Seed Certification General Information and Requirements

Seed Certification

The use of the word “seed” throughout this publication shall be interpreted to include plant parts for vegetatively propagated crops. Seed certification is a program which involves the verification of varietal identity and purity based upon the description provided by the plant breeder. It further involves the use of seed production and conditioning standards in combination with a system of record keeping, field inspections and seed analysis. Seed certification documents the product developed by the plant breeder’s research. Certified seed, therefore, is generally recognized as seed of known genetic identity and quality verified by and traceable through the periodic inspection and records of an impartial and officially recognized agency.

The Oklahoma Crop Improvement Association is a member of the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA). All standards in this publication meet or exceed those of the Federal Seed Act Regulations.

The General Certification Standards contained in this publication are based and apply to all crop commodity standards. These standards may be amplified to apply to a specific crop.

Purpose of Seed Certification

The purpose of seed certification is to maintain and make available to the public, high quality seed and propagating materials of adapted superior crop plant varieties grown and distributed to insure varietal identity and purity.

Seed Certification is based on the premise that proper identification of varieties is essential to everyone who handles seed—the geneticist, the breeder, the commercial conditioner-distributor, and the farmer.

Importance of Seed Certification

In the early days of crop improvement, most varieties had easily identifiable phenotypic (visible) characteristics. At present, most varieties are a synthesis of many complex genotypic characteristics which are not necessarily visible. Thus, seed certification through field and laboratory inspections and continuous pedigree records provide a most practical and reliable method of verifying genetic identify and purity.

Certifying Organization

The Oklahoma State Seed Certification Law, passed by the Sixteenth Legislature, provides that Certification of State Certified seeds or plant parts intended for propagation or sale shall be done through the Oklahoma State University, or its designated agents. The Oklahoma State University, the legally responsible agency, designated the Oklahoma Crop Improvement Association, which hereinafter may be referred to as the Association, to undertake and conduct the certification of seeds, plants and plant parts as provided in the acknowledgement of appointment and subject to all provisions of the Oklahoma State Seed Certification Law. Seed certification is conducted with the supervision and cooperation of the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service of the Oklahoma State University.

Membership

Any bona fide farmer or seed firm interested in seed improvement is eligible for membership in the Association and is eligible to produce certified seed, provided he agrees to comply with the OCIA’s rules and regulations governing the production and marketing of certified classes of seed and the payment of certain fees. An active member must have produced pedigreed seed within the two previous years.

System for Bringing Varieties Into Certification

The Association may admit varieties into seed certification after favorable action by one or more of the following: A. The Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station B. National Certified Variety Review Board C. Member Agency D. Plant Variety Protection Office (subject to paragraph VII, items E, F, G, H, and I.(See Eligibility Requirements for Certification of Varieties))

Eligibility Requirements for Certification of Varieties

The Association shall require the originator, developer or owner of the variety, or agent thereof, to make the following available when eligibility is requested:

The name of the variety
A statement concerning the variety’s origin and the breeding procedure used in its development.
A detailed description of the morphological, physiological and other characteristics of the plants and seed that distinguish it from other varieties.
Evidence supporting the identity of the variety, such as comparative yield data, insect and disease resistance, or other factors supporting the identity of the variety.
A statement delineating the geographic area or areas of adaptation of the variety.
A statement on the plans and procedures for the maintenance of seed classes, including the number of generations through which the variety may be multiplied.
A description of the manner in which the variety is constituted when a particular cycle of reproduction of multiplication is specified.
Any additional restrictions on the variety, specified by the breeder, with respect to geographic area of seed production, age of stands or other factors affecting genetic purity.
A sample of seed representative of the variety as marketed. The sample will be retained to provide appropriate control samples against which future releases of stock may be tested to establish varietal characteristics.

Land Requirements

Certified seed must be produced on land meeting the requirements as specified in the certification standards for each crop kind.

Classes and Sources of Certified Seeds

The Oklahoma Crop Improvement Association will recognize four classes of seed (propagating material) in its certification program.: Breeder, Foundation, Registered and Certified. Classification will be based on the crop and seed meeting requirements of the standards of the Association for the particular commodity concerned. Unfavorable seasonal conditions may be responsible for materially lowering the quality of seed over a wide area. Such unfavorable conditions may make it necessary to lower the standards of quality for a particular season. This may be done by action of the Board of Directors. The quality standards shall be based on average seasonal conditions. Classes of seed recognized by the Association are defined in paragraph XLI under Definitions.

