ALFALFA

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 alfalfa seed certification.

II. SEED PRODUCTION

1. APPLICATIONS

1. Dates and fees for applications are as listed in General Requirements and Standards.

B. SEED ELIGIBILITY

1. Public alfalfa varieties currently certified in Utah are listed in Prefix A. Note the seed classes eligible to plant for certification. In some varieties there is no Registered class.

2. Limitations on the age of stand and generation classes of seed through which a given variety may be multiplied for both insided and outside the region of adaptation shall be specified by the originator or his designee. Certified seed production outside the area of adaptation shall not exceed six years on a given field if not otherwise specified by the originator or his designee.

C. LAND REQUIREMENTS

1. Foundation, Registered, and Certified seed must be produced on land which has not grown or been seeded to alfalfa during four, three and two years, respectively, prior to the year of proposed planting.

2. The land must be free of volunteer alfalfa plants and noxious weeds during the season preceding planting.

3. No manure or other contaminating amendments shall be applied during the establishment and productive period of the stand.

4. A companion crop is permissible in establishing a stand for the production of Certified class seed as long as the companion crop seed source is certified and has no alfalfa seed contamination.

5. Isolation:

a. A field under certification must have the following minimum isolation distance from fields of different varieties or fields of the same variety that do not meet the variety purity requirements for certification:

Classes

Fields – Less than 5 Acres

Fields – 5 Acres or More

Foundation

900 ft.

600 ft.

Registered

450 ft.

300 ft.

Certified

(See Below)

Different Classes of the Same Variety

10 ft.

b. Isolation for the Certified class is based on the size of the certified field and the percentage of the field within 165 feet of another variety of alfalfa. If 10 percent or less of the certified field is within the 165 foot isolation zone, no isolation is required--only a definite separation such as a road, fenceline, bare ground, etc. If more than 10 percent of the field is within the isolation zone, that part of the field must not be harvested as certified seed.

The "isolation zone" is that area calculated by multiplying the length of the common border (s) with other varieties of alfalfa by the average width of the certified alfalfa field falling within the 165 ft. isolation distance requirement.

c. Portions of a field that do not meet isolation requirements must be clearly marked and the non-certified seed from this portion may be harvested separately either before or after the certified portion. Documentation (weight receipts, separate storage, or re-inspection by a UCIA representative) to show that seed from the non-certified portion was kept separate must be available upon request, or seed from the entire field will be ineligible for certification.

D. FIELD INSPECTION

1. All fields on which new plantings of alfalfa are contemplated must be inspected prior to planting to check isolation and land requirements.

2. A seedling inspection will be made by a UCIA representative during the first season of growth. Reseeding new alfalfa plantings shall be limited to the first two years, and the field must be inspected before re-seeding. The seed source for reseeding must be of the same class as the original seed used, or the field will be reclassified to the lowest seed class planted. Additional fees may be charged for re-inspection.

3. At least one field inspection before harvest (during the blossoming period) will be made each year that certified seed is to be harvested. Seed must not be harvested before this inspection is made. Roguing to remove off-type plants and sweet clover, and control of dodder and other regulated weeds is required prior to this field inspection.

E. FIELD STANDARDS

1. Volunteer plants may be cause for rejection or reclassification of a seed field.

2. Tolerance for other varieties and crops:

Maximum Permitted in Each Class

Factor

Foundation

Registered

Certified

Sweet clover plants

None

5 per acre

10 per acre

Other varieties*

None

0.01%

*Other varieties shall be considered to include off-type plants (plants that can be differentiated from the variety that is being inspected).

F. HARVEST

Alfalfa seed may be moved in bulk (box or truck) or in bags (each clearly identified) from the threshing machine to farm storage or to conditioning facilities. Identity and purity of the seed must be maintained and prior approval of equipment and facilities used for transporting, handling, and storing of seed must be given by a UCIA representative.

III. CONDITIONING, SAMPLING, AND LABELING

A. SEED STANDARDS

Standard for Each Class

Factor

Foundation

Registered

Certified

Pure seed (min.)

99.25%

Inert matter (max.)

0.75%

Other crops (max.)

0.05%

0.5%

0.1%

Sweet clover (max.)

9 per lb.

90 per lb.

Discolored seed (max.)

15.0%

Weed seed, non-regulated weeds, (max.)

0.1%

0.2%

Weed seed, regulated weeds, prohibited *a

None

Restricted and objectionable *b (max.)

18 per lb.

Germination and hard seed (min.)

85.0%

*a Includes the noxious weeds listed in the General Requirements and Standards and the following: dodder Cascuta spp.), yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis), dogbane (Apocynum cannabinium), and perennial sowthistle (Sonchus arvents).

*b Poverty-weed (Iva axillaris), Bur-ragweed (Franseria dis-color), and Halogeton (Halogeton glomeratus).

B. SEED SAMPLING

A representative sample of 8 oz. of each seed lot shall be drawn by a UCIA representative after the seed has been conditioned at an approved cleaning facility.

C. TAGS AND SEALS

Each bag sold or distributed as certified must be packed in new bags and bear the official tag attached with a seal to each container (See General Requirements and Standards for sealing and tagging fees).