Chapter ATCP 156

ATCP 156.03 ATCP 156.03 Certification standards.

ATCP 156.03(1) (1) Propagative material used to grow the certified seed potatoes. Certified seed potatoes shall be grown from one of the following:

ATCP 156.03(1)(a) (a) Foundation seed potatoes produced, on the same farm, by the seed potato grower requesting certification.

ATCP 156.03(1)(b) (b) Foundation seed potatoes produced on another farm in this state, if pre-approved by the college.

ATCP 156.03(1)(c) (c) Propagative material produced by the college.

ATCP 156.03 Note Note: The college produces “Elite Source” potatoes that may be used under par. (c) to grow foundation seed potatoes. “Elite Source” potatoes comply with all of the standards in this subchapter, and are labeled to show the number of years of field propagation on the college farm. The college rigidly screens the potatoes for disease, using accepted indexing methods.

ATCP 156.03(1)(d) (d) Propagative material that is pre-approved by the college and produced in a laboratory or greenhouse approved under s. ATCP 156.07.

ATCP 156.03(1)(e) (e) Foundation seed potatoes certified by another state, under standards equivalent to those in this chapter, and pre-approved by the college.

ATCP 156.03(1)(f) (f) Propagative material produced by a breeding program that is pre-approved by the college. The college may approve the propagative material if the college does all of the following:

ATCP 156.03(1)(f)1. 1. Finds that the material was produced under conditions that reasonably limit the threat of disease or variety mixture.

ATCP 156.03(1)(f)2. 2. Conducts field and harvest inspections of the propagative material, equivalent to the inspections under s. ATCP 156.04 (1) and (2), and finds that the propagative material meets standards equivalent to the certification standards under s. ATCP 156.03 (3) to (5).

ATCP 156.03 Note Note: The college may pre-approve propagative material from a recognized breeding program, even though the program does not employ a limited-generation scheme. Recognized breeding programs evaluate potato lines for agronomic characteristics, and most of the lines are derived from true seed rather than tissue culture. Seed potatoes descended from the propagative material may be certified for a maximum of 3 years. See s. ATCP 156.05 (2).

ATCP 156.03(1)(g) (g) Certified seed potatoes when specifically authorized under sub. (6) (a) 3.

ATCP 156.03 Note Note: Sub. (6) (a) 3. allows a grower to produce foundation seed potatoes from non-foundation certified seed potatoes under special circumstances, when the grower is recovering from a bacterial ring rot finding 2 seasons earlier.

ATCP 156.03(2) (2) Planting standards. Seed potato lots proposed for certification shall comply with the following planting standards:

ATCP 156.03(2)(a) (a) Each lot shall be separated from every other lot by at least one planting row.

ATCP 156.03(2)(b) (b) Each lot shall be separated by at least 50 feet from other potatoes that are not a part of a lot proposed for certification. The college may approve a shorter separation distance if there is adequate alternative protection against transmission of viral disease.

ATCP 156.03(2)(c) (c) Lots may not be planted on the same farm, in the same year, with any potatoes or propagative materials except those listed in sub. (1).

ATCP 156.03(3) (3) Field and harvest inspection standards.

ATCP 156.03(3)(a) (a) The college may not certify a lot of seed potatoes if an inspection under s. ATCP 156.04 (1) or (2) finds any disease or variety mixture in excess of the rate specified in Table 1.

- See PDF for table

ATCP 156.03(3)(b) (b) The college may decline to certify a lot of seed potatoes if any of the following apply:

ATCP 156.03(3)(b)1. 1. The planted or harvested lot is materially affected by a disease, pest infestation or condition, not identified in Table 1, which adversely affects the growth, quality or value of the seed potatoes.

ATCP 156.03 Note Note: For example, par. (b) 1. may include diseases, pest infestations and conditions such as late blight, soft rot, frostbite, slow emergence, missing hills or excessive weed growth.

