Code of Maine Rules
01 - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION AND FORESTRY
001 - AGRICULTURE - GENERAL
Chapter 252 - RULES GOVERNING CERTIFICATION OF SEED POTATOES IN THE STATE OF MAINE
Section 001-252-6 - DISEASES

Universal Citation: 01 ME Code Rules ยง 001-252-6

Current through 2024-38, September 18, 2024

A. Bacterial Ring Rot

(1) Testing Requirements for the Bacterial Ring Rot Pathogen
(a) Potato plants and/or tubers must be submitted to the Department's USDA-APHIS approved laboratory for testing:
(i) if suspected by the Inspector as being infected with the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen;

(ii) if required to meet the phytosanitary regulations of other countries; or

(iii) if otherwise required to meet the provisions of this Chapter.

(b) The requirements of this Chapter also apply to seed potato samples voluntarily submitted for testing in the Department's USDA-APHIS approved laboratory.

(c) The Department's USDA-APHIS approved laboratory will test all samples submitted for Bacterial Ring Rot testing, except as provided in 6.A.(1)j.

(d) The grower or his/her representative shall be notified by the Inspector, if possible, prior to removal of a suspect plant and/or tuber from the grower's property.

(e) In the event that a suspect plant or plant part is observed on a grower's property, no certification will be issued until the required laboratory test results indicate the sample is apparently free from the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen.

(f) The following laboratory tests are acceptable for use when testing samples for the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen: Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay, Latex Agglutination, Gram Stain, Immunofluorescent Antibody Staining, Polymerase Chain Reaction.

(g) Plants and/or tubers which exhibit visual symptoms of the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen will be declared positive upon confirmation of two laboratory tests, at least one of which is serological (examples: Enzyme Linked Immunusorbant Assay, Latex Agglutination, Immunofluorescent Antibody Staining).

(h) All potato tuber samples submitted for laboratory testing to meet phytosanitary requirements of other countries or to meet the requirements of this Chapter must be collected in the presence and under the supervision of a Seed Potato Inspector or other Department official. All other samples will not be considered to be official and will not be eligible to meet the phytosanitary requirements of other countries or to meet the requirements of this Chapter.

(i) The Department's USDA-APHIS approved laboratory will utilize the following protocol to determine the presence of the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen, in the event that plants and/or tubers which do not exhibit visible symptoms of this pathogen, test positive through the use of any of the laboratory tests specified in 6.A.(1)(f):
(i) The grower or his/her representatives will be notified by the Department that the seed lot in question cannot be sold as seed or entered into the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program until additional confirmatory tests are completed.

(ii) The Department's USDA-APHIS approved laboratory will test the sample using at least two additional laboratory tests from the list noted in 6.A.(1)(f). These tests must be different from the initial test conducted in 6.A.(1)(i).

(iii) If both of these tests are negative for the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen, the lot is allowed to remain in the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program.

(j) The grower or his/her representative may request that a seed lot submitted for testing for the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen to meet the phytosanitary regulations of other countries be tested in a laboratory other than the Department's USDA-APHIS approved laboratory. Such other laboratory must follow the Bacterial Ring Rot testing protocol established in this section. The grower must submit the sample to the laboratory, at his/her expense, and he/she and the Department must directly receive the results of the laboratory evaluation.
(i) In the event that the laboratory results are positive for the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen, the lot will be rejected from the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program and cannot be sold as seed. Additionally, the requirements contained in 6.A.(2) and 6.A.(3) of this Chapter must be met.

(ii) In the event that the laboratory results are negative for the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen, and the Department has reason to believe that the seed lot is infected with this pathogen, the Department may have the seed lot tested, according to the protocol established in this Section, to ensure its freedom from the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen. In the event that a USDA-APHIS approved laboratory Results are positive for the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen, the lot will be rejected from the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program and cannot be sold as seed. Additionally, the requirements contained in 6.A.(2) and 6.A.(3) of this Chapter must be met.

(k) The grower or his/her representative and the Department shall be notified of the results of the laboratory tests within a reasonable time after they become available.

(l) Final notification of the Department's decision will be sent to the grower or his/her representative in writing. A final decision by the Department to deny certification will be accompanied by a statement of the appeal rights of the grower.

(m) All testing costs will be borne by the grower or his/her representative.

(2) Requirements when the Bacterial Ring Rot Disease or Pathogen is Found
(a) The lot in which the Bacterial Ring Rot disease or pathogen is found in accordance with these regulations shall be rejected from the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program and cannot be sold as seed.

(b) All other seed potato lots that otherwise pass the requirements of the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program, that were produced on a farming operation on which the Bacterial Ring Rot disease or pathogen has been found in accordance with these regulations:
(i) will automatically be designated as Certified Class seed;

(ii) will have a # symbol printed after each such lot in the Seed Potato Certification Program Seed Directory;

(iii) cannot be sold as seed or be planted as seed subject to the following exceptions;
1. Lots which are tested according to the protocol established in 6.A.(1) of this Chapter at a level of 400 tubers per each 40 acres of production and found free of the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen can be sold or planted by the grower as seed but cannot be entered in the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program.

2. Lots which are tested according to the protocol established in 6.A.(1) of this Chapter at a level of 400 tubers for each 15 acres of production and found free of the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen can be entered into the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program. The progeny of such lots must also be tested according to the protocol established in 6.A.(1) of this Chapter and found free of the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen prior to sale or use by the grower as seed. Testing must be conducted at a level of 400 tubers per 15 acres of production if the progeny of such lots is to be sold as Foundation Class Seed, or 400 tubers per 40 acres of production if the progeny is to be sold as Certified Class Seed.

