1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Fertilisers Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 and shall come into operation on 18th May 1992.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3) below, these Regulations shall not apply in relation to any material, not designated as an EEC fertiliser, sold or offered for sale before—
(a)1st June 1992 in the case of any solid material sold or offered for sale loose or in containers having a capacity greater than 25 kilograms or, in the case of any fluid material, sold or offered for sale in containers having a capacity greater than 10 litres;
(b)1st February 1993 in the case of any solid material sold or offered for sale in containers having a capacity of or less than 25 kilograms or, in the case of any fluid material, sold or offered for sale in containers having a capacity of or less than 10 litres;
and in relation to any such material the Fertilisers Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1990 shall continue to apply.
(3) The Fertilisers Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1990 shall not apply to any material not designated as an EEC fertiliser, in relation to which paragraph (2) above would otherwise apply, if that material complies with the requirements of these Regulations.
(4) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“chelating agent” means any product listed in Table 2 in Schedule 2;
“the Department” means the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland;
“herbicide” means a substance calculated to destroy or control any unwanted plant;
“pesticide” means a substance calculated to destroy or control any insect, mite, mollusc, nematode, fungus or any other pest capable of destroying, damaging or retarding the growth of any form of plant life;
“register” means the register kept in accordance with regulation 10;
“secondary nutrient” means calcium, magnesium, sodium or sulphur;
“trace element” means boron, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum or zinc.
(5) Any reference in these Regulations to a numbered section shall, unless the reference is to a section of a specified Act, be construed as a reference to the section bearing that number in the Agriculture Act 1970.
(6) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(1) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.