annex fields with a general safety note. [^5]

For a harvest-related enquiry, put the actual treatment chronology beside the relevant label condition. Distinguish that documentary comparison from selecting a new pesticide or recommending a waiting period. Where a buyer requests an additional record, retain the buyer’s instruction under its own heading so its origin remains clear. The base application record, the product condition and the commercial request each answer a different question. [^5]

When an entry is corrected, identify the downstream copy that used it: an office spreadsheet, contractor attachment or inspection extract. Compare the changed field and preserve the explanation. If only the parcel nickname was clarified, do not rewrite the actual product, date or measurement. A narrow, traceable correction is easier for a colleague to understand than a replacement account with several unexplained differences.

Return to the [Malta pesticide-records hub](/mt/) for the complete page set. Choose the next guide according to the record you are preparing: application event, monitoring observation, crop plan, structured electronic copy or conditionality evidence. This keeps each document connected to its purpose without turning one familiar sheet into a substitute for every record.

### Malta greenhouse spray log?

Choose the Annex category for the actual treatment. Closed spaces use facility identification and square metres or cubic metres; the surface row includes other greenhouse treatments. [^1]

### Seed treatment record Malta?

Record treated weight or seed number, the corresponding product rate, crop and batch where applicable under the seed/reproductive-material Annex row. [^1]

### Malta spray log dose and area?

For surface treatments, record product kilograms/litres per hectare and hectares treated as distinct fields. [^1]

### Malta completed spray record example?

The labelled invented arithmetic example in this guide shows how rate and treated extent relate; real rows use the actual product identity and application details required by the Annex. [^1]

### Malta pesticide application record blank form?

Use the Annex information groups to assess an application sheet. The legacy ARPA IPM sheet records monitoring observations and has different headings. [^1][^3]

### Malta spray diary Word template?

A document layout must preserve the application fields. Electronic records must use a machine-readable format under Article 2. [^1]

## Sources

- [Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/564, Articles 1–5 and Annex](https://publications.europa.eu/resource/celex/32023R0564), read 2026-10-23
- [Malta S.L. 430.07, Plant Protection Products (Implementation) Regulations](https://legislation.mt/eli/sl/430.7/eng/pdf), read 2026-10-23
- [ARPA: legacy AECM guidance v3.7, 5 February 2020, Annexes 9–10](https://arpa.gov.mt/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/aecm-2014-2022.pdf), read 2026-10-23
- [ARPA: BiedjaCam user guide, published April 2024](https://arpa.gov.mt/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/biedjaCamApp.pdf), read 2026-10-23
- [Regulation (EC) 1107/2009, Articles 3, 55 and 67 (original EU act)](https://publications.europa.eu/resource/cellar/1ad90f5a-4dfe-4ad2-adda-e290d0e23c8b.0006.02/DOC_1), read 2026-10-23