Seed Certification Standards in California

HYBRID ASPARAGUS

Asparagus officinalis

GENERAL STANDARDS -- The standards on this sheet are in part condensed and apply to hybrid asparagus. For greater detail and additional provisions, see the General Standards.

VARIETIES CERTIFIED -- UC 157. NOTE: The parents of UC 157 are patented and only licensed growers may produce this hybrid.

PLANTING STOCK -- Only tissue culture produced plants from licensed micro-propagation laboratories or crown division from such plants can be used to establish the male and female lines of this variety.

SEED CLASSES -- Only the Certified class of seed may be produced.

APPLICATION -- Application forms are available at the county Farm Advisor's office or from CCIA. Applications should be filled out and submitted to the Farm Advisor's office as soon as possible and no later than eight (8) weeks after planting. A renewal application form should be used after the first year and submitted not later than APRIL 1. Application must be made each year, whether seed production is intended that year or not, if certification is apt to be desired in a later year.

ˆˆ TOP OF PAGE ˆˆ

FIELD ELIGIBILITY -- The land must not have been in asparagus during the previous calendar year, and must be free, at planting time, of any volunteer asparagus plants.

ISOLATION -- Fields must be isolated one (1) mile from other asparagus except seedlings less than one (1) year old.

FIELD INSPECTION -- Each field intended for certification must be inspected prior to harvest. At least one inspection shall be made preferably during the mid-bloom stage and, in some cases, earlier and later inspections may be made.

Off-types -- Every field should be rogued to remove any plants of another crop or variety, including volunteers. Varieties cannot always be differentiated at field inspection. When differences can be distinguished, the maximum mixture of other varieties, off-types, or volunteer plants may not exceed one (1) per 1,000 at pollination, and these must be rogued.

ˆˆ TOP OF PAGE ˆˆ

Weeds --Fields must be free of any prohibited noxious weeds. Restricted noxious weeds, and common weeds difficult to separate must be controlled.

Fields may be refused certification due to unsatisfactory appearance caused by weeds, poor growth, poor stand, disease, insect damage, and any other condition which prevents accurate inspection or creates doubt as to identity of the variety.

A field inspection report will be sent to the applicant. If the field is approved, a certification number will be assigned. This number must be on all containers of seed before they leave the field. It is the responsibility of the applicant to make sure his field has been inspected before it is harvested.

HARVESTING -- Harvesting is subject to the supervision of the County Agricultural Commissioner who must be contacted prior to harvest. Any seed moved out of the county for conditioning must be accompanied by an Intercounty Permit or Interstate Transfer issued by the Commissioner.

ˆˆ TOP OF PAGE ˆˆ

CONDITIONING AND SAMPLING -- Conditioning of seed for certification may be done only in facilities approved for this purpose by the California Crop Improvement Association. It is the responsibility of the applicant to determine if the plant is eligible before delivering seed for conditioning. Conditioning, sampling, reconditioning, and blending must be supervised by the County Agricultural Commissioner. Conditioning equipment must be free from contaminating seed to the satisfaction of the supervising inspector.

SEED INSPECTION - All seed must be sampled and tested after conditioning and the seed lot must meet or exceed seed certification standards for that crop. A seed lab using the Association of Official Seed Analyst “Rules for Testing” must test the sample. A Registered Seed Technologist must sign each lab analysis. In addition to AOSA rules, specific seed testing may be required to meet CCIA seed certification standards.

The sample size for a lot of certified Hybrid Asparagus is one (1) pound. In some instances, varietal identity cannot be determined by visual seed inspections. Seed must be well screened and graded, bright in color, of good appearance and meet the following standards:

ˆˆ TOP OF PAGE ˆˆ

FINAL CERTIFICATION AND TAGGING -- If the seed sample meets all standards a seed inspection report is issued. Before certification is complete, however, each container must have an official tag or label attached. Certified seed may be sold to a grower in bulk without tagging if a properly filled out Bulk Sale Certificate accompanies the shipment. The tags and Bulk Sale Certificates are issued by the California Crop Improvement Association to the County Agricultural Commissioner who supervises their attachment.

ˆˆ TOP OF PAGE ˆˆ