DAERA's official PPP Spray Record Template and Guidance, published on 7 July 2026, provides an Excel workbook for agriculture and horticultural crops. The same page supplies a user guide, four sector crop-code lists and the BBCH reference. Use the workbook and those instructions together: the spreadsheet is the recording tool, while the accompanying documents explain the entries. [1]
Download the official DAERA Excel workbook. The workbook was downloaded and its internal sheet and text data inspected for this guide; the instructions below follow DAERA's published user guidance. For statutory timing and acceptable output formats, continue with digital spray records. [2][3]
Set up the workbook before the first entry
DAERA's user guide describes ten sheets with 100 rows per sheet, allows additional copies of the template and explains that sheet names can be changed to represent separate fields or crops. It asks for the business name and business ID, if known, at the top of each sheet where spraying takes place, to establish traceability. [3]
Choose sheet names that your colleagues can understand. A crop-based arrangement may suit one record keeper, while a field-based arrangement may suit another. Whichever you choose, write down the naming convention and use it consistently. If you need another workbook, identify its relationship to the first so entries do not disappear into an unexplained second file.
Keep a blank downloaded copy separate from your working copy. Use a descriptive working filename with the business and period covered. Record who will enter contractor information, who will answer crop-code questions and who will maintain the final archive. These are suggested working arrangements rather than extra DAERA form fields.
Read the column instructions
The user guide says the column headings carry guidance notes and explains how to reveal them. It identifies the columns with black heading boxes as mandatory. Read the notes before filling rows, particularly where an unfamiliar unit, crop description or growth-stage entry is involved. [3]
Do not use the visual appearance alone to infer what a field means. Pair the heading with its instruction and the actual application note. If a spreadsheet viewer does not expose a note, use the official PDF guide and retain the downloaded workbook while resolving the issue. Avoid replacing an uncertain value with a plausible-looking number just to complete the row.
| Group in the official guide | Information to prepare |
|---|---|
| Who and when | Operator name, date, start time and finish time |
| Where | Treated area or unit, crop or situation/land use |
| Product | Treatment type, product name from the label and MAPP number |
| Growth and extent | Relevant BBCH stage and total area or amount treated |
| How | Application method, dose rate, water volume and buffer zone applied |
| Optional context | Weather observations and additional comments |
These groups follow the user guide. In particular, DAERA describes recording weather as good practice rather than a mandatory record requirement in this template guidance. Do not extend that statement into a claim about every assurance scheme or every other UK jurisdiction. [3]
Enter the person and application times
The workbook guide asks for the operator's name and the application date, start and finish times. Use the spraying event as the reference for these entries. If someone transcribes a paper note later, keep the application time distinct from the time spent typing. [3]
For a contractor's job, ask for the name of the person who carried out the application as well as the business reference used in your correspondence. Match the job note to the correct day and site before copying values into the workbook. If the work spans several entries, keep their relationship clear through the job reference or your supporting index.
An entry is easier to review when the original note is still available. Preserve the note until the recorded values have been checked, and keep any clarification attached to the job. The practical objective is to explain which application the row describes without relying on the operator remembering the details months later.
Select the crop, then confirm the EPPO result
DAERA's guide says selecting a crop from the provided dropdown automatically populates the EPPO code column. Start with the crop or land use actually treated. The crop lists on the publication page offer the supporting vocabulary for arable crops, grassland and fodder, vegetables and fruit. [3][1]
For illustration, the official arable list distinguishes spring barley HORVS from winter barley HORVW, and spring wheat TRZAS from winter wheat TRZAW. The fruit list gives apple MABSD, pear PYUCO, strawberry FRAAN and raspberry RUBID. These are examples transcribed from DAERA's lists, not invented product recommendations. [5][8]
| Crop in DAERA's list | EPPO code |
|---|---|
| Barley – spring | HORVS |
| Barley – winter | HORVW |
| Wheat – spring | TRZAS |
| Wheat – winter | TRZAW |
| Apple | MABSD |
| Pear | PYUCO |
| Strawberry | FRAAN |
| Raspberry | RUBID |
Check the description as well as the code. A field nickname, variety name and crop code serve different purposes in your records. Use your field directory to establish the location, then the sector list to establish the crop category. If the dropdown choice does not describe the actual crop, resolve that discrepancy before adopting a code from a nearby row.
Keep growth stage attached to the product's conditions
DAERA identifies BBCH growth stage as relevant where a product's use is restricted to a particular stage. Its workbook guide also refers to circumstances where stage is relevant in the context of the particular use. The publication page supplies the BBCH Monograph as a supporting reference. [4][3][1]
Use the actual crop observation and applicable use conditions to complete the growth-stage field. Do not copy a stage automatically from an earlier treatment merely because the location and product are similar. Keep the underlying observation or operator clarification with the relevant job. The EPPO crop code identifies the crop; it does not itself describe how far that crop has developed.
Product, dose, water and treated extent
The user guide asks for pesticide treatment type, the product name as written on the label and its MAPP number. It also asks for the total area or amount treated, application method, dose rate, water volume and any buffer zone applied. Prepare these as separate values with their appropriate units. [3]
Read the row as a record of the operation: which product, used by whom, where, when and at what rate. Confirm whether an amount refers to the formulated product, water, mixture or treated extent before entering it. An unexplained number beside an ambiguous abbreviation is a question to resolve with the operator, not a reason to infer a value from the field's total size.
