1. In this schedule—
“administrative checks” means administrative checks performed by or on behalf of the Scottish Ministers for the purposes of these Regulations, including but not limited to checking records kept by a supplier pursuant to regulation 17;
“appropriate EPPO protocol” means—
a protocol published by the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation in relation to the particular activity (such as, but not limited to, sampling and testing or multiplication, renewal and propagation of mother plants) and the particular genus or species concerned(1);
where no such protocol as mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) exists, a protocol in relation to the same type of activity as so mentioned, which has international recognition; or
where neither protocol as mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) exists, a protocol established by the Scottish Ministers in relation to the same type of activity mentioned in sub-paragraph (a).
“basic mother plant” means a mother plant intended for the production of basic material;
“candidate pre-basic mother plant” means a mother plant which the supplier intends to have accepted as a pre-basic mother plant;
“certified mother plant” means a mother plant intended for the production of certified material;
“cryopreservation” means the maintenance of plant material by cooling to ultra-low temperatures, in order to retain the viability of the material;
“directly propagated” means propagated by renewal, multiplication or micropropagation;
“fruiting plant” means a plant propagated from a mother plant and grown for the production of fruit in order to permit the verification of the varietal identity of the mother plant;
“micropropagation” means the multiplication of plant material in order to produce a large number of plants, using in vitro culture of differentiated vegetative buds or differentiated vegetative meristems taken from a plant;
“mother plant” means a plant identified for propagation;
“multiplication” means vegetative production of mother plants in order to obtain a sufficient number of mother plants in the same category;
“official inspection” means any visual inspection, and, where appropriate, sampling and testing conducted by or on behalf of the Scottish Ministers for the purposes of these Regulations;
“practically free from defects” means that defects likely to impair the quality and usefulness of the propagating material or fruit plants are present at a level equal to, or lower than, the level expected to result from good cultivating and handling practices, and that level is consistent with good cultivating and handling practices;
“pre-basic mother plant” means a mother plant intended for the production of pre-basic material;
“renewal”, in relation to a mother plant, means replacing a mother plant with a plant vegetatively produced from it; and
“visual inspection” means the examination of plants or parts of plants using the unaided eye, lens, stereoscope or microscope and which, in relation to fruiting plants, is conducted during the most appropriate periods of the year (taking into account climatic and growing conditions of the plants of the genera or species concerned).
2.—(1) An official inspection must pay particular attention to—
(a)the suitability and actual use of methods by the supplier for checking each of the critical points in the production process; and
(b)the overall competence of the supplier’s staff to carry out the activities mentioned in regulations 14, 15 and 16.
(2) The Scottish Ministers must ensure that records of the results and the dates of all field inspections, sampling and testing conducted by, or on behalf of, the Scottish Ministers are produced and kept.
A list of applicable published protocols is available at http://archives.eppo.int/index.htm.