SOUTH DAKOTA SEED CERTIFICATION STANDARDS

Wheat, Oats, Barley, Rye, Triticale and Flax

Seed Certification Standards
(In Addition to the General Standards Listed on the Standard's Home Page)

I. Land Requirements
Small grain intended for certification shall not be grown on land which produced the same kind of crop the previous year unless Certified seed of the same variety was planted.

II. Field Inspection
A field inspection must be made by an authorized inspector after the grain is fully headed and prior to harvest to make the necessary count for varietal purity, other crops plants, disease infection and weeds. Flax will be inspected when crop is in full bloom.

III. Field Standards
A. Unit of Certification
1. The field shall be considered the unit for certification, and a field can be divided for the purpose of certification. A strip of ground sufficient in width to prevent mechanical mixture which is either mowed, uncropped, swathed or planted to some crop other than the kind in question shall constitute a field boundary for the purpose of these standards. When it is necessary to remove a strip to obtain proper isolation, the part to be removed must be cut from the field that is to be inspected by a distance adequate to prevent mechanical mixture.

B. Specific Requirements
1. ISOLATION
a. Wheat: A field producing Foundation or Registered classes of Certified seed must be isolated at least ten feet from wheat fields of any other variety or fields of the same variety that do not meet the varietal purity requirements of the class of seed inspected. For different classes of Certified seed of the same variety grown next to each other, a strip ten feet in width must be cut from the field representing the seed*** class closest to Breeder seed. Seed from this buffer strip may be harvested along with the seed representing the lower of the two adjoining seed classes.

b. Triticale: The same standard would apply to Foundation and Registered classes of triticale with respect to isolation from other triticale.

c. Rye: A field producing Foundation seed must be isolated by at least 60 rods (990 feet) while Registered and Certified seed fields must be isolated by at least 40 rods (660 feet) from rye fields of any other variety or fields of the same variety that do not meet the varietal purity requirements of the class of seed inspected.

* Other varieties shall be considered to include plants that can be differentiated from the variety that is being inspected. However, other varieties shall not include variations which are characteristic of the variety.

** Inseparable other crops shall include crop plants, the seed of which cannot be thoroughly removed by the usual methods of cleaning. Rye in winter wheat and barley in oats are well known examples. In some areas climatic conditions do not take care of winter grains in spring grains and vice versa. In such instances these must also be considered as "inseparable other crops."

*** An uncropped strip of 1-3' must be present at the time of inspection between the two adjacent seed classes of the same variety to identify the boundary.

IV. Small Grain and Flax Seed Standards

* Other distinguishable varieties shall not include variations which are characteristic of the variety. Other distinguishable varieties shall be considered to include off-type seeds/plants that can be differentiated from the variety being analyzed.
** This does not apply to seeds of winter grains in spring grains and vice versa, except in such cases where climatic conditions do not take care of the situation. No rye is permitted in winter wheat.
*** Wheat, barley or rye of the certified class shall not contain more than 2% inert matter other than broken seed.
+ Noxious weeds are designated by the certifying agency (Refer to Number 23 on the Standard's Home Page). Certified oats (Certified Grade II) may contain one wild oat per pound.
++ Germination minimum for durum wheat is 80%.

Web page last modified on March 06, 2000 by Kay Ruden.