Mich. Admin. Code 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. Storage, laboratory, greenhouse, and screenhouse inspection and testing protocols shall be approved by the director of the department of agriculture based on acceptable sanitation procedures.

(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.

Notes

Mich. Admin. Code R. 285.628.5

1979 AC; 1980 AACS; 1990 AACS; 1994 AACS; 2011 AACS