Canadian Certification Program
Seed potato certification in Canada is a nation wide program administered and implemented by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
Canada's seed potato certification program is designed to regulate the variety purity and health of seed stocks. Things to know:
Disease-Free Nuclear Seed:
All seed potatoes produced in Canada originate with nuclear stocks which are produced under sterile conditions from tissue cultures that have been subjected to laboratory tests and found free of disease pathogens.
Limited Generation:
Seed potatoes in Canada can remain in the certification program for no more than seven years. The first field generation is Pre-elite, which is produced from nuclear stock. Sequentially, the seed annually moves downward through the classification system. This results in a "flush-through" system which minimizes the risk of disease build-up.
The seed classes from the highest to the lowest are as follows:
- Nuclear - produced from potato tissue culture material which has been tested in the laboratory and found to be free of all disease pathogens;
- Pre-elite - produced from nuclear stock;
- Elite I - produced from nuclear stock or Pre-elite seed;
- Elite II - produced from nuclear stock or any of the previous classes;
- Elite III - produced from nuclear stock or any of the previous classes;
- Elite IV - produced from nuclear stock or any of the previous classes;
- Foundation - produced from nuclear stock or any of the previous classes;
- Certified - produced from nuclear stock or any of the previous classes;
Field Planting Equivalency Table
Region | Year in Field | |||||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
Canada | PE | E1 | E2 | E3 | E4 | F |
Alaska | G1 | G2 | G3 | G4 | G5 | G6 |
California | N | G1 | G2 | G3 | F | C |
Colorado | G1 | G2 | G3 | G4 | G5 | G6 |
Idaho | N | G1 | G2 | G3 | G4 | G5 |
Maine | N1 | N2 | N3 | N4 | G1 | G2 |
Michigan | N | G1 | G2 | G3 | G4 | G5 |
Minnesota | N | G1 | G2 | G3 | G4 | G5 |
Montana | N | G1 | G2 | G3 | G4 | -- |
Nebraska | N | G1 | G2 | G3 | G4 | G5 |
New York | (Uihlein Farm) | G1 | G2 | G3 | G4 | |
North Dakota | N | G1 | G2 | G3 | G4 | G5 |
Oregon | N | G1 | G2 | G3 | G4 | G5 |
Utah | N (G1) | G2 | G3 | G4 | G5 | G6 |
Washington | N | G1 | G2 | G3 | G4 | G5 |
Wisconsin | E1 | E2 | G1 | G2 | G3 | G4 |
Prepared by the Certification Section of Potato Association of America
Abbreviations Used:
G - Generation
N - Nuclear
F - Foundation
E - Elite
PE - Pre Elite
C - Certified
Disease and Variety Purity Standards:
Disease freedom and variety purity are maintained through a program consisting of multiple field inspections, laboratory testing, post-harvest testing and sound agronomic practices.
The Elite IV, Foundation and Certified classes of seed must undergo and pass two field inspections. The Pre-elite and Elites I, II, and III classes of seed must undergo and pass three field inspections, in addition, each field receives a Bacterial Ring Rot inspection. All field inspections are made during a time most opportune for the visual detection of disease symptoms and foreign varieties in the field.