ATCP 156.03(3)(b)2. 2. The seed potato grower fails or refuses to permit an inspection under s. ATCP 156.04 (1) or (2).

ATCP 156.03(3)(b)3. 3. Conditions on the farm prevent a complete inspection under s. ATCP 156.04 (1) or (2).

ATCP 156.03(4) (4) Post-harvest test standards.

ATCP 156.03(4)(a) (a) Except as provided in par. (b), the college shall deny or withdraw certification of a seed potato lot if a post-harvest test under s. ATCP 156.04 (3) finds any disease or variety mixture in excess of the rate specified in Table 2.

- See PDF for table

ATCP 156.03 Note Note: The college must complete a post-harvest test before certifying foundation seed potatoes. See s. ATCP 156.04 (3) (a). The college may certify other seed potatoes before completing a post-harvest test, but must withdraw the certification if the post-harvest test shows a violation of standards under sub. (4) (a).

ATCP 156.03(4)(b) (b) The college may certify a lot of seed potatoes, regardless of the existence or results of any post-harvest test under s. ATCP 156.04 (3), if all of the following apply:

ATCP 156.03(4)(b)1. 1. The lot has met the standards under sub. (3) (a) based on field and harvest inspections under s. ATCP 156.04 (1) and (2).

ATCP 156.03(4)(b)2. 2. The college conducts reliable laboratory tests on a representative sample of potatoes from the lot; or receives results from equivalent tests conducted by a reliable commercial laboratory, and the laboratory tests show that the lot complies with the post-harvest test standards in par. (a).

ATCP 156.03(5) (5) Foundation seed potatoes; additional standards. The college may not certify foundation seed potatoes from any farm unless all of the following apply:

ATCP 156.03(5)(a) (a) The college has conducted field and harvest inspections, under s. ATCP 156.04 (1) and (2), of all potatoes grown on the farm in the 2 preceding years.

ATCP 156.03(5)(b) (b) The college has conducted a post-harvest test of the previous year’s seed potato production from that farm under s. ATCP 156.04 (3), or has conducted equivalent laboratory tests of that production under sub. (4) (b).

ATCP 156.03(6) (6) Bacterial ring rot; additional standards.

ATCP 156.03(6)(a) (a) The college may not do any of the following if the college finds that any lot of potatoes from a farm is infected with bacterial ring rot:

ATCP 156.03(6)(a)1. 1. Certify the infected lot.

ATCP 156.03(6)(a)2. 2. Certify as foundation seed potatoes any potatoes descended from potatoes grown on the same farm, in the same year, as the infected lot.

ATCP 156.03(6)(a)3. 3. Certify as foundation seed potatoes any potatoes grown on the same farm in the same year or the following year, except that certified seed potatoes grown in the second year may be used to grow foundation seed potatoes in the third year if there is no further finding of bacterial ring rot.

ATCP 156.03(6)(b) (b) If the college finds any lot of potatoes infected with bacterial ring rot, no potatoes from that lot may be stored in a warehouse used to store certified seed potatoes.

ATCP 156.03(6)(c) (c) If the college finds bacterial ring rot in stored potatoes, the college may not certify any lot of potatoes from the same farm until the seed potato grower does all of the following:

ATCP 156.03(6)(c)1. 1. Removes all of the infected lots from storage.

ATCP 156.03(6)(c)2. 2. Cleans and disinfects relevant potato equipment and facilities in a manner approved by the college.

ATCP 156.03(7) (7) Variance allowed by college.

ATCP 156.03(7)(a) (a) Notwithstanding subs. (3) and (4), the college may certify a lot of seed potatoes that fails to comply with one or more standards under sub. (3) or (4) if the college documents all of the following in the certification document under s. ATCP 156.02 (3):

ATCP 156.03(7)(a)1. 1. Special conditions justify the certification, and there is a reasonable likelihood that the next generation of seed potatoes grown from the non-complying lot will comply with the standards under subs. (3) and (4).

