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CHAPTER 2 REQUIREMENTS FOR PROPAGATING MATERIAL AND, WHERE APPLICABLE, FRUIT PLANTS

SECTION 2 Requirements for basic material

Article 15Requirements for the certification of basic material

1.Propagating material, other than basic mother plants and other than rootstocks not belonging to a variety, shall, on request, be officially certified as basic material if it fulfils the requirements of paragraphs 2, 3 and 4.

2.The propagating material shall be propagated from a basic mother plant.

A basic mother plant shall fulfil one of the following requirements:

(a)be grown from pre-basic material; or

(b)be produced by multiplication from a basic mother plant in accordance with Article 19.

3.The propagating material shall fulfil the requirements set out in Article 7, Article 8(6) and Article 12.

4.The propagating material shall fulfil the additional requirements concerning:

(a)health, as set out in Article 16;

(b)soil, as set out in Article 17;

(c)maintenance of basic mother plants and basic material as set out in Article 18; and

(d)specific conditions for propagation, as set out in Article 19.

5.A rootstock not belonging to a variety, shall, on request, be officially certified as basic material if it is true to the description of its species, it fulfils the requirements set out in Article 8(2) and (6), and the additional requirements of Articles 12, 16, 17, 18 and 19.

6.For the purpose of this Section, any reference in the provisions referred to in paragraphs 3 and 5 to pre-basic mother plants shall be construed as reference to basic mother plants, and any reference to pre-basic material shall be construed as reference to basic material.

7.Where a basic mother plant or basic material no longer fulfils the requirements of Article 7, Article 8(2) and (6) and Articles 12, 16 and 17 the supplier shall remove it from the vicinity of other basic mother plants and basic material. That removed mother plant or material may be used as certified or CAC material provided that it fulfils the requirements set out in this Directive for the respective categories.

Instead of removing that mother plant or that material, the supplier may take appropriate measures in order to ensure that that mother plant or that material complies with those requirements again.

8.Where a rootstock not belonging to a variety is a basic mother plant or basic material that no longer fulfils the requirements of Article 8(2) and (6) and Articles 12, 16 and 17, the supplier shall remove it from the vicinity of other basic mother plants and basic material. That removed rootstock may be used as certified or CAC material provided that it fulfils the requirements set out in this Directive concerning the respective categories.

Instead of removing that rootstock, the supplier may take appropriate measures in order to ensure that that rootstock complies with those requirements again.

Article 16Health requirements

1.A basic mother plant or basic material shall be free from the pests listed in Part A of Annex I and Annex II, as regards the genus or species concerned.

The basic mother plant or the basic material concerned shall, by visual inspection in the facilities, fields and lots, be found free from the pests listed in Part A of Annex I and Annex II, as regards the genus or species concerned. That visual inspection shall be carried out by the responsible official body and, where appropriate, the supplier.

The percentage of basic mother plants or basic material, which is infested by the pests listed in Part B of Annex I, shall not exceed the tolerance levels as set out therein. The basic mother plants or the basic material concerned shall, by visual inspection in the facilities, fields and lots, be found to comply with those levels. That visual inspection shall be carried out by the responsible official body and, where appropriate, the supplier.

In case of doubts concerning the presence of those pests, the responsible official body and, where appropriate, the supplier shall carry out sampling and testing of the basic mother plant or basic material concerned.

2.The responsible official body and, where appropriate, the supplier shall carry out visual inspection, sampling and testing of a basic mother plant or basic material, as set out in Annex IV as regards the genus or species concerned.

3.As regards sampling and testing, as provided for in paragraph 1, Member States shall apply protocols of EPPO, or other protocols which are internationally recognised. Where such protocols do not exist, the responsible official body shall apply the relevant protocols established at national level. In that case, Member States shall, on request, make available those protocols to the other Member States and to the Commission.

The responsible official body and, where appropriate, the supplier shall submit the samples to laboratories officially accepted by the responsible official body.

4.Paragraph 1 shall not apply to basic mother plants and basic material during cryopreservation.

Article 17Soil requirements

1.Basic mother plants and basic material may only be grown in soil that is free from any pests which are listed in Annex III, for the genus or species concerned, and which host viruses affecting that genus or species. Freedom of such pests hosting viruses shall be established by sampling and testing.

That sampling shall be carried out by the responsible official body and, where appropriate, the supplier.

That sampling and testing shall be carried out before the basic mother plants or the basic material concerned is planted and it shall be repeated during growth where there is suspicion concerning the presence of the pests referred to in subparagraph 1.

That sampling and testing shall be carried out taking into account the climatic conditions and the biology of the pests listed in Annex III, and where those pests are relevant for the basic mother plants or the basic material concerned.

2.Sampling and testing shall not be carried out where plants which are hosts for the pests listed in Annex III, for the genus or species concerned, have not been grown in the soil of production for a period of at least five years and where there is no doubt concerning the absence of the relevant pests in that soil.

Sampling and testing shall not be carried out when the responsible official body concludes on the basis of an official inspection that the soil is free from any pests which are listed in Annex III, for the genus or species concerned, and which host viruses affecting that genus or species.

3.In the case of sampling and testing as referred to in paragraph 1, Member States shall apply protocols of EPPO, or other protocols which are internationally recognised. Where such protocols do not exist, Member States shall apply the relevant protocols established at national level. In that case, Member States shall, on request, make available those protocols to the other Member States and to the Commission.

Article 18Requirements concerning the maintenance of basic mother plants and basic material

1.Basic mother plants and basic material shall be maintained in fields isolated from potential sources of infection by aerial vectors, root contact, cross infection by machinery, grafting tools and any other possible sources.

2.The isolation distance of the fields referred to in paragraph 1 shall depend on regional circumstances, the type of propagating material, the presence of pests in the area concerned and the relevant risks involved as set out by the responsible official body based on official inspection.

Article 19Conditions for multiplication

1.The basic mother plants which are grown from pre-basic material within the meaning of Article 15(2)(a) may be multiplied in a number of generations to obtain the necessary number of basic mother plants. The basic mother plants shall be multiplied in accordance with Article 13 or shall be multiplied by micropropagation in accordance with Article 14. The maximum permitted number of generations, and the maximum permitted life span of basic mother plants, shall be as set out in Annex V for the relevant genera or species.

2.Where multiple generations of basic mother plants are permitted, each generation, other than the first one, may derive from any previous generation.

3.Propagating material of different generations shall be kept separately.