(iv) will drop to Field Year 4 if designated lower than Field Year 4, if such lots are sold as seed the year that the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen is found.

(c) Fields from which potatoes infected with the Bacterial Ring Rot pathogen were harvested cannot be used to produce Certified or Foundation Class seed for one year following discovery of the pathogen.

(d) Crop handling equipment may be used in separate farming operations, provided that the machinery is thoroughly washed, and completely disinfected under the direction of a Seed Potato Inspector, between farming operations.

(e) If the Bacterial Ring Rot disease or pathogen is found in a production unit involved in a separate farming operation, all seed potatoes produced in the other production unit(s) are ineligible as Foundation Seed Class.

(3) Additional Requirements If the Bacterial Ring Rot Disease or Pathogen is Found During Packing and Handling
(a) If Bacterial Ring Rot is found in seed potatoes of the Certified or Foundation Seed Class during a packing operation, certification of potatoes from the same bin, and potatoes grown from the same seed source in other bins, will be rejected from the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program and cannot be sold as seed.

(b) If Bacterial Ring Rot is found in seed potatoes during the packing operation, certification of all other potatoes stored on the farm or any operation using the same equipment will be rejected from the Foundation Seed Class and re-designated into the Certified Seed Class.

(c) Packing of seed potatoes of the Certified Seed Class from remaining bins in the storage or packing house in which Bacterial Ring Rot has been found will not be permitted until the affected seed lot is segregated or "binned up" so as to be inaccessible when seed potatoes from other bins are being graded, stored or packed.

(d) After Bacterial Ring Rot has been found, Shipping Inspection Tags will not be issued until the entire storage or packing house work area and potato grading and handling equipment has been cleaned and disinfected by the shipper and meets the approval of the Seed Potato Inspector.

(e) All seed potatoes in the storage or packing house in which Bacterial Ring Rot has been found must be inspected for grade by a Seed Potato Inspector prior to shipment.

B. Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid

(1) Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid Identification
(a) Potato plants and/or tubers which are entered into the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program and which the Inspector suspects of being infected with Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid shall be submitted to the Department's USDA-APHIS approved laboratory for testing.

(b) The grower or his/her representative shall be notified by the Inspector, if possible, prior to removal of the suspect plant and/or tuber from the grower's property.

(c) The samples shall be analyzed by generally accepted laboratory procedures for the detection of Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid.

(d) The grower or his/her representative and the Department shall be notified of the results of the laboratory test as they become available.

(2) Discovery During Field Inspection or Post-Harvest Test

Seed potatoes in which Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid has been detected during field inspection or Post-Harvest Test cannot be sold as seed.

C. Symptomless Disease Carriers

(1) Designation

The Commissioner may, with input from the industry, designate, based upon experimental evidence, a list of potato varieties or seedlings which do not consistently express visual symptoms of diseases regulated by the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program.

(2) Disease Testing Requirement
(a) The Commissioner may require that samples of any of these varieties be laboratory tested if there is reason to suspect that such variety(ies) contains disease levels exceeding the tolerances specified in this Chapter. The appropriate plant or plant parts will be tested by the Department's USDA-APHIS approved laboratory to determine the level of disease(s) in the seed lot.

(b) The number of samples to be taken will be statistically determined to adequately assess the disease content of the seed lot.

(c) Samples for laboratory testing may be collected during field inspection or in the Post-Harvest Test.

(3) Penalty if Disease Tolerances are Exceeded

If the appropriate disease tolerances cited in this Chapter are exceeded during laboratory testing, then the seed lot shall be rejected from the Maine Seed Potato Certification Program.

D. Other Regulated Diseases

(1) Potato Mop Top Virus and Tobacco Rattle Virus
(a) Potato Mop Top Virus and Tobacco Rattle Virus will be regulated according to the Canada/US - Management Plan for Potato Viruses that Cause Tuber Necrosis, dated October 25, 2004, adopted by the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. This plan is incorporated in these rules by reference. See document at: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/potato/downloads/pvy/NecroticVirusManagementPlan.pdf .

E. Suggested Grower Practices for Disease Control

(1) Equipment and Storage Disinfection
(a) All equipment and storages should be cleaned and disinfected in accordance with appropriate industry standards each year prior to use.

(b) Disinfectants should be available at all seed storages and no one should be allowed entry into the storage without first disinfecting their footwear.

(c) Equipment from seed farms which is used on other farming operations should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected prior to being used on the seed farm.

(2) If Bacterial Ring Rot is Discovered
(a) Any field of potatoes in which Bacterial Ring Rot was found should be treated with a sprout inhibitor providing the treatment can be applied at the proper stage of growth to effectively control sprouting.

(b) Any field in which Bacterial Ring Rot was found should not be planted to potatoes for the next two consecutive years and should be treated with a sprout inhibitor or effective herbicide the year following detection of Bacterial Ring Rot to control volunteers.

(c) For the next two years after the detection of Bacterial Ring Rot the farming operation should:
(i) thoroughly clean and disinfect, under the supervision of a Seed Potato Inspector, all machinery, storages and equipment used in the production of seed potatoes.

(ii) dispose of all seed potatoes produced on that farming operation and acquire and plant new lots of seed of the Foundation Seed Class.

(iii) laboratory test 400 tubers of each variety, field year and source of seed produced on the farming operation before such seed can be sold. The cost of this test will be charged to the grower.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Maine may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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