ATCP 156.03(7)(a)2. 2. No bacterial ring rot has been found in the lot.

ATCP 156.03(7)(a)3. 3. The certification will not jeopardize seed potato quality, or pose a significant risk of harm to the potato industry or consumers.

ATCP 156.03(7)(b) (b) A seed potato grower may submit a written request for certification under par. (a). The requester shall provide information to show that the requested action would comply with par. (a).

ATCP 156.03(7)(c) (c) The college may require laboratory tests of a representative sample of the seed potato lot for which the variance is requested.

ATCP 156.03 History History: CR 06-085: cr. Register April 2007 No. 616, eff. 5-1-07.

ATCP 156.04 ATCP 156.04 Certification inspections.

ATCP 156.04(1) (1) Field inspection. Before the college certifies a lot of seed potatoes, the college shall conduct at least 2 field inspections of the farm on which that lot is being grown. The college shall visually inspect at least 100 potato plants per acre of plants from which the lot is produced, and may inspect any other potato plants growing on the farm. The inspection of a potato plant may include a visual inspection of the plant and any tubers from the plant. The college shall inspect potato plants for compliance with the standards in s. ATCP 156.03 (2) and (3).

ATCP 156.04(2) (2) Harvest inspection. Before the college certifies a lot of seed potatoes, the college shall visually inspect a representative sample of harvested tubers chosen from that lot. The college shall choose the tubers at harvest, or after the tubers have been harvested and stored. The college shall visually inspect at least 100 tubers for each harvested acre of tubers comprising the lot, and may inspect any other tubers harvested from the farm. The college shall inspect tubers for compliance with the standards under s. ATCP 156.03 (3).

ATCP 156.04(3) (3) Post-harvest test.

ATCP 156.04(3)(a) (a) Except as provided in par. (b) or s. ATCP 156.03 (4) (b), the college shall conduct a post-harvest test on each lot of certified seed potatoes. The college shall conduct the post-harvest test according to par. (c). The college may not certify foundation seed potatoes until it completes the post-harvest test, but may certify other seed potatoes before completing the post-harvest test.

ATCP 156.04 Note Note: The college must perform a post-harvest test before certifying foundation seed potatoes. The college may certify other seed potatoes before completing a post-harvest test, but must withdraw the certification if the post-harvest test shows a violation of standards under s. ATCP 156.03 (4).

ATCP 156.04(3)(b) (b) No post-harvest test is required under par. (a) if the certified lot will be planted in the following season on fewer than 0.25 acres and only on the grower’s own farm.

ATCP 156.04(3)(c) (c) For a post-harvest test under par. (a), the grower shall deliver to a location specified by the college a representative sample of 400 tubers for every 50 acres from each lot to be certified, with a maximum of 4 samples per lot. Each tuber shall be 1¾ to 2¼ inches in diameter and no more than 2½ inches long. The college shall plant the tubers in a winter growing location chosen by the college. The college shall inspect the potato plants and potatoes grown from those tubers for compliance with the standards under s. ATCP 156.03 (4) (a).

ATCP 156.04(3)(d) (d) The college shall deny or withdraw its certification of a seed potato lot if the seed potato grower impedes or fails to permit a post-harvest test under this subsection. If the college is unable to perform a post-harvest test because of conditions outside the control of the seed potato grower or the college, the lack of a post-harvest test does not affect the validity of a certification under s. ATCP 156.02 (1).

ATCP 156.04 History History: CR 06-085: cr. Register April 2007 No. 616, eff. 5-1-07.

ATCP 156.05 ATCP 156.05 Classifying certified seed potatoes.

ATCP 156.05(1) (1) General.

ATCP 156.05(1)(a) (a) The college shall classify certified seed potatoes according to Table 3. The college shall use the standard classification except that, if the seed potatoes are descended from propagative material approved under s. ATCP 156.03 (1) (f), the college shall use the experimental classification.

