Section 20 031 005 - SPECIAL CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS1. Vermont Requirements for Certification of All Strawberry Plants. (a) Application for certification shall be made to the Commissioner, on or before March 15th of each calendar year.(b) Only first year fields set from certified mother plants are eligible for certification.(c) Fields offered for certification must be well cultivated and be maintained essentially free of noxious weeds and grasses. Fields not so maintained or in which the plant stands are very thin shall not be certified.(d) Fields offered for certification shall be inspected at least twice a year. The first inspection will be made in the spring and the second inspection will be made in late summer or early fall.(e) Plants certified must be maintained essentially free of noxious insects, pests, and plant diseases. The following tolerances for common insects and diseases shall constitute the standard for certification. RED STELE - - None
JUNE YELLOWS - - 1%, provided that all visibly infested plants roughed out by the growers.
OYCLAMEN MITE - - None
CROWN BORER - - 1%, provided that the grower eliminates by insecticidal treatment or otherwise as required.
NEMATODES - - None if infestation is general. If localized, plants infected area must be destroyed.
LEAF SPOT OR SOORCH - - Must not be heavy in certified fields.
2. Requirements for Production of Virus-Free Strawberry Plants and Propagating Material. (a) Strawberry plants produced under the standards set forth in Section IX 1. of these regulations must meet all regular certification requirements of ordinary stock and in addition must conform to the following. (1) Foundation stock must be maintained whether under screen or isolated by at least 3000 feet from other strawberry plants, wild or cultivated, and must be sprayed or otherwise treated according to the instructions or recommendations of the Commissioner.(2) Increase fields must be isolated to the extent practicable from other strawberry plants and must be sprayed or otherwise treated as outlined for foundation stock. Any other strawberry plants growing on the same farm must be sprayed or otherwise treated in the same manner.(3) Plants (ten or more per acre) will be taken from both foundation stocks and increase fields for indexing. Plants for indexing will be collected periodically but at least once each year from every planting. Finding of virus infected plants disqualifies the foundation or increase planting.(4) Plant from increase fields may be reset for further increase the following year. After that period, growers must reestablish increase fields from foundation stock.(5) Plants produced in accordance with the above requirements will be certified as REGISTERED PLANTS. The certification shall state that the plants have been produced from foundation stock that is essentially free from known viruses and that the plants have been grown under conditions that reduce the probability of field contamination to a minimum, and that the plants are believed to be free of any appreciable amounts of virus infection.3. Requirements for Certification of Raspberry Propating Material. (a) Application for certification shall be made to the Commissioner on or before March 15 of each calendar year.(b) Fields offered for certification must be maintained in good cultural condition and be essentially free from injurious plant diseases and insects, noxious weeds and grasses. Fields producing weak stands, or in which weeds and grasses are so common as to prevent proper inspection, will not be certified. The producer must carry out a pest control program, approved by the Commissioner, which shall be adequate to maintain the field as described above.(c) Fields offered for certification shall be inspected at least twice each year. The first inspection shall be made before fruiting begins and the second inspection in the late summer or early fall.(d) The reference to "essentially free from injurious plant diseases and insects" in (b) above is clarified to permit the following tolerances: 1ST INSPECTION - No more than 2% of the palnts in the field may show visible symptoms of crown gall, mosaics, streak or leaf curl, and plants must be essentially free of anthracnose, cane blight, spur blight, and rusts. Insect infestation must not be so severe as to noticeably retard the growth of the plant or cause widespread movement of disease organisms.
2ND INSPECTION - No more than 1% of the plants in the field may show visible symptoms of the becterial and virus diseses listed above. Insects must be controlled as for the first inspection.
The producer shall be notified after the first inspection of the necessary roguing to be completed with 10 days from the receipt of such notice, or other treatment determined to be necessary by the commissioner.
(e) Fields eligible for certification must be isolated from cultivated Rubus spp. so diseased as to be ineligible for certification, or from wild Rubus spp., by a minimum of 200 feet. Red raspberries eligible for certification must be isolated from black or purple varieties by a minimum of 200 feet, and purple varieties must be isolated from all other varieties by a minimuim of 200 feet. PENALTIES.
Pursuant to 6 V.S.A. [4029, any person who violates any provision of 6 V.S.A. Chapter 206 or the regulations promulgated thereunder shall be fined not more that $ 100.00 for the first offense and not more that $ 500.00 for each subsequent offense. In addition, the Commissioner may seek and obtain preliminary and permanent injunctive relief for any violation of the provisions of 6 V.S.A. Chapter 206 or the regulations promulgated thereunder.
20-005 Code Vt. R. 20-031-005-X
Effective Date: July 14, 1987 (Secretary of State Rule Log # 87-34)