REGULATION ON CERTIFICATION AND MARKETING
OF VINE YOUNG PLANTS AND PROPAGATION MATERIAL
Official Gazette Date: 03.07.2009 and Number: 27277
PART ONE
Aim, Scope, Basis and Definitions
Aim and Scope
ARTICLE 1 – (1) This Regulation comprises the procedures and principles related to the production and marketing of vine young plants and propagation material to ensure their quality, healthy production and varietal identity conforming to the standards within the framework of certification system.
Basis
ARTICLE 2 – (1) (1) This Regulation has been prepared on the basis of the Article 6 of the
Seed Law No. 5553, dated 31/10/2006.
Definitions
ARTICLE 3 – (1) In this regulation;
a) Research Institute: Public or private institutes that work on breeding or creating and developing of plant varieties and whose characters and working principles were defined by the Ministry,
b) Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,
c) Application Authority: Provincial directorate of the Ministry in the province of production or delegated enterprises by the Ministry for acceptance of declaration and field inspections,
ç) Motherblock Unit No.1: Vine plantspropagated from breeder material in insect-proof greenhouses or in open fields with appropriate isolation distances by research institutes or institutions delegated by the Ministry, from which virus-free propagation material in pre-basic category is obtained,
d) Plant inspection report: Report prepared by the plant protection service in charge of phytosanitary control within the framework of certification delegated by the provincial directorate of the Ministry or by the Ministry,

e) Plant protection service: Research institutes of agricultural combat (plant protection service) or enterprises delegated by and the Ministry for the inspection of harmful organisms listed within the framework of certification,
f) Plant propagation license: The license issued by the provincial directorate of the Ministry in accordance with Law No. 6968 on Agricultural Combat and Quarantine dated 15/5/1957,
g) Varietal identification report for motherblock: The report, in which the variety found in motherblock units is certified by the expert assigned by the enterprise determined by the Ministry,
ğ)Young plant: Grafted or non-grafted vine young plants produced either by grafting on rootstocksor produced directly by asexual vegetative methods such as cutting, layering and in vitro.
h) Type of young plant: Types of young plant are pot plant, grafted pot plant, bare root grafted plant, bare root non –grafted plant or plant propagated by tissue culture method,
ı) Directorate-General: Directorate-General of Agricultural Production and Development,
i) Motherblock Unit No.2: Vine plants obtained from the Mother Block Unit No.1 by
Research institutes or delegated enterprise by the Ministry or from imported propogation material or young plants in pre-basic category together with its labels that are used to obtain virus-free propagation material in basic category under insect-proof greenhouses or in open fields conforming to isolation distance.
j) Varietal identity: The condition by which the trueness-to-name of motherblock and/or variety declared in the label is guaranteed by the persons or enterprises that produce, market, store and transport young plants of vine
k) Objection inspection report: The report prepare upon an objection by the specific experts assigned by the Ministry related to the subject of objection,
l) Pre-basic material: Propagation material obtained from motherblock unit No.1,
m) Lot: A unit of propagation materials or young plants that can be identified in terms of uniformity and origin within same species, variety, motherblock, age, length and package and which are subjected to inspection and control at the same time,
n) Marketing: The operations of storing the propagation material and young plants in a ready-to-use condition, displaying or offering them for sales purposes as well as selling and delivering them to third parties,
o) Certified young plant: Young plants obtained from propagation material in motherblock unit No.3,
ö) Certification body: Enterprises delegated by the Ministry to perform the certification operations declared in this Regulation,
p) Certified material: Propagation material obtained from motherblock unit No. 3,
r) Standard young plant/propagation material: Young plants and propagation materials for which varietal identity is guaranteed by the producer and that are produced from motherblocks without certificate of origin, inspected by seed inspector(s) and whose all work regarding application is registered by the Application Authority,
s) Basic material: The material obtained from motherblock unit No. 2,