Application for Field Inspection

The grower desiring to have his crop certified must apply to the Oklahoma Crop Improvement Association, 2902 West 6th Ave., Stillwater, Oklahoma 74074- 1555, on the application form supplied by the Association. The application must be accompanied by one of the following to establish eligibility of the source of seed used for planting:

a Foundation or Registered seed tag or a sales invoice showing the crop kind, variety name, certification class, lot number, and amount of seed purchased; or
an Association Plant Variety Protection Acknowledgement Form with Foundation or Registered seed tag. By requesting an inspection, the applicant affirms that he has or will have done the following:
1. Planted an eligible class of seed, as verified from the documents (above) attached to the application, on eligible ground.
2. Thoroughly cleaned all equipment involved with planting, harvesting, storing, and other handling to maintain the genetic purity of the seed.
3. Thoroughly cleaned all equipment involved with planting, harvesting, storing, and other handling to maintain the genetic purity of the seed.
4. Marketed the seed in conformance with the rules and regulations of the Association.

Certification Fees

Certification fees must be paid by each grower. Delinquency of fees shall constitute ample evidence to deny the grower further participation as an active member until such delinquencies are paid in full.

Field Inspection Fees

Every member shall enclose with his application for field inspection the appropriate field inspection fee in accordance with the current fee schedule designated by the Association.

Contract Production

There shall be a $5 contract fee for each crop variety inspected on each farm. The term contract shall be defined as seed production on land under the operation of a person other than the person or firm making application for certification.

Unit of Certification

The unit of certification shall be a clearly defined field or fields which may be subdivided subject to special regulations for specific crops. Fields producing seed for certification must be separated from other fields by a definite boundary. Field separation boundaries and isolation boundaries must be established and clearly marked before the inspector arrives for field inspection.

Growers Responsibility

It is the responsibility of the grower and other handlers of certified seed to maintain genetic purity and identity at all stages of seed production, conditioning and handling. It is the responsibility of every member of the Association to abide by its rules, regulations, and standards. Failure to do so may be cause for censure or other action that may be determined appropriate by the Association’s Board of Directors.

Roguing and Weed Control

Roguing (removing) undesirable plants from fields intended for seed certification prior to field inspection is very important. Plants that should be rogued out include off-type plants, prohibited and other noxious weeds whose seed cannot be removed by conditioning such as wild oats in oats and barley and other crop plants such as rye in wheat.

Field Inspection

One or more field inspections shall be made each time a seed crop of any certified class is to be harvested and when genetic purity and identity or any other factor affecting seed certification can best be determined. Any field harvested before inspection is done will have no recourse for completing certification.

Field separation boundaries and isolation boundaries must be established before the inspector arrives and the field boundaries must be clearly marked. Inspectors shall examine each field thoroughly enough to accurately determine whether or not the crop inspected meets all field requirements at the time of field inspection.

The field shall be in such condition to permit an adequate inspection to determine genetic identity and purity. Every seed field for certification must show evidence of good management and good cultural practices. Poor stands lack of uniformity and excessive weeds inhibit accurate field inspections and can be cause for rejection.

Maintaining Identity of Seed

Field-inspected seed must be positively identified at all times. Bins containing bulk lots of certifiable seed (cleaned or uncleaned) must be identified either by a bin number or by lot number and variety of the seed in the bin. If bin numbers are used, accurate records must be kept to correlate bin number with variety and lot number. Bags must be identified by a stenciled lot number or identification tag securely fastened to the bag. The grower agrees that his entire stock of Association certified classes of seed held in storage shall be subject to inspection by the Association or its authorized agent at any time.

Seed Sampling and Testing

No matter how accurate the seed analysis, it reveals only the quality of the sample submitted. It is important, therefore, that certain procedures be followed in collecting seed samples for testing purposes which most nearly represent the bulk of the seed in a given lot.

Bagging Requirements

New, good quality jute, cotton, paper or poly bags must be used for packaging certified classes of seed.

Certification Labels

The official certification labels of the Oklahoma Crop Improvement Association are: Foundation (white), Registered (purple) and Certified (blue).

Labeling, Tagging and Sealing Containers

Certification labels imprinted with the grower’s name, crop kind and variety, and registration lot number must be attached to the seed containers in such a manner as to prevent its removal and reattachment without obvious evidence of such tampering. The labels must be attached prior to removing the seed from the warehouse. The official Oklahoma Crop Improvement Association certification labels may be attached by one of the following approved methods:

Sewn into the bag at the time of filling
Attached to the container (or pallet of turfgrass) after the filling operation with heavy-duty staples, adhesive or other bonding material in such manner and place to prevent its opening without defacing the label and indicating tampering of the container.
Valve filled paper bags, plastic bags and plastic or metal containers shall have the official certification label attached with an adhesive, bonding material which prevents removal and reuse of the label. Official pressure sensitive adhesive labels are available from the Association. Valve filled paper bags shall be considered adequately closed and sufficiently tamperproof without sealing.

Analysis tags containing information in compliance with state and federal seed laws must be attached to all certified seed containers in addition to the certification label. Altering or defacing the certification labels in any manner will not be permitted. If adjustments or corrections are required, new labels must be printed by the OCIA office. Making copies of seed certification tags is not allowed.