For a mixture, organise the underlying product details so each component and rate remain intelligible when the workbook is reviewed or exported. For partial treatment, identify the area actually treated in the supporting job information. The spray record completion guide explains the difference between product rate, water volume and treated area using a labelled arithmetic example.
Weather notes and comments
DAERA's user guide describes wind speed, wind direction and general weather observations as good practice, and provides a comments column for other relevant information. Keep observations attached to the actual application. A note about the afternoon forecast should not silently become a claim about conditions during a morning operation. [3]
Use comments for details that help interpret the entry: a contractor's reference, an explanation of the treatment boundary or a link in your own index to supporting paperwork. Keep correction history in your working archive. If a comment changes the meaning of a quantity or a location, resolve the main field as well so the record remains understandable without hidden qualifications.
Preserve the spreadsheet as structured data
DAERA describes CSV, XLSX, XML and JSON as examples of acceptable machine-readable formats. It distinguishes those from PDFs and scanned images, and says the format must preserve the required application data and allow it to be supplied to the Department on request. [4]
Save a structured working original and use any printout as an additional reading copy. When moving between spreadsheet programs, reopen the saved file and compare a completed row with its original note. Look at crop descriptions, dates, units, leading characters in identifiers and the relationship between products and treatments. These are suggested transfer checks; they do not amount to a certification of a particular software package.
For contractor applications, DAERA places responsibility for the compliant original on the professional user doing the spraying. Its guidance allows the customer a reference copy in another format, while requiring access to the machine-readable record when requested. Agree the file handover before the season begins. [4]
Use one trial entry to establish your procedure
Choose a completed job for which the operator's note is available. Identify the business, worksheet, site, crop, person and application times. Read the column instructions, select the actual crop, confirm its code and enter the product details and relevant stage. Work through dose, extent, water and buffer information with the units visible.
Have the person responsible for the archive compare the finished row with the job note. Resolve any disagreement with the source of that information. Save the reviewed workbook and document where the original note can be found. Then use the same completion procedure for subsequent entries, revisiting it whenever a different treatment type or contractor introduces an unfamiliar field.
Arable crops: distinguish season and intended crop
The arable list distinguishes spring oats AVESP and winter oats AVESW, spring oilseed rape BRSNS and winter oilseed rape BRSNW. It gives field beans VICFM, field peas PIBSA, linseed LIUUT and sugar beet BEAVA. Seed and ware potatoes both appear with SOLTU, while seed treatment has its own 3SEEDO entry. These are the descriptions and codes in DAERA's published arable lookup. [5]
Preserve the selected description even where two entries share a code. A code alone cannot recover every distinction in the crop list: potato purpose is an explicit example. In your own preparation notes, link the crop choice to the field's actual cropping information. Keep seasonal descriptions recognisable when copying a previous year's workbook.
Grassland and fodder: preserve the land-use description
DAERA's grassland/fodder list separates rotational grassland and enclosed grazing, both 3RGRC, from rough grazing 3GRLC and permanent pasture 3PGLC. Grass crops are 3GRAC. It also lists arable silage 3ARAC, fodder beet BEAVP, fodder kale BRSOA, fodder maize ZEAMX, fodder rape BRSNS, fodder swede BRSNA, fodder turnip BRSRR and triticale 3TRIC. [6]
Choose the description matching the treated use, keeping the job's site and boundary separate from that classification. Where the list uses the same code for more than one description, retain the description in the record as well. Ask the farm contact to resolve an uncertain distinction between a crop and the land-use terminology rather than selecting the first grazing entry.
Vegetables: examples from the sector lookup
The vegetable list offers specific entries for asparagus ASPOF, broad beans VICFX, beetroot BEAVD, broccoli/calabrese BRSOK, Brussels sprouts BRSOF, carrots DAUCS, cauliflower BRSOB, celeriac APUGR, celery APUGD, courgette/marrow CUUPG and cucumber CUMSC. It also separates common/bulb onions ALLCE, salad/spring onions ALLFI and shallots ALLAS. [7]
Other examples include garlic ALLSA, leeks ALLPO, parsley PARCR, parsnips PAVSA, peppers/capsicum CPSAN, pumpkin CUUPE, radish RAPSR, rhubarb RHERH, spinach SPQOL, squash CUUMO and tomatoes LYPES. Use the official list when selecting the actual entry, rather than treating this selection as a replacement for the complete document. [7]
These examples demonstrate why a broad description such as “vegetables” can need refinement in the workbook. Preserve the supplier's or grower's actual crop description in your working information. Match it to the list and record a clarification where local terminology could refer to more than one choice.
Fruit: soft fruit and top fruit are separate groups
The fruit sheet divides small/soft fruit from pome/top fruit. Alongside the examples above, it lists blackberry RUBFR, blackcurrant RIBNI, gooseberry RIBUC, Rubus hybrids RUBLO and redcurrant RIBRU. Its other-category entries are 3SMFC for other soft fruit and 3PMFC for other pome fruit. [8]
A variety or commercial description can supplement the crop choice in your supporting record. Keep it connected with the location and treatment history, especially where the same site has more than one crop. For harvest and incoming-plant evidence, continue with the Fresh Produce record guide.