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Pursuant to the provisions of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. No. 7308, otherwise known as the Seed Industry Development Act of 1992, Article II, Section 3C, the following general guidelines are to be followed to ensure reasonable standard of quality of fruit and plantation seeds for propagation and distribution.

General Guidelines for Certification of Fruit and Plantation Seeds

1.         Application of the General Guidelines — These general certification guidelines as adopted by the National Seed Industry Council shall constitute procedures for certification of fruit and plantation seeds. The word seed or seeds as used in these certification guidelines shall mean to include all propagating materials such as seed, seedling, tuber, slip, suckers, crown, scion, corms, rootstock, micropropagated plantlet and certified stock of registered variety as parent tree.

2.         Purpose of Certification — To maintain and make available high quality seeds of superior crop varieties of known genetic and varietal purity including reasonable standards of quality considered for crop propagated/distributed.

3.         Requirement for Certification — Varieties for certification must be duly registered and released by Philippine Seed Board/National Seed Industry Council.

4.         Sources of Seed/Plant Material Recognized for Certification

4.1    Parent Tree (PT) — are trees that have been surveyed, evaluated, indexed, registered, and approved in accordance with the parameters approved by the National Seed Industry Council to serve as source of plant propagules.

4.2    Foundation Grove — an area where not more than four (4) registered PT are planted in government institutions as sources of planting materials for scion groves or plant propagules .

4.3    Scion Grove — an orchard of different registered cultivars from foundation grove where accredited nursery operator shall be required to obtain their plant propagules for the production of certifiable plant materials.

4.4    Seed Garden — is an orchard which will be the source of seeds for the production of sexually propagative plant material.

4.5    In-Vitro Laboratories — place where mass production and multiplication of diseased-free propagules is undertaken.

5.      Institution/Agencies/Firms Qualified to Produced Seed/Plant Material — The DA RFUs Experiment Stations and Seed Farms, BPI Centers and other government agencies involved in the development of fruit and plantation, crops and private group accredited are qualified to produce certified seed/plant materials in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the NSIC.

6.      Seed/Plant Material Production and Maintenance System

6.1           Production and Maintenance System

6.1.1  Seed — The seed shall be produced from registered parent trees of seed garden. Seed production shall be the responsibility of any institution/individual who is maintaining seed gardens/parent trees in accordance with the program guidelines.

6.1.2  Bud Stick/Scion — This shall be taken from a registered parent tree, and foundation/scion grove. Maintenance of the registered tree shall be the responsibility of the owner whether private or government agency.

6.1.3  Slip. Runners, Others — Slip should be of uniform size and type. Production and maintenance shall also be the responsibility of the agency concerned whether private or government.

6.1.4  Micropropagules — Production and maintenance shall be the responsibility of the in-vitro laboratory. Seed banks, which are sources of x-plant, shall be properly inspected by NSQCS for visual symptoms of systemic diseases.

6.2           Production of Certified Seed/Plant Material

6.2.1  Plant nursery operators who have registered parent trees are eligible to produce certified plant materials in accordance with prescribed procedures for certification.

6.2.2  The production of seed/plant materials shall be done by the accredited nursery operators.

7.         Registration and Accreditation System

7.1           Registration of Parent Trees

7.1.1  The parent tree as source of plant propagules must have passed the prescriptive selection and evaluation of the concerned Technical Working Group.

7.1.2  Evaluated parent trees shall be submitted by the Technical Working Group.

7.1.3  NSQCS shall tag registered parent trees after approval as source of plant propagules.

7.2           Accreditation of Scion Groves, Seed Garden and In-Vitro-Lab

7.3           Nursery Accreditation

7.3.1  Nursery operator must have undergone training in nursery establishment and management principles on plant propagation and scion grove management.

7.3.2  Regional Seed Coordinators, Provincial Seed Coordinators and NSQCS staff shall evaluate applicants in the region for nursery accreditation in the region.

7.3.3  The Regional Director shall recommend application for nursery accreditation to the Director of Bureau of Plant Industry for approval.

8.         Field Inspection

All plants in the foundation and scion groves, seed gardens, nursery, in-vitro laboratory as well as parent tree shall be subjected to periodic ocular inspection, evaluation, and indexing to determine the possibility of disease infection and pest infestation.

Seed Inspectors shall examine carefully all existing plants in the nursery and evaluate carefully the factors affecting eligibility for certification.

A plant propagule automatically becomes ineligible for certification if found infected/or showing symptoms of any transmissible disease.

Planting materials produced commercially are not eligible for certification if the source comes from unknown or unregistered parent trees.

The parent trees at owner's orchard, foundation or scion groves must be tagged.

9.         Evidence of Eligibility for Certification

9.1           Documents

•        Receipt of purchase of seed indicating the number of propagules.
•        Registration number of parent tree.

9.1.1        Plant Propagules (Asexually and Sexually Propagate)

Plants propagules (asexually and/or sexually) for commercial planting by nursery operator must carry official document/information before they could be finally recognized for certification. The official document includes the following information:

a.    crop
b.    variety
c.    code and accession numbers
d.    method of propagation of propagule, e.g. grafted, seed, etc.
e.    source of propagule, e.g. seed garden, tissue culture
f.     age of propagule at time of inspection
g.    name and address of nursery operator
h.    date of last inspection/evaluation of seed inspector

9.2           Labelling

9.2.1  Each label must be properly attached to each plant with the following necessary information:

a.    crop/variety
b.    PT No. ( as source)
c.    Code and accession numbers

9.3           Materials for Labelling

9.3.1  Preferred materials should be water and heat resistant.

10.       Minimum Standards

10.1  Asexually Propagated Planting Materials

Before any plant is recognized for certification, it must be in conformity with the following characteristics:

10.1.1      Trunk and Branches

a)    Well formed and sturdy
b)    Minimum scion and stock (caliper measured 2.5 cms above the bud union)
c)    Straight trunk with 20° of vertical curve, no intermediate curves to exceed 20° of the curve.
d)    Good branching, uniformly distributed to form a well-balanced tree.
f)     Scars shall be free of rot.
g)    Pruning scar shall be clean cut leaving little or no protrusion from the trunk or branch.
h)    Bud or scion-stock must be completely healed.

10.1.2      Foliage

a)    Healthy and vigorous leaves of normal size, shape, color, and texture.
b)    Insect/disease and other mechanical damage shall not exceed.

10.1.3      Root System

a)    Shall be firmly established in the containers.
b)    Shall not be excessively rootbound except plants deliberately grown rootbound to produce a dwarf plant.
c)    No large roots growing out of the containers.

10.2  Sexually Propagated Planting Materials

10.2.1      Trunk and Branches

a)    Well formed and sturdy
b)    Minimum base caliper of 0.5 cms. ( measures 5 cms. above the soil line)
c)    Straight trunk with 20° of vertical, no intermediate curves to exceed 20° of curve.
d)    Good growth habit.

10.2.2      Foliage

a)    Healthy and vigorous leaves of normal size, shape, color, and texture.
b)    Insect/disease and other mechanical damage shall not exceed approximately ¼ of individual leaves or affect more than ¼ of the total foliage.

10.2.3      Root System

a)    Shall be firmly established
b)    Shall not be excessively root bound except plants deliberately grown root bound to produce a dwarf plant.
c)    No large roots growing out of the container.

For your guidance and strict compliance.

Adopted: 24 October 2000

Approved:

(SGD.) EDGARDO J. ANGARA
Secretary