Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a)
General. Participation
in the program is voluntary. Once a written request to participate in the
program is received by the Department, no participant may withdraw until the
end of the calendar year. Registration or certification of geraniums does not
imply a warranty or guarantee on the part of the Department or any employe
thereof beyond the terms of the program.
(b)
Responsibility of
applicant. The applicant shall be responsible for proper maintenance
and indexing of registered plants being grown under the provisions of the
program. The applicant shall be responsible for maintaining the identity and
records of the propagation history of all registered plants in a manner
approved by the Department.
(c)
Certification. Certification shall conform with the following:
(1) All plants sold or advertised as
virus-tested shall be certified by the Department.
(2) Only registered plants may be
certified.
(d)
Requirements for certification as a registered plant.
Requirements for certification as a registered plant shall conform with the
following:
(1) Registered plants shall be
located in an environment in which insects are effectively controlled as
approved by the Department.
(2)
Registered plants shall be rooted and maintained in soil which has been freed
of nematodes by methods approved by the Department.
(3) Blocks of registered plants shall be
physically separated from each other in a manner approved by the
Department.
(4) Registered plants
shall be indexed or propagated from indexed plants.
(5) Registered plants shall be labeled as to
variety by methods approved by the Department and shall not be
off-type.
(6) Registered plants
shall have a record kept of their propagation and indexing history.
(7) Registered plants shall be kept in
thrifty growing condition, and pests and diseases shall be effectively
controlled.
(8) Approved sanitary
practices shall be used to prevent mechanical transmission of viruses to
registered plants.
(9) Registered
plants shall only be propagated from other registered plants or heat-treated
meristem tip cultures. Saleable plants may not be used as a propagation source
to produce registered plants.
(10)
Registered plants, other than saleable plants, may not be shipped or sold
without permission of the Department.
(11) Registered plants shall be less than 1
year old.
(12) Registered plants
shall not be permitted to flower except for variety identification
purposes.
(e)
Indexing. Indexing shall conform with the following:
(1) Indexing shall be the responsibility of
the applicant.
(2) Indexing
techniques and indicator plants shall be approved by the Department and will be
made available to interested persons upon request.
(3) All registered plants in nuclear elite
and nuclear blocks shall be indexed.
(4) A representative sample, as approved and
selected by the Department, of increase block plants shall be
indexed.
(5) The Department may
require the indexing or reindexing of any registered plant which is suspected
of being virus-infected.
(f)
Propagation. Propagation
shall conform with the following:
(1) Elite
nuclear plants shall only be propagated from heat-treated meristem tip culture
or other elite nuclear plants.
(2)
Nuclear plants may only be propagated from elite nuclear plants.
(3) Increase block plants may only be
propagated from elite nuclear and nuclear plants.
(4) Production block plants may only be
propagated from increase block plants.
(5) Saleable plants may only be propagated
from production block plants.
(6)
Plants propagated from saleable plants are not certified.
(g)
Eligibility. A geranium
(Pelargonium spp.) variety with stable horticultural
characteristics, when approved by the Department, is eligible for entry in the
program. New varieties entering the program shall go through heat treatment,
meristem tip culture and the prescribed propagation route before they can be
sold or advertised as certified as virus-tested.
