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ORR # 2000-089 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
PESTICIDE AND PLANT PEST MANAGEMENT DIVISION REGULATION NO. 628. SEED POTATO CERTIFICATION
Filed with the Secretary of State on
These rules take effect 15 days after filing with the Secretary of State
(By authority conferred on the director of the department of agriculture by section 2 of 1959 PA 221, MCL 286.72)
R 285.628.1, R 285.628.2, R 285.628.4, R 285.628.5, R 285.628.5a, R 285.628.8, R 285.628.9, and R
285.628.11 of the Michigan Administrative Code, are amended and R 285.628.4a and R 285.628.6 of the Code are rescinded as follows:
R 285.628.1 Definitions.
Rule 1. As used in these rules:
(a) "Certifiable seed potatoes" means seed potatoes which meet or exceed the standards established in these rules, which are produced and stored as required by these rules, and which originate from a state-approved laboratory or greenhouse program that involves in vitro techniques of propagation and the subsequent production of plants or tubers under a controlled environment. Seed stock produced under these controlled conditions shall be designated nuclear. Seed originating from this program will be produced in a limited generation system of foundation-field years 1 through 5, and certified field years 1 through 6. foundation-field year 1, is the first field progeny of nuclear seed produced in a laboratory or greenhouse program. Initial explants shall be screened for the presence of pathogens by using accepted techniques.
(b) "Certification" means the act of verifying compliance with the standards or requirements specified in the regulations governing the production of seed potatoes. Except as otherwise specified, the measurement method or basis for determining compliance with the standards is visual inspection of the growing grounds and crops thereon or harvested therefrom as described in the regulation. "Certification" does not constitute a guarantee or warranty or representation that the seed potatoes to which the indicia of certification (certification tags, seals, bulk certificates) are attached, or which are otherwise represented as certified, are merchantable or fit for a particular purpose.
(c) "Certified seed" means a class of seed which meets the disease and varietal tolerances established by these rules for field year 1 through field year 6 and which is the progeny of foundation seed or the progeny of seed produced in another state or country that is certified as foundation seed or a higher class by an official seed- certifying agency in the other state or country using standards comparable to the standards established in these rules. Certified seed from other states or countries that is to be entered for certification in Michigan must meet or exceed Michigan’s certified seed standards.
(d) “Commercial potato production” means production of potatoes for other than certified seed purposes.
(e) "Field year" means a seed potato classification designating the number of years a particular lot has been grown in the field after greenhouse propagation.
(f) "Foundation seed" means the progeny of nuclear seed or a comparable seed class approved by the certifying agency. Foundation seed shall meet the disease and varietal tolerances established in these rules for field year 1 through field year 5.
(g) "Nuclear seed stock" means propagation material, including mini-tubers and plantlets, which originated in a state-approved laboratory or greenhouse program that involves in vitro techniques and which is grown under controlled conditions.
(h) "Operation" means a seed potato enterprise where the lowest class of seed planted is certified, field year 6. It includes all land, equipment, storages, and facilities used to produce certified seed.
(i) "Seed lot" means all the seed potatoes of the same variety which are of a single class, which are of a specific seed source, and which are harvested from a field or stored together in a specific storage facility.
(j) "Seed potato" means the tuber that is used for the reproduction of the potato.
(k) "Seed potatoes eligible for certification" means any of the following:
(i) Any potato variety that has been released, named, and had its description published by the potato association of America, United States department of agriculture, or a recognized state agricultural experiment station.
(ii) Cultivars that do not have published descriptions, such as advanced lines from breeding programs and protected varieties, if the seed source is approved by the official seed-certifying agency and a plant and tuber description is provided to the official seed-certifying agency.
(iii) Lines, selections, and transgenic seed stocks which are derived from previously named and described varieties, which enter an approved tissue culture program, and which carry a trait or traits that are not visibly certifiable if the lineage is clearly substantiated by signed affidavit.
(l) "Separate operation" means a distinct production unit which has a unique and dedicated storage facility and which has equipment that is assigned only to that operation. Separate operations shall be designated at the time of application for certification.
(m) "Tolerance" means a permissible allowance for a disease, varietal mixture, or grade defect as specified in the regulations governing the certification of seed potatoes.
R 285.628.2 Designation of official seed-certifying agency.
Rule 2. The Michigan seed potato association is designated as the official seed-certifying agency of the department of agriculture for the purpose of assisting and advising the department in carrying out the provisions of 1959 PA 221, MCL 286.71 et seq. and these rules.
R 285.628.4 Conditions for certification.
Rule 4. (1) A seed lot that is eligible for certification shall not be certified if any of the following conditions exist:
(a) Less than all of the acreage of potatoes grown by the applicant is planted to foundation or certified seed that meets Michigan standards and entered for inspection.
(b) The seed lot is planted less than 5 feet from other potatoes that are part of the certification program or less than 50 feet from other potatoes that are not part of a certification program.
(c) The seed lot is grown in a field in which weeds, insect injury, spray damage, disease, or any other factor that prevents the adequate inspection or production of certifiable seed potatoes is present.
(d) The seed lot is planted on land used for commercial potato production or that has been exposed to infection from bacterial ring rot during the preceding 2 growing seasons.
(e) The seed lot has been exposed to bacterial ring rot infection before, during, or after harvest.
(f) The seed lot is stored, graded, or handled in storage facilities that contain potatoes that were not field- inspected or potatoes that were rejected for the presence of bacterial ring rot.
