1. The general requirements of
seed certification applicable to all crops like hybrid rice (F1)
and hybrid rice parental seeds (A line) as adopted by the National
Seed Quality Control Services are basic together with the succeeding
specific requirements.
2. The production area must have
fertile soil adaptable for parental lines, with sufficient irrigation
and efficient drainage system, not shaded and has no previous
record of serious incidence of pests and diseases.
3. The production area must undergo
at least five series of inspection to be conducted by duly trained
official seed inspectors during the seed production at the following
stages.
a. transplanting - to ensure
that proper row orientation appropriate distance of planting
and number of seedlings per hill are followed;
b. maximum tillering, before heading to flowering and before
harvest - to check whether off-types and other varieties are
properly removed; and
c. harvest time - to ensure that the R lines (male parent) are
harvested ahead and taken out of the field before harvesting
A line (seed parent).
4. Must meet the following field
standards:
a. Production Area - at least
five hectares of compact land;
b. Isolation - strictly isolated to ensure genetic purity of
hybrid seeds and rice parental and avoid pollination from unwanted
varieties. The following isolation methods shall be followed:
i. distance isolation - an isolation
of 100 m is satisfactory. Within this range, no other rice varieties
should be grown except for the pollen parent;
ii. time isolation - adjust planting time to separate flowering
of seed parent from other rice cultivars within 100 m by at least
3 weeks. The heading stage of varieties grown within 100 m around
the hybrid seed production field should be over 21 days earlier
or later than that of the cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lines
or A line; and
iii. barrier isolation - topographic surface features or any
physical obstacles, be natural or artificial, with height of
at least 2.5 m or crop barrier having a height of at least 2.5
m and 3 to 4 m wide can be used as means of isolation barrier.
c. Rouging - sources of undesirable
rice plants like volunteer plants and off-types should be removed
from A line or R line at any time of the plant stage development
and more importantly during the maximum tillering, flowering
and before harvest stages; and
d. Control of weeds, diseases
and insect pests - keep weeds, diseases and insect pests under
control.
5. Must meet the following seed
standards:
|
Factors |
F1 Seed |
A line Seeds |
| Pure
seeds (min) |
98.00% |
98.00% |
| Weed
and other crop seed (max) |
0.10% |
0.10% |
| Inert
matter (max) |
1.90% |
1.90% |
| Red
Rice, grains/500 g (max) |
2 |
2 |
| Other
varieties/500 g (max) |
1.00% |
.50% |
| Germination
(min) |
85.00% |
85.00% |
| Moisture
content (max) |
14.00% |
14.00% |
6. Tagging of seed stock that
meet the standards of seed certification shall be officially
done by seed inspectors with the official bright orange tags
for hybrid F1 seeds and old rose tags for hybrid rice parental
seeds (A or CMS line).
Non-compliance
with the above requirements shall be a ground for the denial
of seed certification
This
Order shall take effect immediately and supersede Memorandum
Circular No. 3, Series of 2000.