Bulk Certification

Certified wheat, oats, barley, rye, triticale & other approved crops may be sold in bulk by the grower, an Approved Conditioner, or an Approved Bulk Retail Facility. Certification procedures and standards are the same as those for bagged seed. The grower, Approved Conditioner, or Approved Bulk Retail Facility issues a “Plant Variety Protection Acknowledgement Form” with the appropriate certified seed tag showing the crop, variety, registration lot number, class of seed, quantity of seed sold, and date of sale for each sale of seed affixed in the appropriate place.

Accounting for Approved Seed and Certification Labels

At the end of each marketing season of the fall and spring planted crops, growers and approved conditioners of certified seed must account for all approved seed handled and for all certification labels issued to him by the Association. This information is furnished on forms supplied by the Association.

Approved Conditioners

The term “Approved Certified Seed Conditioner” as used in the “Regulations for Conditioning of Oklahoma Certified Seed by Oklahoma Seed Firms” means any person, firm or corporation authorized by OCIA under the provisions of these Regulations to condition pedigreed seeds.

Conditioning, as defined under Article I of these Regulations means cleaning, recleaning, blending multiple lots, and repackaging of agricultural seed produced in Oklahoma, or any combination of these operations, for the purpose of selling, offering or exposing the same for sale for planting purposes. Each approved seed conditioner works under a memorandum of understanding and agreement with the Oklahoma Crop Improvement Association.

The conditioner maintains a complete and separate system of records which show all details involved in the handling of certified classes of seed as required to maintain the identity and disposition of all certified seed handled. Appropriate forms are supplied by the Association. The conditioner designates one person, who meets the approval of the Association, to supervise the actual conditioning involving certified seed and to assume the responsibility of maintaining all required records.

Marketing

For marketing, all classes of certified seed must be conditioned, packaged in new containers (if used) and properly labeled and sealed. Certified seed may be conditioned, packaged and labeled by a seed firm that is operating under a written agreement with the Association as an “approved Certified Seed Conditioner” without the seed grower’s personal supervision. Otherwise the seed grower must perform these operations on his own farm with his own equipment.

A list of “Approved Certified Seed Conditioners” is available to growers upon request. Certified seed of small grains may be sold in bulk by the applicant producer, an approved conditioner, or by an approved bulk retail facility. Bulk Registered and Certified may only be sold as described in XXXII B. A retail seed facility must be an approved bulk retail facility before they can handle Registered or Certified seed in bulk. Certified seed of small grains may be sold in bulk by Approved Conditioners as defined in Article XI of the regulations for processing of Oklahoma Certified Seeds by Oklahoma seed firms.

It is the applicant producer’s and/or approved conditioners responsibility to produce, harvest, thresh, condition, label, & store all Foundation, Registered and Certified seed in such a manner as to prevent mixtures and to maintain varietal identity and purity of the seed within the tolerance allowed for each individual crop.

Record of Sales

Each member of the Association who produces and sells certified classes of seed is required to keep a record of all sales. This record shall show the crop, variety, registration lot number, quantity sold, name of purchaser, and date of sale. “Plant Variety Protection Acknowledgement” forms for the member’s use in supplying that information to buyers are supplied by the Association without charge. The blank forms occur in triplicate thus allowing one copy of the record for the producer, one for the buyer and one for the Association, for each transaction.

Supplies

Labels representing all classes of certified seed may be obtained from the Association office at nominal cost. Making copies of seed certification labels is not allowed.

Complying with Federal and State Seed Laws

It is the responsibility of certified seed growers, conditioners and subsequent handlers to comply fully with the provisions of both the Federal and State Seed laws. Responsibility for any obligation arising from the sale or shipment of seed which has been certified rests with the grower or subsequent handler making the sale or shipment.

Plant Variety Protection Rules & Regulations

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Interagency Certification

Interagency certification is the participation of two or more official certifying agencies in performing the services required to certify the same lot or lots of seed. Oklahoma Seed Certification Standards or comparable standards of other official seed certifying agencies must be met if the Oklahoma Crop Improvement Association is to issue interagency certification tags. This includes the requirement that all certified seed to be tagged by the Oklahoma Crop Improvement Association must be analyzed by the Association’s Seed Testing Laboratory.

Only those varieties declared eligible for certification by the Oklahoma Crop Improvement Association or another official seed certifying agency will be eligible for interagency certification in Oklahoma.

Seed to be recognized for interagency certification must be received in containers carrying official certification tags or if shipped for conditioning, the previous agencies records, together with the following information:

Variety (if certified as to variety) and kind
Quantity of seed (pounds or bushels)
Class of seed
Inspection or lot number traceable to the previous agency’s records

Interagency certification tags shall carry the certification identification number and clearly identify the certifying agencies involved, the variety, kind and class of seed.

Definitions

Please see the end of the OCIA Handbook.