DEAS 1164:2023  
ii © EAC  2023  – All rights reserved  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Inorganic Foliar Fertilizer — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  DEAS 1164  :2023  
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Copyright notice  
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Violators may be persecuted  DEAS 1164:2023  
iv © EAC  2023  – All rights reserved  
 Foreword  
Development of the East African  Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are exchanged 
within the Community will be removed.  
In order to achieve this objective, the Community established an East African Standards Committee mandated 
to develop and issue East African Standards.   
The Committee is composed of representati ves of the National Standards Bodies in Partner States, together 
with the representatives from the private sectors and consumer organizations. Draft East African Standards 
are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the Partner States. The comments 
received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in accordance with the procedures 
of the Community.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee EASC/TC 020, Agriculture and 
agrochemicals.  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 11 64 :2023  
 
© EAC 2022  – All rights reserved  1 
 Inorganic Foliar Fertilizer— Specification  
1 Scope  
This draft East African  standard specifies requirements , methods of sampling and test for inorganic foliar 
fertilizers  
2 Normative references  
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of  this standard. For dated 
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced 
document (including any amendments) applies.  
 
AOAC 928.02, Chlorine (water -soluble) in fertilizers  
 
AOAC 965.11, Cobalt in fe rtilizers  
 
AOAC 975.01, Copper in fertilizers  
 
AOAC 975.02, Zinc in fertilizers  
 
AOAC 980.01 , Iron in fertilizers  
 
AOAC 980.02 , Sulfur in fertilizers  
 
AOAC 982.01, Boron (acid - and water -soluble) in fertilizers  
 
AOAC 983.04, Sodium in fertilizers  
 
AOAC 98 4.01, Magnesium (acid -soluble) in fertilizers  
 
AOAC 2006.03, Arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, lead, molybdenum, nickel, and selenium in fertilizers — 
Microwave digestion and inductively coupled plasma -optical emission spectrometry  
 
ISO 7888, Water qual ity—Determination of electrical conductivity  
 
ISO 8157 , Fertilizers, soil conditioners and beneficial substances —Vocabulary  
 
ISO 8633 , Solid fertilizers — Simple sampling method for small lots  
 
ISO 14820 -1, Fertilizers and liming materials — Sampling a nd sample preparation — Part 1: Sampling  
ISO 148 -2, Fertilizers and liming materials - Sampling and sample preparation - Part 2: Sample preparation  
ISO 7409, Fertilizers  - Marking - Presentation and declarations  
 
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purpose of this standard, the terms and definitions given in ISO 8157  and the following apply;  
 
  
2 © EAC  2023  – All rights reserved  
  
 
 
electrical conductivity  
a measure of the total soluble salts, or the soluble nutrients (or ions) present in a fertilizer  
 
 
 
4 Requirements  
4.1 General requirements  
 
Inorganic foliar fertilizer shall be;  
a) free from foreign matter and odour  
b) safe to humans, plants and environment  
c) an aqueous solution,  suspension concentrate  or if in solid form it shall be completely soluble in water  
 
 
4.2 Specific requirements  
 
4.2.1  Nutrient guarantees  
4.2.1.1 If any of the primary nutrients is declared, the lower limit shall not vary by more than 0.7 units.  
4.2.1.2 Foliar fertilizers shall conform to the minimum limits for the following elements, if declared.  
 
Table 1 — Minimum concentra tion for declared secondary and micro nutrients  
 
SN Element  Minimum conc.%  Test method  
i) Boron (B)  0.02 AOAC 982.01  
ii) Calcium (Ca)  1.00 AOAC 945.04  
iii) Cobalt (Co)  0.0005  AOAC 965.11  
iv) Copper (Cu)  0.05 AOAC 975.01  
v) Iron (Fe)  0.10 AOAC 980.01  
vi) Magnesium (Mg)  0.60 AOAC 984.01  
vii) Manganese (Mn)  0.05 AOAC 940.02  
viii) Molybdenum (Mo)  0.0005  AOAC 2006.03  
ix) Sulphur (S)  1.00 AOAC 980.02  
x) Zinc (Zn)  0.05 AOAC 975.02 
Xi) Nickel (Ni)  0.0010  AOAC 975.02  
Xii) Sodium (Na)  0.1000  AOAC 983.04  
 
4.2.2  Electrical conductivity  
 
Inorganic foliar fertilizers shall conform to the Maximum limit of 10 ms/cm for Electrical Conductivity (0.1% 
solution, 25 ºC), when tested in accordance with ISO 7888  
 
 
 
  
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  3 
 4.3 Chelating compounds  
 
If chelating agents are used,  they shall be stated.   
 
5 Heavy Metal Contaminants  
Heavy metal contaminants in the fertilizers shall conform to the limits given in Table 2 when tested with the 
method specified therein.  
 
Table 2 — Heavy metal contaminants limits  
 
Sn Parameter  Limits in mg /kg Test method  
i) Arsenic, As, max.  20.0 AOAC 2006.03  
ii) Cadmium, Cd, max.  7.0 AOAC 2006.03  
iii) Mercury, Hg, max.  0.1  AOAC 2006.03  
iv) Lead, Pb, max.  30.0  AOAC 2006.03  
v) Selenium Se, max.  1.0 AOAC 2006.03  
 
6 Sampling  
Sampling and sample prepar ation shall be carried out in accordance with ISO 14820 -1 and ISO 14820 -2 
respectively  
 
7    Packaging  
The fertilizer shall be packaged in materials that are clean and non -defective that protects the product from 
physical, chemical and moisture (for solid)  contamination /damage  and withstand multiple stages of handling, 
transportation and storage.  
 
 
8    Labelling  
The fertilizer package  shall be legibly and indelibly marked in accordance with ISO 7409 in either English  or 
any other official language  with the  following information:  
 
a) name of product as “ Inorganic Foliar fertilizer”;  
 
b) name, address and physical location of manufacturer/packer/importer;  
 
c) guaranteed percentage by weight of each of the nutrients;  
 
d) date of manufacture;  
 
e) expiry dat e;  
 
f) batch/lot number;  
 
g) the form in which nutrient is present;  
 
h) Stage of crop growth to be applied;  
 
i) name of the chelating material used in case of trace elements;  
 
j) storage instructions;   
4 © EAC  2023  – All rights reserved  
  
k) the net weight or volume of the fertilizer in  the package;  
 
l) country of origin;  
 
m) disposal instructions and  
 
n) Instructions for use which should include but not limited to the following:  
 
i) not to be applied during periods of water stress unless when under irrigation,  
 
ii) Timing and frequency of a pplication  
 
iii) recommended weather for spraying.  
 
iv) application rates.  
 
v) information on compatibility with fungicides, insecticides or herbicides.   
© EAC 2023  – All rights reserved  5 
 Bibliography  
 
 KS 2228,  Foliar fertilizer (inorganic) — Specification  
 US 1660,  Inorganic foliar fertilizer — Specifi cation  
 DEAS 1164  :2023    
 
© EAC 2022  – All rights reserved