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BTLG Table of Contents > Sales and Use Tax Annotations > S > 510.0000 Seeds, Plants and Fertilizers > Annotation 510.1310

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510.0000 Seeds, Plants and Fertilizers—Regulation 1588

Annotation 510.1310

(b) Fertilizers

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510.1310 Protective Apple Bags. In early Spring, an apple farmer encloses nascent apples in special bags to protect the fruit during growth, a period lasting approximately five months. These bags are removed fifteen days prior to harvest to allow the apples to color up for picking and packing. The bags are formulated to decompose in the soil around the apple tree thereby adding humus and small amounts of nitrogen to the root zone of the tree. However, the main benefit of using these bags is protection from sunburn, wind, rain, birds, and insects. The need for pesticides is also dramatically reduced because of the use of these bags.

These biodegradable bags do not qualify for the fertilizer exemption provided in section 6358 because the original use of the bags is not a fertilizer applied to the land. Rather, the bags are used to protect the fruit from sunburn, wind, rain, birds, and insects. Therefore, tax applies to the sale of the bags to the farmer. 7/11/96.