ş) VRSCC: Directorate of Variety Registration and Seed Certification Centre,
t) Seed inspector: Public officials or private persons that carry out inspections, take samples, make market inspections and prepare relevant documents related to seed certification,
u) Motherblock Unit No. 3: Plants and propagation material obtained from Motherblock unit
No.2 or imported together with labels and motherblock plants of fruit species that are planted by respecting the isolation distance in open field by the delegated instutitons from the Ministry.
ü) Producer: Natural or legal persons that professionally produce, protect and/or process and market propagation material or young plants,
v) Propagation material: Vegetative propagating material such as cutting, budwood, scion, clone, plantlet in vitro, shoot tips and meristems for production of young plants of vine.
y) Capacity report for propagation material: Report indicating the amount of propagation material to be obtained from motherblock units,
z) Harmful organism: All animals, living organisms that co-exist with plants, fungus, bacteria, virus, nematode, phytoplasm and other pathogens that harm plants and plant products through all biological periods.
PART TWO
Principles on Production, Certification and Marketing
General conditions
ARTICLE 4 – (1) General principles on production and marketing of young plants and propagation material for vine are specified below.
a) Certification scheme of young plants and propagation material for vine is given in Annex
1. It is not obligatory to to follow this scheme in production of standard young plant/propagation material.
b) In order to produce young plants and propagation material for vine within the certification system or standard production, it is required that the varieties of the young plant or the propagation material are registered in Turkey.
c) Apart from the Ministry units which perform the activities falling under the scope of main units of the Ministry that are involved in production of young plants and propagating material of vine within certification system or standard production, producers are required to have ‘Young
Plant Producer License’ and/or ‘In-vitro Seed Producer License’ and ‘Seed Producer License’ as per the provisions of the Regulation on Delegation and Inspection in Seed Sector, which was published in the official gazette No. 27229 and dated 15/5/2009.
d) Producers that establish motherblock unit No.1 or No.2 are required to be either a research institution or a delegated institution by the Ministry.
e) Imported propagation material and young plants can be used for the establishment of motherblock units No.1, No.2 and No.3.

f) Vine propagation material and young plants that are included in the certification system or standard production shall be produced and marketed by natural or legal persons delegated by the
Ministry.
g) The seeds certified in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation can be marketed as organic seed if they are certified in accordance with the Regulation on Principles and
Implementation of Organic Agriculture published in Official Gazette number 25841 and dated
10/06/005.
h) In tissue culture if the plants in the motherblock units No.1, No.2 and No.3 are used as the production source for the certified or standard young plant and if it the produced young plant conforms to standards following the inspection, it is categorized as certified plant. If the certificate of the motherblock plant from which the initial material is obtained does not exist, the young plant that is produced by appropriate tissue culture methods is categorized as standard young plant.
Approaches and methods to be implemented for tissue culture are determined by the Ministry.
i) In motherblocks unit No.2 and unit No.3, before the usage of propagation material in young plant production, as long as there is no problem arising from varietal identity, it is sufficient that the variety owner or an expert of the instiution delegated by the Ministry approve the variety’s and motherblock unit’s plan just for once.
j) Plant production license is obtained before the establishment of parcel only for motherblock units.
k) Chemical treatments made in motherblock parcels and all young plants parcels are recorded by the producer and these records are presented to the inspector if required..
l), Compost bearing an official certificate stating that it is free of nematodes and disinfected and that has not been previously used shall be utilized for all pot plants of vine.
m) While the motherblocks within the certification scheme are inspected against listed harmful organisms, vine plants in motherblocks of standart propagation material are inspected against domestic quarantine.
n) The producer shall submit the translation of all documents in foreign language into
Turkish from a certified translation office.
o) Documents and forms mentioned in this Regulation can be found on the website of the
Directorate-General and VRSCC.
Preparation of Varietal identification report for motherblock
ARTICLE 5 – (1) Natural or legal persons that own the motherblock shall apply to the
Application Authority for the preparation of the Varietal identification report for motherblock and the motherblock unit’s plan by arranging two copies of the application form of Varietal identification report for motherblock. In the application dossier, the producer submits the label and the invoice of the young plant and propagation material used in motherblock unit, confirmed by the provincial directorate. Invoice is not demanded from producers that establish motherblock units by utilizing self produced young plant and propagation material.
(2) Application Authority reserves one copy of the application form of Varietal identification report for motherblock comprising the copies of the label and the invoice and the

