A. Commercial Fertilizer Label. Each brand and grade of commercial fertilizer, except a custom-mix fertilizer, distributed in the State shall be accompanied by a conspicuous and legible label, or by a printed statement if the fertilizer is distributed in bulk, having the following information:
- (1) Net weight;
- (2) Brand and grade under which the commercial fertilizer is distributed;
(3) Guaranteed analysis showing the minimum percentage of every plant nutrient claimed to be contained in the fertilizer, as follows:
- (a) Total nitrogen (N) __ percent,
- (b) Available phosphate (P2O5) __ percent,
- (c) Soluble potash (K2O) __ percent;
- (4) Guarantees of secondary plant nutrients or micronutrients as provided in Regulation .02I of this chapter;
- (5) Any other guarantee as provided in Regulation .02G—J of this chapter;
- (6) Manufacturer's or registrant's name and address, including street address, city, state, and zip code; and
- (7) Lot number, if available.
B. Soil Conditioner Label. Each brand and grade of soil conditioner distributed in the State shall be accompanied by a conspicuous and legible label, or by a printed statement if the soil conditioner is distributed in bulk, having the following information:
- (1) Net content;
- (2) Brand;
- (3) Composition;
- (4) Any other guarantee as provided in Regulation .02G—J of this chapter; and
- (5) Manufacturer's or registrant's name and address, including street address, city, state, and zip code.
C. Microorganism Label. Each brand and grade of microorganism registered as a soil conditioner or commercial fertilizer shall be accompanied by a legible label having the following information:
- (1) Brand;
- (2) Guaranteed analysis showing the type of bacteria, including genus and species, and the minimum number of viable bacteria per gram of product;
- (3) Guarantee of a secondary plant nutrient as provided in Regulation .02J of this chapter;
- (4) Any other guarantees provided in Regulation .02H and I of this chapter;
- (5) Manufacturer's or registrant's name and address, including street address, city, state, and zip code; and
- (6) Lot number, if available.
D. Fertilizer-Pesticide Label. Each brand and grade of fertilizer-pesticide distributed as a commercial fertilizer in the State shall be accompanied by a conspicuous and legible label, or by a printed statement if the fertilizer-pesticide product is distributed in bulk, having the following information:
- (1) Net weight;
- (2) Brand and grade;
(3) Guaranteed analysis showing the minimum percentage of each plant nutrient claimed to be contained in the fertilizer, as follows:
- (a) Total nitrogen (N) __ percent,
- (b) Available phosphate (P2O5) __ percent,
- (c) Soluble potash (K2O) __ percent;
- (4) Pesticide active ingredient or ingredients and guarantee or guarantees;
- (5) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pesticide product registration number;
- (6) Lot number; and
- (7) Manufacturer's or registrant's name and address, including city, state, and zip code.
E. Placement of Label on Package. A registrant shall place at the following location on the product package the label of each commercial fertilizer or soil conditioner:
- (1) On tags affixed to the end of the package; or
- (2) Directly on the package, and for a bag containing 50 pounds or more of the product, the grade shall be legible and placed on the face of the package.
F. Additional Requirement for Specialty Fertilizer Label.
- (1) Each brand and grade of specialty fertilizer distributed in the State shall be accompanied by a legible label placed on either the face of the container or on the upper 1/3 side of the container.
- (2) A specialty fertilizer label shall include information required for commercial fertilizer labels provided by Regulation .03A of this chapter.
G. Requirements for Custom-Mix Fertilizer Label. Each lot of fertilizer mixed or blended according to a formula furnished by the purchaser shall be marked plainly or tagged with the words “custom-mix”, “buyer's mixture”, or “mixed-to-order”, and shall be accompanied by a shipping statement or label having the following information:
- (1) Net weight;
- (2) Guaranteed analysis showing the minimum percentage of each plant nutrient claimed to be contained in the fertilizer; and
- (3) Manufacturer's name and address, including street address, city, state, and zip code.
Authority: Agriculture Article, §6-203, Annotated Code of Maryland; Chs. 484 and 485, §8, Acts of 2011
Effective date: August 1, 1994 (21:15 Md. R. 1307)
Regulation .01B amended effective December 16, 2019 (46:25 Md. R. 1131)
Regulation .06D adopted effective July 21, 2014 (41:14 Md. R. 799)