STT 2073CROP BREEDING

AND IMPROVEMENT

CULTIVAR INCREASE

MAINTENANCE AND

SEED PRODUCTION

CLASSES OF CERTIFIED SEED

CLASSES OF CERTIFIED SEED

HOW A NEW CULTIVAR REACHES THE FARMER

HOW CULTIVAR IS CERTIFIED

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PLANT BREEDINGPlant breeding conducted by the public and

private sector.

Supported by tax-supported agencies e.g USDA, the state agricultural experiment station and the agricultural colleges.

Tax-supported institutions will give exclusive marketing rights to a private company-obtaining royalties to support plant breeding research and to improve upon the distribution of the cultivar.

In general, education of the public, seed regulatory laws, and competition have forced seed producers to set high standard in the sale of seed of new and established crop cultivars

Use of certified, whenever available, is one assurance of obtaining seed accurately labeled for purity and quality

The procedures for seed certification of seed deployed as means of assuring that the seed has a high standard of purity and quality

SEED PRODUCTIONFour classes of seed are recognizedby seed certification

1. Breeder SeedVegetative propagating material directly

produced or controlled by the originating plant breeder or institutions.

Provides the source for the increase of foundation seed.

2. Foundation Seed (Basic Seed)

Direct increase from breeder seed

Genetic and purity of the cultivar is maintained in foundation seed

Production is carefully supervised or approved by representatives of an agricultural experiment or authorized agency

Source of all certified seed classes, either directly, or through registered seed

3. Registered Seed

First-generation increase of breeder or foundation seed.

Maintains satisfactory genetic identity and purity of the cultivar for the production of certified seed.

Source of certified seed.

4. Certified Seed

The first generation increase of breeder, foundation, or registered seed.

Maintain sufficient genetic identity and purity of the cultivar that it will approved and certified by the certifying agency.

How to identified them?White tag - breeder and foundation seedPurple tag - registered seedBlue tag - certified seed

Green tag? - cultivar is not certified but the originator wishes to have the cultivar produced under the same standards of seed quality as used for certified seed.

Not part of national seed certification effort.

Issued for branded cultivar-the exact name of cultivar is not stated e.g more than one company may wish to sell the same cultivar but use their own brand name.

HOW A NEW CULTIVAR REACHES THE FARMER

Cultivar released

Cultivar distributed

Sold to farmers

Produced at originating experiment station

Increased from Breeder Seed through a Foundation Seed Program

Increased from Foundation Seed by seed growers

(This step is sometimes omitted)

Increased from Registered Seed by seed growers

1. Cultivar is ready for release and distribution after it has proven to be distinctly superior to and different from existing commercial cultivars in at least one or two characteristics, and at least in all other important respects.

2. The decision for releases is made by the breeder in consultation with appointed board of reviews, according to the procedures established by the state agricultural experiment station.

3. The plant breeder makes a limited increase of breeder seed new cultivar, the amount varying from a few to few hundred kilograms. The breeder seed is then generally turned over to agency responsible for making the foundation seed increase.

4. Foundation seed is increased from breeder seed. The organization making the foundation seed increase varies in different states.

5. At least one year before distribution, each state experiment station in the region of adaptation of new cultivar, is normally informed of plans to release the cultivar, and the breeder seed is supplied to them in sufficient quantities to permit field plot testing.

6. The cultivar is named at the originating station, in consultation with representatives of other state experiment station.

7. Prior to distribution, either breeder or foundation is shared within the region with other state agricultural experiment stations, which may wish to make a simultaneous increase and distribution of the new cultivar.

8. An adequate quantity of foundation seed should be available to supply immediate needs for that production of registered and certified seed before release or distribution is made.

9. Distribution of foundation seed, plus a public announcement, consitutes a formal releases by the originating (seed breeder) station.

10. Initial distribution of foundation seed is made only to experienced growers to conserve seed supply of a new cultivar.

11. Certified seed is sold to the farmers without restriction.

12. New, improved cultivars maybe registered by the Crop Science Society of America.

13. A description of each new cultivar registered by the society published in Crop Science and becomes the official description of the cultivar.

HOW THE CULTIVAR IS CERTIFIED?1. Grower must plant foundation or registered seed

of an approved cultivar.2. Seed must be planted on cleaned ground-field not

have been planted in the previous year to another cultivar of the same crop. Noxious weeds are removed before harvest, and borders are clipped.

3. In cross-pollinated crops, isolation of the seed-producing field is required-either by planting a specified distance from all other field of the same crop.

4. Off-type plants and mixture are rogued by the grower before harvest, or before flowering in the case of a cross-pollinated crops.

5. Field inspections are made by representatives of seed-certifying agency to check on the purity of the cultivar, free from other crop plants, noxious weeds, disease that might affect certification.

6. Seed inspection carried out to observe and supervise the harvesting, conditioning, bagging and other processing operations. Only seed meeting or exceeding minimum standards of the associations in all respects is accepted for certification.

7. Official tags supplied and sealed on the bags of seed approved for certification. Tag-show that the seed meet that specific standard for the crop and the federal seed laws.