Minnesota Administrative Rules

1510.2310 GENERAL GUIDANCE.

Subpart 1.

Scope.

The provisions of this part govern the production of potatoes for use as certified seed potatoes.

Subp. 2.

Seed potato certification.

In order to produce certified seed potatoes, a grower must comply with the following procedures:

A.

Potatoes entered for certification shall be inspected while growing in the field and again after harvest at the time of shipment. Certification shall be based upon visual inspection by the commissioner of sample plants and tubers from each field and lot, or for varieties that do not express visible symptoms of a specific pathogen, seed potatoes must be subjected to laboratory tests to determine the level of the pathogen in a seed lot. This testing may occur during the growing season, storage season, or winter testing. Certificates shall be issued to show the varietal purity, freedom from disease, and physical defects of the potatoes at the time of inspection.

B.

Participation in the certified seed potato program shall be voluntary. The applicant may withdraw at any time. Farming and sanitation practices are the responsibility of the applicant. Certification and inspection under parts 1510.2300 to 1510.2355 shall be conducted by the commissioner. Failure of the applicant to comply with the requirements of parts 1510.2300 to 1510.2355 shall be cause for rejection of any field or lot. Potatoes from rejected fields or lots cannot be sold as certified seed potatoes.

Subp. 3.

Winter testing.

In order to detect certain virus diseases, samples from all classes as defined in parts 1510.2325 and 1510.2330 shall be winter tested. In the event of serious malfunctions of the winter test, classification of lots in the certified classes must be based on the previous summer field readings.

Subp. 4.

Certified seed potato classes.

Seed potato certification classes are differentiated by their compliance level with disease tolerances and varietal purity. The origin of the seed also determines the class. The classes, according to their origin, in the generation system in descending order are: Prenuclear (PN), Generation 1 (G1), Generation 2 (G2), Generation 3 (G3), Generation 4 (G4), Generation 5 (G5), and Generation 6 (G6). Equivalent to this in the clonal system in descending order are: Primary Foundation 1 (PF1), Primary Foundation 2 (PF2), Foundation 1 (F1), Foundation 2 (F2), and Certified (C).

Subp. 5.

Certified seed potato grades.

Grades of certified seed potatoes are established according to the physical defects of the tubers. There are three grades used for shipping Minnesota certified seed potatoes.

A.

The blue tag certified seed potato grade, the first grade, has tolerances for physical defects of the tubers stricter than the other grades. This grade may be used by growers of Primary Foundation certified, Foundation certified, Generation certified, and Certified seed potatoes. The blue tag grade may be used for intrastate and interstate shipments of certified seed potatoes.

B.

The yellow tag certified seed potato grade is the second grade. This grade allows more physical defects of the tubers than the blue tag certified seed potato grade. It may be used by growers of Primary Foundation certified, Foundation certified, Generation certified, and Certified seed potatoes. The yellow tag grade may also be used for intrastate and interstate shipments of certified seed potatoes.

C.

The white tag certified seed potato grade is the third grade. The tolerances for physical defects of the tubers are determined by agreement between purchaser and seller of the certified seed potatoes. It may only be used for intrastate and interstate shipments of certified seed potatoes.

Subp. 6.

Zero tolerance for bacterial ring rot and potato spindle tuber viroid.

Certification rules make provisions to allow the presence of certain diseases at levels sufficiently low as to preclude significant effects on certified seed potato value. For bacterial ring rot and potato spindle tuber viroid, there is a zero tolerance, and the discovery of a single plant in the field or a tuber in storage infected with one of these diseases shall cause the rejection of the field or lot. The absence of a finding shall not be construed to mean that the field or lot inspected is free from the disease.

Subp. 7.

Warranty.

A certification does not represent a warranty of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, as to the quality of the crop produced from the certified seed potatoes. A certification represents only that the seed potatoes were produced, graded, sacked or placed in bulk, and inspected in accordance with parts 1510.2300 to 1510.2355.

Statutory Authority:

MS s 14.05; 18.79; 21.113; 21.118

History:

8 SR 1659; 21 SR 482; 22 SR 1547; 25 SR 1142; 35 SR 1325

Published Electronically:

March 1, 2011