second copy is sent to an institution delegated by the Ministry for the preparation of the Varietal identification report for motherblock.
(3) Delegated institution assigns one or more than one expert for the identification of motherblock variety. Assigned expert(s) observe(s) the motherblock unit for once or more than once in most appropriate stages for identification. One seed inspector from the Application Authority attends to at least one of these identification inspections. In consequence of a definitice decision on the identification of the variety by the expert(s), Varietal identification report for motherblock and motherblock plan are drawn up in three copies. The conformity of the declared variety and the identified variety is indicated in the report. The experts submit one copy of the report and plan to their own institution, one copy to the Application Authority and one copy to the producer.
Submission of Declaration
ARTICLE 6 – (1) Submission of a declaration is necessary for certification of young plant and propagation material for vine.
(2) Declarations are drawn up and accepted by methods given below :
a) Appropriate declaration for young plant or propagation material of vine for is drawn up,
b) A declaration is prepared for each vineplant within motherblock unit No.1and for each young plant parcel in motherblock unit No. 2 and No. 3
,
including standard production in the scope of the production license.
c) Variety and rootstock names given in the declarations are written as they are registered and published.
d) The declarations of motherblock units No.1 and No.2 are prepared in five copies whereas the declarations of motherblock unit No.3 and all other young plant parcels including standard propagation material/young plants are prepared in three copies.
e) The declarations of motherblock units No.1 and No.2 are submitted to the Application
Authority between the dates of 1 st of January and 31 st of March, whereas the declarations of motherblock unit No.3 and all other young plant parcels of any phase including standard propagation material/young plants are submitted to the Application Authority between the dates of
1 st of January and 31 st of May.
f) No plants apart from those of declaration shall be sown or planted in the young plant production field following the sampling for nematode analysis.
g) The declarations submitted by the producers holding a license for young plant production, except for Ministry units which perform the activities falling under the scope of main service units of the Ministry, are approved by the Application Authority. Date and number of the production license is written on the declaration. The Application Authority shall return nonconforming applications to the applicant.
h) Following documents shall be attached to the declaration in the application file.
1) Confirmed copy of document/invoice by Application Authority, stating the amount of certificate and label of the propagation material together with information on its certification stage in the production declaration of the vine young plant within the framework of certification,
2) Plant propagation license in all young plant production declarations,

