§ 611. Service for certification of seed; standards and rules

(a) The Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets shall establish and make available to the people of the State a service for the inspection of fields of potatoes for the purpose of certifying the product thereof for seed purposes. The Secretary shall have authority to establish certification standards that shall specify the maximum percentages of diseases and other defects that will be permitted in fields the product of which is certified for seed. The Secretary shall also have authority to adopt rules regarding the growing, roguing, grading, and shipping of certified seed potatoes and the conditions under which the service shall be available and a certificate granted.

(b) The Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets may also make available to the people of the State a service for the certification of seed grains, grass crops, legumes, and vegetables.

(c) This chapter requires the identification of seeds that have been genetically engineered. The purpose of such identification is to help avoid adverse effects on the potential benefits of genetic engineering technologies and on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity through the use of such seeds. (Amended 1999, No. 49, § 109; 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003; 2003, No. 97 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2004; 2015, No. 23, § 72.)