Classified seed should be top priority – BPC
Classified seed should be top priority – BPC
Seed is arguably the
most important input for
a potato crop. Variety,
source and management
must all be right. In this
special feature we
report independent and
commercial views on
new varieties and ask
how and by whom
should seed be handled
from mother crop to
planting. But first
Andrew Blake reviews
the classification
system and what it
means for growers.
Edited by
Andrew Swallow
THEtop priority when sourcing potato seed is to make sure it is classified, advises the British Potato Councils head of exports and seed, Alasdair MacLennan.
Not only is it illegal in the EU to sell seed not officially classified, but ware growers are getting an increasingly good deal from the system, he believes.
All member states have their own classification schemes designed to meet EC Directive 66/403/EEC. The aim is to ensure minimum standards for varietal purity, health and other quality criteria are met.
In principal the closer seed is to the breeders original in terms of multiplication (see chart), the better the chance of producing healthy marketable crops, explains Mr MacLennan.
Ware growers seem to have taken that on board. Use of classified seed is increasing and only about 20% of commercial crops are still produced from home-saved material.
"Its worth remembering that trading in small ware as seed is illegal and growers can be prosecuted," he adds.
The quality of British classified seed has improved greatly in recent years as the industry is rationalised.
"With improved quality many growers now increasingly want extra information about its origins, physiological age and specific disease loadings to help stock selection and management.
"That is reflected in an increased availability of premium brands of seed, for example, which has been washed so levels of skin blemish diseases can be assessed better.
"The big problem for the seed industry is that as demands for quality and investment have increased, in many cases the returns have not," says Mr MacLennan. *
Seed may be grown for a maximum of two generations as VTSC, three generations as SE and E, and any number of generations as AA. In the high grade seed areas of Scotland and parts of the north of England, AA stocks must be grown from E class seed or above and it cannot be used to produce further seed crops in those areas. CC defines certified seed, which can only be produced in England and Wales outside the high grade areas, may have any number of generations, but is ineligible for an EEC grade. SASA=Scottish Agricultural Science Agency; PHSI=Plant Health & Seeds Inspectorate.
How far down the seed multiplication pathway will your seed be? Not as far as it used to be and that means much better quality, says SASAs Bill Rennie.