Crops

If you are a crop grower, a variety of services, schemes and regulations are available to you. This includes information on managing existing varieties, as well as advice on new sectors such as bioenergy.

Explore the content below to find out the full list of support available to you.

What the Seed Certification Scheme is

The Seed Certification Scheme provides a guarantee to the purchaser that seed is properly labelled, high in quality and free from major pests and diseases.

It ensures seed is produced, multiplied and marketed according to European Union regulations while maintaining the genetic integrity of the product.

At its simplest, the system certifies that a sack, packet or box of seed contains what it says on the label and that the seed was produced to the proper standard. Experienced officials conduct all the inspections, tests and controls needed.

What you must do

All seed sold must be of a variety registered on the National Catalogue or the European Union Common Catalogue of Agricultural Plant Varieties . This means that the variety has passed certain identity and purity tests. Varieties must have an approved name and be of acceptable

quality.

In the case of combinable crops, such as cereals and beans, seed crops must be grown under a written contract which is drawn up between the seed processor and the grower. A copy of the contract, signed by both parties, is then forwarded to the Department which acts as the certifying agency.

Crop Inspection

Each seed crop is inspected by Department inspectors to confirm the identity of the variety, to ensure that it meets the minimum level of varietal purity and that it meets certain plant health and pest infection standards.

Segregation, Sealing and Labelling

Each variety must be kept separate from other varieties at all stages in seed processing, and the identity and traceability of the seed preserved.

Each container of seed is officially sealed to ensure that any tampering with the seed is evident. Containers are also officially labelled to confirm the standard and identity of the seed and provide traceability.

Visual and Laboratory Analysis

All certified seed is subject to official visual examination by Deparment inspectors. Seed of combinable crops, such as cereals and beans, is subject to laboratory analysis at the Department's Seed Testing Laboratory in Backweston.

All land to be used for seed potatoes must be soil sampled and tested for Potato Cyst Nematodes. Leaf samples are taken during inspection of growing crops to test for virus diseases. Tuber samples are tested for quarantine diseases - ring rot, brown rot and certain nematodes.

Post Control Tests

It is a legal requirement that samples of certified seed lots are grown out in small plots to verify that the seed lot meets the necessary standards.

Trader Notices

Seed Potato Certification Documents

[document 100819 ]

Who to contact

For further information contact:

What Plant Breeders’ Rights are

The system of Plant Breeder's Rights, or Plant Variety Rights, is a form of intellectual property rights, which guarantees a return on investment to the breeder of a new plant variety.

The system allows the breeder of new varieties of agricultural, horticultural and ornamental plants to legally register the right to control the propagation and marketing of those varieties. The breeder may subsequently authorise other agents to propagate and market seed or vegetative propagating material of the variety under the terms of a licence. The holder of the right may charge a fee or royalty for granting the licence.

Plant royalties

Plant breeding requires a substantial investment of financial resources. Without the potential revenue stream of royalties, there would be no incentive for commercial breeding and the development of new and improved varieties. The royalty payable to the right holder is contained in the purchase price of the certified seed or propagating material.

Plant Breeders' Rights valid in Ireland are either National (Irish) Rights, valid only in Ireland, or European Rights, which are valid across the EU. Rights are valid for 25 years for most species and 30 years for varieties of trees, vines and potatoes.

Eligible varieties

A variety is eligible for rights if it is distinct, uniform, stable (DUS) and new and if it has an approved name. Once a right has been established for a variety, the onus is on the holder of the right to enforce it, if necessary by legal action. In Ireland, Plant Breeders' Rights are registered by the Office of the Controller of Plant Breeders' Rights. The Controller's role is in the establishment of the right.

Irish Plant Breeders' Rights are valid only in Ireland. Fees are payable to the Office of the Controller for the services provided, and renewal fees are payable each year to maintain rights. For some potato varieties popular in Ireland, the Plant Variety Right has expired and the certified seed of these varieties is freely marketable.

International rights

European Plant Variety Rights are valid throughout the EU, and are established by the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO). Fees are payable to the CPVO for the services provided. EU Rights take precedence over national rights.

The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) defines the basic principles relating to variety protection and it is on these principles that the national and EU Plant Breeders' Rights systems are based. UPOV currently has more than 70 members, including Ireland, and is headquartered in Geneva.

Farm-saved seed

The right of farmers to save their own seed, known as the 'farmer's privilege', is long established, and is protected by Irish and EU law. However, the holder of Plant Breeders' Rights is legally entitled to a royalty from those who farm-save seed. This royalty must be “sensibly lower” than the certified seed royalty and, in the absence of a formal agreement between the right holder and the user, is normally set at 50% of the standard royalty. For relatively small-scale producers, there is an exemption to pay such a royalty.

How to apply

Please complete the application form for Plant Breeders' Rights below and post it to the following address:

To determine the Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU) of new varieties of farm crops, in accordance with EU and National Legislation, and to recommend to growers those varieties most suitable for growing under Irish farming conditions.

Crop Trials

Crop trials are carried out in the principal production areas of the country to assess varieties for characteristics of economic benefit to farmers. Crops trialled are:

• Cereals (Barley, Wheat, Oats)
• Grasses and Clovers
• Forage Maize
• Winter Oilseed Rape
• Potatoes

The trials are carried out on Department lands at:

• Backweston (HQ) (Co Kildare)
• Athenry (Co Galway)
• Kildalton (Co Kilkenny)
• Moorepark (Co Cork)
• Raphoe (Co Donegal)

A number of farms specially selected with the cooperation of Teagasc (the State Agricultural Advisory Service).

New and improved varieties from national and international breeders are assessed in field and laboratory tests. The testing involves:

Testing for VCU

The principal role of crop variety testing is to determine the Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU) of the varieties put forward by breeders / seed agents for trialling. Varieties deemed to have a positive VCU under Irish conditions are then eligible for entry to the National Catalogue of Agricultural Plant Varieties (NCAPV).Only varieties of agricultural crops listed in the NCAPV, or in the EU Common Catalogue, can be marketed in Ireland. Under EU Council Directive 2002/53/EC [transposed into National Legislation by S.I. 525 of 2002], the Department of Agriculture and Food [DAF] is the competent authority in Ireland to carry out VCU testing of crop varieties.

National List Trials (NL)

DAF complies with it's obligation to determine the VCU status of varieties put forward by the breeders/seed agents, by carrying out National List trials which cover a wide geographic spread so that differences in climate, soil type, and other factors, are taken into account when evaluating a variety. Varieties are evaluated for a minimum of 2 years for yield, quality, disease resistance and other agronomic characteristics.

Recommended List Trials (RL)

For the majority of crops trialled, NL trials are combined with RL trials. Recommended List trials are carried out over a minimum of 3 years. Through these more comprehensive trials, DAF provides an independent and useful service to Irish growers whereby they can be confident that the recommended varieties will perform well under a wide range of Irish growing conditions. This confidence is reflected in the widespread use of the recommended varieties. Usage is estimated at 95% for cereals, 90% for herbages and 80% for forage maize.

Crop variety trial results are disseminated using the DAF e-zone, publication of Recommended List booklets, articles in the Farming Press, and presentations at Meetings and Open Days.

Publications & Information about Crop Variety Evaluation (CVE)

Publications & Information about Crop Variety Evaluation (CVE)

Seed Potatoes

Tops Potato Centre

The Tops Potato Propagation Centre is located in Raphoe, Co. Donegal. The Centre has its own lands for potato propagation as well as glasshouses, polytunnels and a virus testing laboratory.

Pre-Basic Seed Potato Production

The main function of the centre is to produce pre-basic mini-tuber seed for participants in the Department's Seed Potato Certification Scheme. To do this the station must maintain nucleus stocks of healthy and genetically true to type samples of the potato varieties likely to be required for seed and eventually ware potato production. The centre maintains most of the potato varieties grown in the country.

Most countries have formal systems i.e. Seed Certification Schemes which include various production steps where a flush through system is applied to renew seed stocks. The production of pre-basic mini-tuber seed is the first step in the seed renewal process. This seed is certified as being free from potato virus diseases.

The Process of Producing Virus Free Seed

The virus free seed is produced in the laboratory from the sprouted tubers derived from the nucleus unit plots using meristem tissue culture and the mirco-propagation technique. Micro-propagation is a rapid multiplication technique and is now commonly used to produce healthy plant material. The small potato microplants are multiplied up in the laboratory by sub-dividing them into nodal cuttings each of which grows into a new microplant. Sub-division continues until the numbers required for transplanting to a polytunnel are produced. The mini-tubers produced from the polytunnel are sold to specialised seed growers for further multiplication thus providing a regular supply of clean seed for entry into the Seed Potato Certification Scheme.

Maintenance of National Potato Variety Collection

Ireland is oblidged under various international biodiversity commitments to conserve its native genetic resources for food and agriculture. Ireland's National Potato Collection, which is conserved in the Tops Centre, is one of the most important collections of native genetic resources held in the State.

Comprising over 400 accessions, the collection includes old and modern Irish potato varieties as well as varieties from abroad. Some of the old varieties date back to pre-famine times (e.g. Lumper, Black Potato and Skerry Champion). The wide variation of genetic diversity contained within the varieties conserved in this collection ensures a broad genetic base of potato germplasm is maintained. Such diversity will be available to assist potato plant breeders facing the unknown challenges of the future such as climate change.

To celebrate the FAO's International Year of the Potato in 2008, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF) published "Potato Varieties of Historical Interest in Ireland " (ISBN No. 978-0-9565715-0-2) which contains a descriptive and photographic record of the main heritage varieties maintained by DAFF. Not all the varieties in the book are of Irish origin, but they were documented because they had strong associations with this country or they are unique to the Tops Potato collection.

Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability Testing Services

The Tops Centre is also responsible for conducting the Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) testing on any new varieties entered for Plant Breeders' Rights and/or National Listing. All newly bred potato varieties must undergo a minimum two-year test to ensure that they are;

• Distinct from any other potato variety in common knowledge,
• Uniform in its relevant characteristics,
• Stable in its essential characteristics i.e. it must remain true to its description after repeated reproduction or propagation.
• The guidelines under which these tests are conducted are very specific and are laid down by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants UPOV. An average of six newly bred varieties are DUS tested annually at the Tops Centre.

Virus Diagnostic Service

The Tops Centre provides a diagnostic service to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's, Seed Certification field potato inspectorate staff for all the common potato virus diseases. This service is an important aid for field inspectors in that not all virus diseases are visually identifiable.

Potato Wart Disease

Potato wart disease caused by Synchytrium endobioticum can cause crop losses of up to 50-60%. Thankfully a lot of varieties are immune to the disease. New varieties are screened for susceptibility to potato wart disease by staff at Tops Potato Centre.

Additional Information

For further information on the background and history of the Tops Potato Centre, along with additional information on the activities and services provided by the Potato Laboratory there, please click on the link below:

Tops Potato Laboratory

Potato Quarantine Diseases and Pests

Details about any potato quality or labelling issues should be emailed to PotatoOnline@agriculture.gov.iefor further investigation

Under the Noxious Weeds Act, 1936, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is responsible for overseeing the control and the prevention of the spread of certain weeds.

It is an offence for the owner/occupier of lands not to prevent the growth and spread of noxious weeds.

Owners and occupiers of land must ensure that they abide by the provision in the act.

The following weeds are listed in the legislation:

• Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris)
• Thistle
• Dock
• Common barberry
• Male wild hop plant
• Wild oat

Further information on Noxious Weeds and best practice for control are set out in the following documents:

Ragwort:

Dock

Mechanisms for the Control of Noxious Weeds

Information on methods for the control and safe disposal of Noxious Weeds are published by Teagasc:

Reporting of locations at which Noxious Weeds occur:

Persons wishing to report a location at which Noxious Weeds (ragwort, thistle, dock, common barberry, male wild hop plant and wild oat) are present can do so by completing the attached report form to this Department via the following email address: noxiousweedsreport@agriculture.gov.ie

Please note

• This form is only used to report the location of Noxious Weeds. Please see information below if you wish to report the location of Invasive Species.
• Only forms for which all information fields are completed will be followed up.

Reporting of Invasive Species:

The National Park and Wildlife Service in the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is responsible for the control and the prevention of the spread of Invasive Species. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has no responsibility for Invasive Species. Persons wishing to report the location of Invasive Species such as, but not limited to, those listed below, should visit the following links:

• For information on Japanese knotweed and FAQs see https://www.biodiversityireland.ie/projects/invasive-species/japanese-knotweed/
• To report the location of Invasive Species see http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/projects/invasive-species/submit-sightings/
• For more information on Invasive Species see https://invasivespeciesireland.comhttps://invasivespeciesireland.com

Examples of Invasive Species;

• Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica)
• Giant knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis),
• Bohemian knotweed (Fallopia x bohemica)
• Himalayan knotweed (Persicaria wallichii)
• Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)
• Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)

Animal Feedingstuffs, Fertilisers, Grain and Poultry Division

• Pesticide Control Service (PCS)

• Pesticide Registration and Control