(a) All production of female seed parents, pollinating seed parents, and commercial hybrids must be test-planted (variety purity grow-out test). Such test must be conducted under the supervision of the Seed Quality Program, as the enforcement agency. The required tests must consist of not less than 1/10 acre of not less than 2,000 plants in one location. It will be the responsibility of the seed producer to notify his or her area Regional Office in the area where the seed is stored when the lot of seed is ready to be sampled. Samples must be drawn as directed by the department. One pound of seed will be required for each 1/10 acre test. The test will be inspected during the bloom stage by approved inspectors of the department.
(b) A sample considered to be on the borderline between acceptance and rejection or a sample rejected by the department may be inspected by an advisory committee annually appointed by the State Seed and Plant Board. The committee will consist of two approved seed certification inspectors from the department, two Texas certified seed growers, and one member of Texas AgriLife Research. The committee will advise the Seed Quality Program of their recommendations. The seed producer will have the privilege of having at least a 2/5 acre plot (of a lot rejected in the grow-out test) planted for reconsideration by the department and the advisory committee. The same controls will apply to larger plots that are applicable to the 1/10 acre tests.
(c) A fee of $180 for each sample grown for reconsideration must be paid to the Texas Department of Agriculture, and the travel and per diem expenses of department personnel necessary to sample, plant, and inspect the larger plot must be paid by the seed producer.
(d) Removal of any plants from any of the aforementioned grow-out tests at any time by the seed producer or by anyone else with his or her knowledge prior to the acceptance or rejection of the lot represented will immediately cancel the eligibility of the producer to certify.
(e) Varietal purity grow-out test standard.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §10.22 adopted to be effective September 2, 1996, 21 TexReg 7955; amended to be effective June 3, 1997, 22 TexReg 4415; amended to be effective February 28, 2002, 27 TexReg 1316; amended to be effective September 1, 2003, 28 TexReg 7346; amended to be effective September 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 5348; amended to be effective January 1, 2016, 40 TexReg 9619