- See PDF for table

ATCP 156.05(1)(b) (b) In Table 3:

ATCP 156.05(1)(b)1. 1. “F” means foundation seed potatoes.

ATCP 156.05(1)(b)2. 2. “Ex” means experimental foundation seed potatoes.

ATCP 156.05(1)(b)3. 3. “Certified” means certified seed potatoes other than foundation seed potatoes.

ATCP 156.05(1)(b)4. 4. In each column, classifications are listed from highest (top) to lowest (bottom).

ATCP 156.05(2) (2) Classification based on years of field propagation.

ATCP 156.05(2)(a) (a) Except as provided in sub. (3), the college may not do any of the following:

ATCP 156.05(2)(a)1. 1. Certify, under the standard classification, seed potatoes from a line with more than 7 generations of field propagation.

ATCP 156.05(2)(a)2. 2. Certify, under the experimental classification, seed potatoes from a line with more than 3 generations of field propagation. The college shall classify the first field-propagated generation as “Ex5.”

ATCP 156.05 Note Note: “Field propagation” does not include outdoor production of propagative material at a breeding farm, prior to time that the college approves that propagative material under s. ATCP 156.03 (1) (f) for use at a seed potato farm. See s. ATCP 156.01 (10) (b).

ATCP 156.05(2)(b) (b) The college shall downgrade the classification of certified seed potatoes by one step for each year of field propagation, except that no potatoes may be certified as foundation seed potatoes unless they meet the standards under s. ATCP 156.03.

ATCP 156.05 Note Note: Pathogen populations in seed potatoes normally increase with each year (generation) of field propagation. Under the standard classification system, seed potatoes may be certified for up to 6 generations as “foundation” seed potatoes (for use as seed for other certified seed potatoes). The 7th generation may be certified as seed for commercial potatoes, but not for growing other certified seed potatoes.
  Seed potatoes are normally downgraded by one step for each year of field propagation. But if they fail to meet standards under s. ATCP 156.03 (5) for “foundation” seed potatoes, they must be downgraded to “certified” class even if they have been propagated in the field for fewer than 7 years. If they fail to meet the basic standards for certification under s. ATCP 156.03, they may not be certified at all.

ATCP 156.05(2)(c) (c) Foundation seed potatoes certified by another state shall be treated as having an equivalent classification under Table 3 based on years of field propagation. If the seed potatoes do not bear a classification showing the year of field propagation, they shall be treated as FY5.

ATCP 156.05 Note Note: Under s. ATCP 156.03 (1) (e), foundation seed potatoes certified by another state may be used to grow certified seed potatoes in this state if the other state uses equivalent certification standards and the college pre-approves the use.

ATCP 156.05(3) (3) Classification renewal.

ATCP 156.05(3)(a) (a) The college may grant one of the following classification renewals one time for any line of certified seed potatoes:

ATCP 156.05(3)(a)1. 1. The college may classify, as “FY5” rather than “certified,” certified seed potatoes produced from seed potatoes classified as “FY6.”

ATCP 156.05(3)(a)2. 2. The college may classify, as “Ex5” rather than “certified,” certified seed potatoes produced from seed potatoes classified as “Ex6.”

ATCP 156.05 Note Note: Among other things, a classification renewal under par. (a) may allow continued production of a minor or experimental variety for which there may be a limited seed supply. A renewal gives seed potato growers another 3 years to find a new seed source for that variety.

ATCP 156.05(3)(b) (b) The college may grant a classification renewal under par. (a) if all of the following apply:

ATCP 156.05(3)(b)1. 1. The seed potato grower requests the renewal in writing, and submits information to justify the renewal.

ATCP 156.05 Note Note: For example, the seed potato grower may document favorable test results, “tuber unit planting,” a limited supply of a special variety, or other conditions that may warrant the renewal. “Tuber unit planting” means cutting seed potatoes into pieces and planting the pieces together in the field in such a way that if any progeny plants from any tuber are diseased or off-variety, all progeny from that tuber will be identified and discarded.