01-001 C.M.R. ch. 252, § 3 - STORAGE REQUIREMENTS

A. Storage Sanitation

(1) Disinfection and Disease Control

(a) Bins, handling equipment and all the immediate surroundings in which Certified or Foundation Seed Classes are to be stored or handled shall be cleaned and disinfected before the potatoes are brought into storage or are handled.

(b) No class of certified seed can be stored in a storage with potato lots known to be infected with the Bacterial Ring Rot disease or pathogen. Any seed potatoes placed in a storage with potato lots known to be infected with the Bacterial Ring Rot disease or pathogen will immediately lose their certification status.

B. Records and Bin Identification

(1) Required Procedures

(a) Accurate records of amounts of certified seed potatoes harvested must be kept by the grower.

(b) Seed potatoes of different field years, classes or varieties must be kept in separate storage bins.

(c) Bins containing seed potatoes shall be separated from each other and easily identified to enable Inspectors to locate all certified seed potatoes stored in bins and to post bin cards.

(d) Bin cards identifying the seed potatoes must be completed and posted by the Seed Potato Inspector upon examining the seed potatoes in the storage bins.

(e) Bin cards must show the amount of seed potatoes stored in each bin, field certification number, and the Post-Harvest Test sample number which represents the potatoes in the storage bin.

C. Sprout Inhibitors on Tablestock/Processing Potatoes in Storages Containing Seed Potatoes

(1) Sprout Inhibitors Applied as a Gas

(a) All seed potatoes in a storage treated with any gaseous applied sprout inhibitor will be rejected from the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program.

(2) Sprout Inhibitors Applied as a Liquid

(a) Sprout inhibitors may be applied as a liquid to tablestock/processing potatoes in the same storage as seed potatoes providing the application is approved by an Inspector and is in accordance with this section.

(b) Liquid sprout inhibitors applied at time of shipment must be applied at a rate not to exceed the rate that is recommended by the manufacturer.

(c) Liquid sprout inhibitors may be applied on the packing line by a contact applicator.

(d) Liquid sprout inhibitors may be applied on the packing line as a spray providing the spray is hooded and exhausted, and further providing this spray is applied in an area and in a manner, such that stored seed potatoes cannot be contaminated.

(e) All seed potatoes in a storage where sprout inhibitor has not been applied according to the specifications described in this section will be rejected from the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program.

Notes

01-001 C.M.R. ch. 252, § 3