ONION SEED

CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS AND STANDARDS

I. BASIC RULES

The UCIA General Seed Certification Requirements and Standards are basic and with the following constitute the requirements and standards for onion seed certification.

II. SEED PRODUCTION

A. APPLICATIONS

Date and fees for applications are as listed in the General Requirements and Standards.

B. SEED ELIGIBILITY

1. Onion varieties currently certified in Utah are listed in Prefix A.

2. Foundation or Registered bulbs must be planted to produce Certified class seed, or Foundation class seed may be planted to produce Certified class seed without a intervening bulb selection process. Shipment of onion bulbs into the state or within the state to be used as Mother bulbs (of the proper class) for seed production must be sacked and sealed by the proper certification agency at the point of origin.

3. For the Utah strain of Yellow Sweet Spanish onions, a bulb selection program may be accomplished under strict supervision of the UCIA for Foundation class production of bulb grading and selection (bulbsof bulbs and Certified class production of seed and may be repeated as follows: (a) bulb grading and selection (bulbs must originate from a recognized Utah strain selection program) for varietal type improvement (shape and color); (b) Certified class seed production from these selected bulbs; (c) seed planted and the Foundation class mature bulbs again selected as in part (a).

C. LAND REQUIREMENTS

1. Onions shall be grown on land on which the preceding crop was of another kind or produced a class of certified seed of the same variety.

2. Number of varieties per farm

a. Seed -- Only one variety shall be grown for seed on a farm in any one year unless special permission is granted by the UCIA.

b. Bulbs -- Two varieties of onions which can easily be identified by color of bulb may be grown on the same farm in any one year.

3. Isolation -- To be eligible for certification a seed field must be isolated from fields of any other variety or fields of the same variety that do not meet the varietal purity requirements for certification as follows:

Class Feet

Foundation 5,280 (1 mile)

Registered 2,640 (1/2 mile)

Certified 1,320 (1/4 mile)

4. The unit of certification is an entire field, and a field of seed cannot be divided for the purpose of certification.

D. FIELD STANDARDS

1. Two field inspections will be made, one at the harvest and/or selection of the bulbs (including bulbs originating in another area) and one after the seed heads have been formed from the bulbs the next season.

2. Fields must be rogued prior to field inspection, to remove off-type plants and other varietal mixtures. Varietal differences of growing onion plants are slight; therefore, varietal differences must be determined by bulb inspection.

3. Bulb standards -- Bulbs of any class must be uniform in size, shape, and color. Varietal mixture shall not exceed 0.5% (0.1% for Foundation). Bulbs must be at least 2 1/4 inches in diameter, firm and free from decay.

E. HARVEST

1. Storage of bulbs -- Growers who have onion bulbs eligible for certification shall work out a satisfactory plan with a UCIA representative for maintaining the identity of the bulbs through harvest and storage. Certified onion bulbs must be kept separate from any non-certified bulbs at all times.

2. Containers used for collecting seed heads must be clean and identity maintained with proper labeling and separation from other lots.

III. CONDITIONING, SAMPLING, AND LABELING

A. Seed Standards

Standards for Each Class

Factor

Foundation

Registered

Certified

Pure seed (min.)

99.0%

Inert matter (max.)

0.5%

Other crops (max.)

0.05%

Weed seed, non-regulated weeds (max.)

0.05%

Weed seed, regulated weeds*

None

Germination (min.)

80.0%

* Includes Utah noxious, restricted, and objectionable weeds listed in the General Requirements and Standards.

B. A representative sample of at least 8 ounces will be drawn from each lot by a UCIA representative for germination and purity tests.

C. Seed must be stored in new bags, and must have a tag and seal affixed by a UCIA representative with notation of number of pounds on each tag. Re-packaging into smaller bags or boxes (after coating or other processing) must satisfy the UCIA representative that genetic purity and lot identity has been maintained. Certification tags and/or seals must be affixed to the smaller packages if they are to be sold as certified seed.