Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Production Systems
(Stark and Love, 2003),
Vir-
uses of Potatoes and Seed-Potato Production
(de Bokx
and van der Want, 1987), and
The Potato Crop:
The Scientific Basis for Improvement
(Harris, 1992).
These illustrate basic information about produ-
cing certified seed potatoes and dealing with potato
diseases; yet a comprehensive look at the steps
involved in certification is warranted.
with trained inspection personnel. Agencies and
their personnel hold the primary responsibility
to verify that certification regulations are fol-
lowed by the seed producers, and that certified
seed potatoes meet specific country regulations
and marketing and phytosanitary concerns of
the regions buying the potatoes.
Certification is not a guarantee or warranty
that the seed potatoes are disease free or will pro-
duce a perfect crop. Instead, certification indicates
the seed has met the standards as set by the given
country or region and has been inspected, stored,
graded, etc., according to standards. The official
documentation about each seed lot's traceable his-
tory is the final, critical component necessary for
certified seed produced anywhere in the world.
Certification agencies
Certification of seed potatoes is conducted by of-
ficial government agencies with the intent of fol-
lowing a set of procedures, rules, and regulations.
The regulations are developed and followed by
official, trained, impartial personnel for each of
the certification agencies. In the USA, there are
16
states that conduct certification programs.
Seed potato certification is housed within each
state, based on the organization with the legal
authority to carry out certification. Such organ-
izations include the land-grant universities within
a state, the Department of Agriculture, or crop
improvement associations with quasi-governmental
status.
While there may be a great deal of diversity
among the states, each has signed a Memoran-
dum of Understanding (MOU) between the US
Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the indi-
vidual state Departments of Agriculture, known
as the National State Harmonization Program
(USDA, 2006). An MOU seeks to balance indi-
vidual state differences by setting minimum
standards to conduct certification.
In Canada, seed certification is under the
control of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Additionally, each province has authority over
many aspects of certification. In Europe, most
certification is conducted by individual coun-
tries, with organizations within the country re-
sponsible for these programs. For example, in
Scotland, Science and Advice for Scottish Agri-
culture (SASA) has the certifying authority for
all seed potatoes in Scotland and develops the
regulations necessary for certification, grading,
and marketing (SASA, 2013). In the Nether-
lands, authority for seed certification is granted
by the Dutch Seed Act to the Dutch General
Inspection Service for Seed of Agricultural
Crops (NAK, 2013). Again, these are govern-
ment agencies providing regulations coupled
Limited generation system
All certification systems use a limited generation
approach to production. Therefore, seed origin-
ates from a fully tested, environmentally protected
source (usually tissue-culture-based production,
as discussed later in this chapter under “Early-
Generation Stocks: Types and Production Sys-
tems”), before it begins its journey in the field.
Early-generation fields are isolated by both pro-
duction site and clean soil requirements.
Disease tolerances are usually zero for most
diseases and pests. By ensuring fully patho-
gen-free tested stocks are introduced into the seed
system, growers can start with essentially zero
diseases and pests. Growth in the field can even-
tually become problematic as the plants are ex-
posed to pathogens, insects, and other pests.
Thus, each certification program has a system
that drops the stocks down in classification for
each year of production, and has an increasing
allowable level of diseases and pests. There is
some end point realized after a number of years.
In
Table 8.1
(UNECE, 2011), the various
classification schemes for several countries are
listed. Usually, seed is no longer certified after
6-10
years. While classification designations
vary by country or region, field year designa-
tions hold true. Thus, any buyer of certified seed
can verify where the seed lot will fit into their
system if looking at re-certification require-
ments, or can determine acceptable levels of
disease classification and isolation requirements
for their operation.