3) One Copy of the varietal identification report for motherblock and parcel plan approved by the Application Authority and signed by the expert, for declarations in basic and certified categories.
4) One copy of the delegation certificate approved by Provincial directorate of the
Ministry, which is granted by the Ministry for motherblock unit No.1 and No.2.
i) First copy of the declarations accepted by the Application Authority is kept by the
Application Authority. Second copy is submitted to the inspectors of the provincial directorate of the Ministry to be used at inspections and the third copy is submitted to the producer. Fourth copy of the propagation material declaration for motherblock unit No.1 and No.2 is submitted to VRSCC and fifth copy is sent to the plant protection service.
j) The amount indicated in the declarations of young plant production shall not exceed the amount indicated on the certificate/label of used propagation material or the amount written on the invoice. If both sources of propagation materials are used, total amount is taken into account.
k) Until the database registry system is operational, Application Authority shall send the declarations by e-mail to VRSCC within fifteen days as from last date of declaration submission.
l) If the information is found to be inaccurate in any phase of the certification process; declarations are cancelled even if they were confirmed by the Application Authority. The inspection report prepared on the basis of these declarations is not taken into certification and granted certificates and labels are invalidated.
Parcel inspections
ARTICLE 7 – (1) Parcel inspections are carried out by the field inspector(s) delegated by the
Ministry. The inspections of motherblock unit No.1 and No.2 are realized in coordination with the relevant provincial directorate of the Ministry and with the participation of the specific experts from the plant protection service and certification body.
(2) The inspections of motherblock unit No.3, motherblocks of standard propagation material and all other young plant parcels are made by the experts of the provincial directorate of the Ministry or of institutions delegated by the Ministry. If required, experts from plant protection service and certification body as well as variety owner may be invited to these inspections.
(3) Parcel inspections are carried out according to the principles set forth below:
a) In certification, each parcel or unit represented by a declaration is a certification unit.
The unit is referred to with the parcel number indicated in the declaration. Isolation distances to be respected between each unit are determined by the Ministry in every phase.
b) The unit in the motherblock parcels No.1, No.2 and No.3 constituting the basis for inspections in terms of harmful organisms within the framework of certification is inspected by visual observation and laboratory analyses by the experts from plant protection service. Inspectors from the provincial directorate of the Ministry make visual observations in all parcels in pre-basic, basic and certified categories as well as motherblock parcels of standard material. However, the inspector of provincial directorate of the Ministry may take samples from young plants/trees and send them to the plant protection service for examination and analysis in doubtful cases. While the motherblocks within the certification scheme are inspected against listed harmful organisms, plants in motherblocks of standart propagation material are inspected against domestic quarantine.

c) For the purpose of varietal identity control, plants within the parcels shall express the characteristics of the variety. Inspectors are allowed to demand and examine other records concerning the origin of plants and the varietal identification report for motherblock and parcel plan.
d) The amount of young plants and propagation material that are determined to be nonconforming to standards at the end of second or following inspections shall be deducted from the amount of young plants and propagation material indicated in the declaration, notwithstanding the fact that they are found to be free from harmful organisms listed within the framework of certification. The balance is indicated as “Certifiable” in the inspection report.
e) Capacity Report for Propagation Material of motherblock units are filled by the expert from application authority in the most appropriate time for determination of propagation material amount.
f) Parcel inspections in terms of plant health and varietal identity are concluded, at the latest, at the end of October within the same year of declaration.
Preparation of parcel inspection report
ARTICLE 8 – (1) Parcel inspection report is prepared by the inspector(s) according to the principles set forth below:
a) Inspectors prepare the parcel inspection report in three copies, by taking the information in the declaration and parcel inspection standards into consideration at the end of parcel inspections.
b) It is not accepted any erosion and defacement in the report. If any change is necessary, right word is written by crossing the fault word and inspectors check by initials.
c) Two copies of the parcel inspection report are submitted to the producer, one copy is kept by the provincial directorate of the Ministry.
Plant standards related to young plantand propagation material of vine
ARTICLE 9 – (1) Minimum standards for young plants of vine are given below;
a) There must be no symptoms of too much sun blight, freeze,draught or scar at grafting point and abnormal outgrowths in the young plant. Budwoods should not germinate except for pot young plants.
b) Concerning grafted young plants, scion and rootstock shall be similar in thickness and the grafting part must knit appropriatelyThere must be no abnormal outgrowths at grafting point and o shoot from rootstock.
c) Young plants must develop specific to their variety. Formation of the leaves and branches, the length of shoot and internodes, bark structure, colour and root structure must express morphological characteristics of the specific variety.
d) Concerning pot young plants, young plant must be properly rooted