(g) Severe foliar diseases including late blight, early blight, and wilt diseases such as verticillium, blackleg, and fusarium; frost injury, or any other condition that renders the seed lot undesirable for use as seed is present. Bacterial ring rot is present in a seed lot in the operation. All seed stocks of that lot are to be removed from the operation. All equipment and facilities that may have come in contact with this seed shall be cleaned and disinfected. The first lot of seed cut or planted, or cut and planted, after the infected lot is not certifiable and is not eligible for sale as certified seed for 1 growing season. These lots may be retained in the operation in the certified inspection system and may be reentered as seed that is eligible for certification the following year if bacterial ring rot is not noted. The classification level for these lots shall be retained under the normal generation system as if they were eligible for certification. All other seed lots in the operation may be certified, but shall not be sold for future seed propagation for 1 growing season. All shipping and inspection documents for these lots that are sold during the first year after disease identification shall indicate that the seed is not to be used for seed propagation. If bacterial ring rot is detected in an operation in more than 1 seed lot in the same year or in 1 seed lot 2 of 3 consecutive years, then all seed stocks shall be removed from the operation and all equipment and facilities shall be cleaned and disinfected before further certification will be issued. If bacterial ring rot is detected in an operation in more than 1 seed lot in the same year or in 1 seed lot 2 of 3 consecutive years or noncertified production occurred in the previous year of operation, then seed potatoes will not be approved for sale or transfer from the operation to other seed propagation operations for 2 growing seasons. Cutting and planting equipment is to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected between lots and the disinfection shall be documented for future reference by the official seed-certifying agency. This documentation shall be part of the application for certification. Materials that are used to disinfect cutting and planting equipment shall be of a type labeled for bacterial disease control.
Seed lots which are eligible for sale or transfer and which have not been winter-tested or laboratory-tested or for which a sample or samples have not been submitted for winter testing by an organization approved by the official seed-certifying agency or the Michigan department of agriculture.
(j) Bacterial ring rot-infected potatoes and other plant parts that might provide a source of contamination or cull potatoes from another location or farm are stored or disposed of at, or are introduced into, the operation.
(2) If a potato disease of significant impact to the seed industry is identified for which certification standards have not been established in these rules, then the director shall appoint an advisory committee to provide recommendations for appropriate certification standards and actions. The committee shall consist of 1 certified or foundation seed potato producer and 1 representative each from all of the following:
The department of plant pathology and the department of crop and soil sciences at Michigan state university. The official seed-certifying agency.
The Michigan department of agriculture.
(3) The signed affidavit required for the genetic material defined in R 285.628.1(j)(iii) shall be provided by the applicant to the official seed-certifying agency upon request, in order to propagate and certify this material in Michigan. The certified seed tag for this material shall specify that it has met all certification standards, except for nonvisual characteristics. The plant and tuber descriptions and any required affidavits shall be in a format approved by the official seed-certifying agency.
(4) Except as otherwise specified, the measurement method or basis for determining compliance with the stated tolerances is visual inspection of a sample of the plants or tubers in the field or lot, respectively. Further, except as specified, sample sizes are to be determined by the certification agency. Diseases, varietal mixtures, or grade defects may be present at a level in excess of specified tolerances; however, disease symptoms, varietal mixtures, and grade defects shall not be visually detectable at the time of official inspection due to numerous
factors, including environmental conditions and varietal differences. Furthermore, even the inspection of larger samples might not reveal deviations in excess of specified tolerances. Finally, with respect to the zero tolerances for such defects as varietal mixture, bacterial ring rot, root knot nematode and spindle tuber, the tolerances are chosen for reasons of convenience and practicality and are not construed to mean that the lot inspected is free of the defects. Negative inspection results mean that varietal mixture, bacterial ring rot, root knot nematode or spindle tuber were not found during the inspection process.
(5) Only seed lots produced from foundation class material or better is eligible for sale or transfer for recertification.
R 285.628.4a Rescinded.
R 285.628.5 Official seed-certifying agency; duties.
Rule 5. The official seed-certifying agency shall do all of the following:
(a) Make 2 or more inspections of all fields of seed potatoes eligible for certification and all nuclear seed stock eligible for certification. An application for such certification shall be filed according to the requirements of R
285.628.3. Inspections shall be made at times when plant growth and other conditions are optimum for varietal identification and disease expression. All potato production shall have at least 1 field inspection for ring rot.
(b) Make at least 1 tuber inspection of all seed lots entered for field inspection certification.
(c) At least annually and before the establishment of each greenhouse crop, inspect storage, laboratory, greenhouse, and screenhouse facilities for proper isolation and sanitation. If both greenhouse or laboratory production and the field production are inspected by the official seed-certifying agency, then they will be considered separate production units. If only the greenhouse or laboratory production or only the field production is inspected, then it will be considered 1 unit.
(d) Collect, or cause to be collected, representative tuber or plant samples of certifiable seed potatoes for winter testing or other tests as may be required for certification.
(e) Issue certification tags, or bulk certificates for each container or bulk shipment of certifiable potatoes or, upon request by an applicant who has sold seed potatoes which must be shipped before the winter test results are known and which are otherwise certifiable, issue tags or bulk certificates for each container or bulk shipment that contains the statement that the potatoes met summer field and laboratory certification requirements but were shipped before the official winter test results were available.
(f) Apply inspection tolerances to field inspections and winter tests on the basis of visual observations, except when deemed appropriate by the certifying agency to confirm visual observations or suspected latent infections by analytical methods.
R 285.628.5a Nuclear, foundation-field year 1 through 5 and certified field year 1 through 6 seed lots; certification requirements.
Rule 5a. Seed lots of nuclear, foundation-field year 1 through 5 and certified seed shall not be certified as such if any of the following provisions apply:
(a) Less than all of the potato acreage on the farm producing such lots was planted with seed that had been certified.
(b) The following visual field inspection or laboratory testing tolerances for diseases and varietal mix are exceeded during any field inspections or laboratory observations:
