General requirements and responsibilities

1. Participation and responsibility. a. Participation in this seed potato program is voluntary and may be withdrawn prior to the first inspection. b. Responsibilities. (1) Seed department responsibilities. The inspections, approvals, certification, and production of these rules and regulations will be done by the state seed department. (2) Applicants' responsibilities. The farming, sanitation practices, storing, and packing will be the grower's responsibility. It is the responsibility of the applicant to maintain genetic purity and identity at all stages of certification, including planting, harvesting, storing, and handling. Evidence that any lot of seed has not been protected from contamination that might affect genetic purity or is not properly identified shall be cause for possible rejection of certification. 2. General requirements. a. Potatoes to be eligible for the program shall have been in a certification program and winter tested for eligibility. b. Fields will pass two or more inspections given by visual examination of a representative sample of the plants which method and size of sample will be determined by the state seed department. c. Fields passing inspection will be stored in a seed warehouse and sorted to grade at shipping time. d. Responsibility for the quality of work done in sorting the potatoes falls upon the grower or a thoroughly qualified agent authorized by the grower. e. Requirements for certification are not complete on any lot of eligible potatoes until properly labeled as described in this chapter. Official labels will be provided to the grower by the state seed department in hard copy or electronic form. Official seed grade inspections are compulsory for seed shipped out of state. Grade inspection is voluntary for intrastate shipments. For those shipments that are not inspected, or that fail to meet grade standards described in section 74-04-01-11, the label must state "no grade". f. The responsibility for properly and accurately labeling foundation or certified seed rests with the grower of the seed. The labels will be issued to the purchaser only on order or authorization from the grower, who must provide to the purchaser a proper and accurate label for each container or load of seed at the time of delivery. Labels must not be applied to stock other than that indicated on the tags or bulk certificates. Bulk shipments, by truck or railcar, when thoroughly disinfected, may be considered the container. g. The seed label must contain the following information: (1) Year in which the crop was produced. (2) Grower/labeler's name. (3) Variety. (4) Field year. (5) Class. (6) Certification or application number of the seed lot. (7) Total amount in container represented by cwt. h. Resorting or regrading. If a lot of potatoes fails to meet certified seed grade requirement upon inspection, they are to be reconditioned to meet the requirement or the official labels must be removed. i. Reconditioning while in transit. In the case of any circumstance making it essential to recondition seed in transit, permission must be obtained from the state seed department. j. Latent virus testing. Serological testing for latent viruses shall be voluntary and a requirement for only virus-tested seed. Virus-tested seed meeting established tolerances may be indicated on the label. k. Upon the discretion of the state seed department, potato seed lots originating from out of state may be subjected to a laboratory test, by a seed department-approved laboratory, for the detection of seedborne pathogens. Eligibility for recertification of any seed lot so tested must be based on that laboratory test. Additional documentation, including health certificates or summer or winter, or both, field readings, may be required by the seed department prior to acceptance for recertification in this state. l. Failure to comply with any of the requirements of this chapter may be cause for rejection or cancellation of the lot or the certification of any seed as seed potatoes. 3. No person may disclaim responsibility of the vendor of the seed for the data or information on the label required by law and any such disclaimer of vendor's express or implied warranty is invalid. 4. Violations. The state law specifically states the use of the term "certified" or the term "registered" or any term or terms conveying a meaning substantially equivalent to the meaning of any said terms, either orally or in writing, printing, marking, or otherwise in reference to or in connection with or in advertising or characterizing or labeling seed potatoes or the containers thereof is prohibited, unless such potatoes shall have been duly inspected and certified pursuant to the provisions of the law.