Pesticide databaseFungicidesChecked 2026-10-01
Sulphur 硫黄
Copper, sulfur and others (including those allowed under organic JAS)Registered in JapanAllowed under organic JASWHO IIIApproved in the EU
Copper, sulfur and others (including those allowed under organic JAS): Inorganic fungicides used since long ago. Copper products, sulfur products, sodium bicarbonate and others.
In Japan
- Registration
- Registered as a pesticide (first registered February 24, 1949). 18 formulated products contain it.
- Main registered crops
- citrus, strawberry, barley, wheat and other small grains, peach, kabocha pumpkin, vegetables and others (56 crop names in the registered uses)
- Toxicity class
- Active ingredient: Ordinary substanceClasses of the 18 formulated products (diluted products sold): ordinary substance 18Classes under Japan's Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act.
- ADI (acceptable daily intake)
- No risk assessment report by the Food Safety Commission of Japan was found (an exempted substance under the positive list system)
ADI: the amount considered to have no effect on health even if eaten every day for a lifetime. ARfD: the amount considered to have no effect on health when eaten at one time (within 24 hours). Both are set by the Food Safety Commission of Japan, mainly from animal studies.
Evaluations abroad
- WHO acute toxicity class
- III (Slightly hazardous), LD50 >3000 mg/kgBased on the toxicity of the undiluted active ingredient given once, mainly to rats by mouth (LD50 = the dose that kills half; the smaller, the stronger the acute toxicity). It is not an assessment of the safety of residues in food.
- EU
- Approved in the EU (approval expires July 2027)
- IARC (carcinogenicity)
- No matching entry in the IARC list (not evaluated or out of scope, including Group 3)
Good to know
- One of the pesticides allowed under organic JAS (sulfur fumigants, sulfur dusts, wettable sulfur and lime sulfur). An “exempt substance” under the positive list system, for which no maximum residue limit is set.
Related explainers
Sources
- FAMIC (Food and Agricultural Materials Inspection Center), pesticide registration information (as of Sept. 30, 2026) (Japanese)
- WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard 2019
- EU Pesticides Database (Sulphur)
Last checked 2026-10-01. Registrations and evaluations change over time. This page is a translation of our Japanese page; if they differ, the Japanese page is the reference.
Pesticides registered in Japan are approved by the government with set crops, amounts, numbers of applications and days before harvest. This page lists facts stated in laws and in evaluations by public bodies; it does not judge whether anything is good or bad.