Seeds of Agricultural Plants and Vegetables

Suppliment tal-Gazzetta tal-Gvern ta’ Malta, Nru. 19,474, 15 ta’ Settembru, 2015

L.N. 294 of 2015

PLANT QUARANTINE ACT

(CAP. 433)

Seeds of Agricultural Plants and Vegetables

(Amendment) Regulations, 2015

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 32 of the Plant

Quarantine Act, the Minister for Sustainable Development, the

Environment and Climate Change has made the following

regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Seeds of Citation and

Agricultural Plants and Vegetables (Amendment) Regulations, 2015, scope.

and these regulations shall be read and construed as one with the

Seeds of Agricultural Plants and Vegetables Regulations, hereinafter S.L. 433.21

referred to as "the principal regulations".

(2) The scope of these regulations is to transpose Commission

Implementing Directive 2013/63/EU amending Annexes I and II to

Council Directive 2002/56/EC as regards minimum conditions to be

satisfied by seed potatoes and lots of seed potatoes and part of

Commission Implementing Directive 2014/21/EU determining

minimum conditions for pre-basic seed potatoes.

Immediately after the definition "marketing" in regulation Amends

3 of the principal regulations, there shall be added the following new regulations

the principal

definitions

regulations.

" "mother plant" means an identified plant from which

material is taken for propagation;

"micro-propagation" means the practice of rapidly

multiplying plant material to produce a large number of plants

using culture in vitro of differentiated vegetative buds or

meristem taken from a plant;".

Section III of Schedule II to the principal regulations shall Amends Section

III of Schedule

be substituted by the following

II to the

principal

regulations.

"III. Seed Potatoes

Pre-basic seed potatoes

Minimum conditions for pre-basic seed potatoes

1. Pre-basic seed potatoes shall satisfy the following

minimum conditions

(a) they derive from mother plants which are free

from the following harmful organisms: Pectobacterium

spp., Dickeya spp., Potato leaf roll virus, Potato virus A,

Potato virus M, Potato virus S, Potato virus X, and Potato

virus Y;

(b)

they are free from symptoms of blackleg;

(c) the number of growing plants not breeding

true to the variety and the number of plants of a different

variety together shall not exceed 0.01%;

(d) in the direct progeny, the number of plants

showing symptoms of virus infection shall not exceed

0.5%;

(e) the number of growing plants with mosaic

symptoms or symptoms caused by leaf roll virus shall not

exceed 0.1%;

(f) the maximum number of field generations

shall be four.

2. Compliance with the requirements of paragraph

1(b), (c) and (e) shall be established through official field

inspections. In case of doubt, those inspections shall be

supplemented by official tests on leaves.

Where methods of micro-propagation are used, compliance

with point 1(a) shall be established by official testing or testing

under official supervision, of the mother plant.

Where methods of clonal selection are used, compliance

with point 1(a) shall be established by official testing or testing

under official supervision, of the clonal stock.

Basic and certified seed potatoes

Minimum conditions to be satisfied by basic and certified

seed potatoes

1. Basic seed potatoes shall satisfy the following

minimum conditions

(a)

on official inspection of the growing plants,

the number affected by blackleg shall not exceed 1.0%;

(b) the number of growing plants not breeding

true to the variety and the number of plants of a different

variety shall, together, not exceed 0.1% and in the direct

progeny, shall, together, not exceed 0.25%;

(c) in the direct progeny the number of plants

with symptoms of virus infection shall not exceed 4.0%;

(d) on official inspections of the growing plants,

the number of plants with mosaic symptoms and the

number of plants with symptoms caused by leaf roll virus

shall, together, not exceed 0.8%.

2. Certified seed potatoes shall satisfy the following

minimum conditions

(a) on official inspection of the growing plants,

the number affected by blackleg shall not exceed 4.0%;

(b) the number of plants not breeding true to the

variety and the number of plants of a different variety,

shall, together, not exceed 0.5% and in the direct progeny,

shall, together, not exceed 0.5%;

(c) in the direct progeny the number of plants

with symptoms of virus infection shall not exceed 10.0%;

(d) on official inspections of the growing plants,

the number of plants with mosaic symptoms and the

number of plants with symptoms caused by leaf roll virus

shall, together, not exceed 6.0%.

3. The tolerances allowed under paragraph 1(c) and

(d), and paragraph 2(c) and (d) shall only be applicable where

the viral diseases are caused by viruses that are prevalent in

Europe.

The maximum number of generations of basic

potatoes shall be four and the combined generations of pre-basic

potatoes in the field and basic potatoes shall be seven.

The maximum number of generations of certified seed

potatoes shall be two.

If the generation is not indicated on the official label, the

potatoes concerned shall be considered as belonging to the

maximum generation that is permitted within the respective

category.".

4. Section III of Schedule III to the principal regulations shall

be substituted by the following

"III. Seed Potatoes

Pre-basic seed potatoes

Minimum conditions for lots of pre-basic seed potatoes

Pre-basic seed potatoes shall satisfy the following

minimum conditions

(a) presence of earth and extraneous matter shall

not exceed 1.0% by mass;

(b) the number of potatoes affected by rots, other

than ring rot or brown rot, shall not be present in a quantity

exceeding 0.2% by mass;

(c) the number of potatoes with external

blemishes, including misshapen or damaged tubers, shall

not exceed 3.0% by mass;

(d) the number of potatoes affected by common

scab over more than one third of their surface, shall not

exceed 5.0% by mass;

(e) the number of potatoes affected by black

scurf over more than 10.0% of their surface, shall not

exceed 1.0% by mass;

(f) the number of potatoes affected by powdery

scab over more than 10.0% of their surface, shall not

exceed 1.0% by mass;

(g) shrivelled

tubers

due

to

excessive

dehydration or dehydration caused by silver scurf, shall not

exceed 0.5% by mass;

(h) the total number of potatoes, as referred to in

sub-paragraphs (b) to (g), shall not exceed 6.0% by mass.

Basic and certified seed

Minimum quality conditions for lots of basic and certified

seed potatoes

The tolerances allowed for the following impurities,

blemishes and diseases allowed for seed potatoes are the

following

(a) presence of earth and extraneous matter

1.0% by mass for basic seed potatoes and 2.0% by mass for

certified seed potatoes;

(b) dry and wet rot combined, except if caused by

Synchytrium endobioticum, Clavibacter michiganensis

subsp. sepedonicus or Ralstonia solanacearum: 0.5% by

mass of which wet rot 0.2% by mass;

(c) external blemishes,

e.g.

misshapen

or

damaged tubers: 3.0% by mass;

(d) common scab affecting tubers over more than

one third of their surface: 5.0% by mass;

(e) black scurf affecting tubers over more than

0% of their surface: 5.0% by mass;

(f) powdery scab affecting tubers over more than

10.0% of their surface: 3.0% by mass;

(g) shrivelled

tubers

due

to

excessive

dehydration or dehydration caused by silver scurf: 1.0% by

mass.

Total tolerance for sub-paragraphs (b) to (g): 6.0% by mass

for basic seed potatoes and 8.0% by mass for certified seed

potatoes.".

€0.27