Daminozide, also known as Alar, is a plant growth regulator used to improve the appearance and shelf life of apples. Because of its carcinogenicity in animals (Table 1), concerns have been raised that daminozide may produce tumours in children who consume apples. As a result, the use of daminozide…

The chemical spray Alar [N-(dimethylamino) succinamic acid] applied four to six weeks after bloom on apple not only reduces fruit drop at harvest but increases red colour, firmness, and return bloom the next year, in addition to other advantages.

…criticized the proposed ban on Alar (daminozide), a plant growth regulator that had been used primarily for apples. (Alar is listed as a carcinogen in California, but it and its metabolite, unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine [UDMH], are considered probable carcinogens by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.)