True North Seed Potato Company

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:

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.

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