Plant Improvement Act, 1976 (Act No. 53 of 1976)

Notices

South African Seed Potato Certification Scheme

1. Definitions
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In this Scheme, any word or expression to which a meaning has been assigned in the Act shall have that meaning and, unless the context otherwise indicates—

 

"assignee"

means a natural or a juristic person to whom the registered grower has given written permission to act administratively on his or her behalf as approved by the authority;

 

"authority"

means the authority specified in section 3;

 

"certification label"

means a label issued in terms of section 26(1) to (7) by the authority by means of which certification of seed potatoes is confirmed;

 

"Certified Commercial seed potatoes"

means Certified Commerical seed potatoes which comply with the requirements set out in section 12(1)(c);

 

"certified seed potatoes"

means seed potatoes which have been certified in terms of this Scheme;

 

"deviating plant"

means a plant which does not correspond to the description of a typical plant of a specific variety;

 

"field sample"

means a representative sample of seed potatoes taken in accordance with the provisions of the protocol for the determination of the occurrence of—

(a) Ralstonia spp.; and
(b) the viruses indicated in Table 4, once the top growth of the plants on the unit concerned has died off or has been destroyed but before the seed potatoes have been removed from the soil;

 

"G0 seed potatoes" means generation 0 seed potatoes which comply with the requirements set out in section 12(1)(a);

 

"G1 seed potatoes" means generation  1 seed potatoes which comply with the requirements set out in section 12(1)(b);

 

"G2 seed potatoes" means generation 2 seed potatoes which comply with the requirements set out in section 12(1)(c);

 

"G3 seed potatoes" means generation 3 seed potatoes which comply with the requirements set out in section 12(1)(c);

 

"G4 seed potatoes" means generation 4 seed potatoes which comply with the requirements set out in section 12(1)(c);

 

"G5 seed potatoes" means generation 5 seed potatoes which comply with the requirements set out in section 12(1)(c);

 

"G6 seed potatoes" means generation 6 seed potatoes which comply with the requirements set out in section  12(1)(c);

 

"G7 seed potatoes" means generation 7 seed potatoes which comply with the requirements set out in section 12(1)(c);

 

"grower"

means a person—

(a)who meets the eligibility criteria determined from time to time by the authority;
(b)who registers, under the Scheme,  plantings, which are produced, harvested, sorted and packed by him or her under his or her grower code; and
(c)to whom a registration certificate has been issued in respect of a unit;

 

"in vitro plants"

means a commodity class for plants growing in an aseptic medium in a controlled environment;

 

"isolation area"

means the area within 50 metres from a unit within which Solanum tuberosum L. plants and Table 1 crop plants may not occur;

 

"ISPM"

means International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures;

 

"micro tubers"

means tubers that have been cultivated in vitro from vegetative in vitro propagating material;

 

"mini tubers"

means tubers that have been produced from potato micro-propagative material in pest-free growing medium in a facility under specified protective conditions;

 

"origin"

means the  locality of the unit or sub-unit from  which the seed potatoes originate  as identified by the registration number;

 

"own planting material"

means planting material retained by the grower for himself or herself to be multiplied again under his or her grower code;

 

"plants"

means living plants and parts thereof, including seeds and germplasm;

 

"PLRV"

means Potato Leaf Roll Virus;

 

"post-control sample"

means a representative sample of seed potatoes taken in accordance with the provisions of the protocol at the time of tuber inspection—

(a) for the determination of viruses indicated in Table 4; and
(b) to determine whether the seed potatoes concerned are true to variety;

 

"potato micro-propagative material"

means in vitro plants or micro tubers of the plant Solanum tuberosum L.;

 

"property"

means a piece of land registered in a deeds registry;

 

"protocol"

means  the  procedures for  registration,  sampling,  testing  and certification and  related matters as determined by the authority;

 

"Ralstonia spp. "

previously known as Pseudomonas solanacearum, Burkholderia solanacearum and Ralstonia solanacearum, means bacterial wilt-causing organisms on potatoes;

 

"registration certificate"

means the registration certificate issued in terms of section 13;

 

"registration  number"

means a number allocated  to a unit or sub-unit by the authority for identification purposes;

 

"regulated pest"

means Globodera rostochiensis (golden cyst nematode), Ralstonia spp. (bacterial wilt) and Synchytrium endobioticum (wart disease) as defined in the Agricultural Pests Act, 1983 (Act No. 36 of 1983) or any national Plant Health legislation and regulations, as well as any other exotic pathogen and insect;

 

"section"

means a section of this Scheme;

 

"seed potatoes"

means tubers,  including micro tubers and mini tubers,  cultivated of the plant Solanum tuberosum L.;

 

"separation area"

means an area two metres wide or a non-planted row;

 

"source"

means the propagating material of the previous generation;

 

"SRE"

means Soft Rot Enterobacteriaceae;

 

"store  sample"

means  a  representative  sample taken  in accordance  with the  provisions  of the protocol at the time of storage—

(a)for the determination of viral diseases; and
(b)for  the  determination  of  bacterial  diseases  in  the  case  of potato  micro-propagative material and G0 seed potatoes.

 

"sub-unit"

means—

(a) an area of land upon which seed potatoes; or
(b) a container or containers in a greenhouse in which potato micro-propagative material or mini tubers

of the same variety and generation have been established with a view to the cultivation of seed potatoes in accordance with the provisions of this Scheme and which forms part of a unit;

 

"the Act"

means the Plant Improvement Act, 1976 (Act No. 53 of 1976);

 

"TSWV"

means Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus

 

"true potato seed"

means the sexual  propagating  material of hybrid potato varieties  that do not reproduce true to variety;

 

"true to variety"

means, in relation to a particular variety,  that  such plant corresponds  with the recognised description referred to in section 17 of the Act of a typical plant of that variety;

 

"unit"

means—

(a) an area of land upon which seed potatoes; or
(b) a greenhouse in which in vitro plants, micro tubers or mini tubers

have been established to cultivate seed potatoes in accordance with the provisions of this Scheme. Where two units are planted within the isolation area, 120 days or more apart and the bacterial wilt sampling of the first planted unit has been completed, the newly planted unit will be regarded as a separate unit.

 

"unit number"

means the dedicated code number allocated to a particular unit by the grower;

 

"visually free"

with regard to the occurrence of a particular insect or pathogen on a plant or seed potato of such plant means that—

(a) the occurrence of that insect or pathogen on such a plant or seed potato cannot be visually observed unless a microscope or magnifying glass is used; or
(b) the symptoms characteristic of those caused by that insect or pathogen on such plant or seed potato of such plant has been visually observed without the use of a microscope of magnifying glass, but the testing, examination or analysis of such plant or seed potato in a laboratory for confirmation, do not reveal the occurrence of the insect or pathogen concerned thereon.