§ 641. Definitions

As used in this chapter:

(1) “Agricultural seed” includes grass, forage, cereal, oil, fiber, and other kinds of crop seeds commonly recognized as agricultural seeds, lawn seeds, and combinations of such seeds, and may include noxious weed seeds used as agricultural seed.

(2) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets or his or her designee.

(3) “Agency” means the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets.

(4) “Flower seed” includes seed of herbaceous plants grown for their blooms, ornamental foliage, or other ornamental parts and commonly known and sold under the name of flower seed.

(5) “Labeling” includes tags or other devices attached to, or written, stamped, or printed on, any container or accompanying any lot of seeds.

(6) “Noxious weed seeds” include:

(A) “Prohibited noxious weed seeds,” or those weed seeds that are prohibited from being present in agricultural and vegetable seed. They are the seeds of weeds that are highly destructive and difficult to control by good cultural practices and the use of herbicides.

(B) The term “restricted noxious weed seeds,” or those weed seeds that are objectionable in agricultural crops, lawns, and gardens of this State and that are difficult to control by good cultural practices or the use of herbicides.

(7) “Vegetable seeds” include the seeds of those crops that are grown in gardens and on truck farms and are generally known and sold under the name of vegetable or herb seeds in this State.

(8) “Weed seeds” mean the seeds of all plants generally recognized as weeds within this State and include noxious weed seeds.

(9) “Genetically engineered (GE) seed” means seed produced using a variety of methods, as identified by the National Organic Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, used to modify genetically organisms or influence their growth and development by means that are not possible under natural conditions or processes. Such methods include cell fusion, microencapsulation and macroencapsulation, and recombinant DNA technology (including gene deletion, gene doubling, introducing a foreign gene, and changing the positions of genes when achieved by recombinant DNA technology). Such methods do not include the use of traditional breeding, conjugation, fermentation, hybridization, in vitro fertilization, or tissue culture.

(10) “Genetically engineered plant part” means a whole plant or plant part, including scions intended for planting, that contains material derived from a GE seed or is itself produced using the methods described in subdivision (9) of this section. (Added 1989, No. 85, § 2; amended 1989, No. 256 (Adj. Sess.), § 10(a), eff. Jan. 1, 1991; 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003; 2003, No. 97 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. Oct. 1, 2004.)