The Forest Reproductive Material (Great Britain) Regulations 2002

Regulation 4(1)(c)

SCHEDULE 4 MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE APPROVAL OF BASIC MATERIAL INTENDED FOR THE PRODUCTION OF REPRODUCTIVE MATERIAL TO BE CERTIFIED AS “QUALIFIED”

Seed Orchards

1.—(a) The Commissioners shall approve the type, objective, crossing design and field layout, components, isolation and location of the seed orchard.

(b) The component clones or families shall be selected for their outstanding characters and the Commissioners shall assess them in accordance with the requirements of paragraphs 1 to 10 of Schedule 3, giving particular weight to those requirements set out in paragraphs 4 and 6 to 10.

(c) The component clones or families shall be planted according to a plan approved by the Commissioners and shall be established in such a way that each component can be identified.

(d) In the case of a seed orchard intended for the production of an artificial hybrid, the percentage of hybrids in the reproductive material must be determined by a verification test the methodology of which shall be approved in writing by the Commissioners.

Parents of Family

2.—(a) The Commissioners shall be satisfied that the parents shall be selected either for their combining ability, or for their outstanding characters as assessed by them in accordance with paragraphs 1 to 10 of Schedule 3, giving particular weight to the requirements of paragraphs 4 and 6 to 10 of that Schedule.

(b) The Commissioners shall approve the objective, crossing design and pollination system, components, isolation and location of the parents.

(c) The identity, number and proportion of the parents in a combination must be notified to the Commissioners when the application is made under regulation 7(7) and the Commissioners' approval of these features shall be obtained before the parents may be approved.

(d) In the case of parents intended for the production of an artificial hybrid, the percentage of hybrids in the reproductive material must be determined by a verification test the methodology of which shall be approved in writing by the Commissioners.

Clones

3.—(a) Clones shall be identifiable by distinctive characters which must be notified to the Commissioners in the application referred to in regulation 7(7) and must be approved by the Commissioners if the basic material is itself to be approved.

(b) The superiority of individual clones shall be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Commissioners by the established use in forestry practice of the clones, or from the results of experimentation which is in the Commissioners' view of sufficient duration to be a reliable indication of the individual clone’s characters.

(c) The Commissioners shall be satisfied that ortets used for the production of clones shall be selected for their outstanding characters as judged by the Commissioners in accordance with such of the requirements of paragraphs 1 to 10 of Schedule 3 as apply to ortets, with particular weight being given to the requirements of paragraphs 4 and 6 to 10 of that Schedule.

Clonal Mixtures

4.—(a) Clonal mixtures shall meet the requirements of points 3(a), 3(b) and 3(c) above.

(b) The identity, number and proportion of the component clones in a clonal mixture, and information as to the selection method and foundation stock must be notified to the Commissioners when the application is made under regulation 7(7) and the Commissioners shall be satisfied as to the suitability of these features.

(c) The Commissioners shall be satisfied that any clonal mixture for which approval is given is genetically diverse.