and healthy; rootstock must be at least 35 cm long in non-grafted young plants; rootstock with scion must be 35 cm long in grafted young plants; shoot off the rootstock or graft must be at least
20cm long and appropriately joint.
e) Packaging of the young plants shall be realized by using appropriate techniques in order not to harm the root, the stem and the shoot of the young plant.
f) Concerning bare rootvine young plants, rootstock must be at least 35 cm long in nongrafted young plants; rootstock with scion must be 35 cm long in grafted young plants; stem diameter must be at least 8mm. and there must be at least two well-developed tap roots at thebase; shoot must be appropriately developed and a part of at least 10cm must be lignified in the base.
(2) Minimum standards related to propagation material are given below;
a) Scion and rootstock shall not be dry and contain harmful organisms subject to certification.
b) There must be no shoot tips.
c) Propagation material must not have a diameter less than 0.5 cm and more than 1.5 cm.
Phytosanitary standards related to young plant and propagation material of vine
ARTICLE 10 – (1) All plants and young plants in motherblock must be free from pathogens of domestic quarantine.
(2) The inspections in terms of harmful organisms within the framework of certification are realized by experts assigned by the plant health service of the provincial directorate of the Ministry or by delegated institution for plant health inspection. .
(3) The list of harmful organisms, isolation distance, principles and methods to be followed for harmful organism control within the framework of certification scheme are determined by the
Ministry.
Labelling and certification
ARTICLE 11 – (1) Producer submits the original copy of the most recent parcel inspection report and the form for label/certificate demand to VRSCC. The number of requested label in the demand form shall not exceed the amount indicated in the inspection report.
(2) Producer submits the Capacity report for propagation material, most recent motherblock inspection report and the form for label/certificate demand to VRSCC for the purpose of receiving labels and certificates for propagation material.The amount requested in the certificate and label demand form shall not exceed the amount indicated in the Capacity report for propagation material and the motherblock inspection report. The most recent report before harvesting is taken into consideration in terms of the requested amount.
(3) The certificate or label is not issued unless the producer submits to VRSCC the original documents or the serologic tests results carried out by the plant protection service for propagation material obtained from motherblock No.1 and No.2.

(4) Procedures and principles on labelling are determined by the Ministry.
(5) Labels are issued by the institution delegated by VRSCC or the Ministry in pursuant of the results of parcel inspection and Capacity report for propagation material.
(6) Producer demandsone label per pot young plant and one label for a group oftwenty fivebare rootyoung plants of vine at most. The total number of young plants is indicated on the labels. Labels must be placed before the transportation of the young plant/propagation material.
Propogation material having at most 10 budwoods for grafting purposes, one label is placed for a group of two hundred pieces at most. Number of propagation material is indicated on the label.Standards related to labelling are laid down in Annex 2.
(7) If the young plants are not dug up, then the certificates and labels are valid for an additional year, by virtue of the plant examination report prepared by the provincial directorate of the Ministry. Producer must apply to the Application Authority for the plant examination report until 31st of May, the latest. Application authority observes visually to see whether the young plants bear any listed harmful organisms for certification and/or they are in conformity with the standards laid down in Article 9. The labels of standard young plants are valid for an additional year if they are not dug up provided that they are free from domestic quarantine pathogens and in conformity with standards laid down in Article 9. The validity of certificates and labels of certified young plants is extended for only one year.
(8) Purchasers must keep the certificates and labels of the vine propagation material and young plant for one year in order to be able to present them to officials when necessary.
Audit
ARTICLE 12 – (1) Parcel inspections related to the production of young plant and propagation material for vine within the certification scheme are audited by the Ministry in accordance to the principles given below. Production areas to be audited are determined by
Directorate-General.
a) The audit of inspections carried out by the application authority on the motherblock
No.3 and young plant production are made by VRSCC and plant protection service.
b) Parcel inspection is realized during audit and audit report of parcel inspection is drawn up.
c) Parcel inspection report and audit report of parcel inspection are examined by audit officials and differences, if any, are pointed out. If there are differences, one copy of the audit report is given to both the application authority and the producer. The audit report is the definitive document with regard to certification procedures.
d) VRSCC and plant protection service submit an evaluation report to the Directorate-
General after the completion of the nationwide audits.
Objection

ARTICLE 13 – (1) Producers can submit their objections to the inspection reports prepared by the application authority, to the Directorate-General, within 15 days as from date of the inspection
(2) Directorate-General evaluates the objection in question and assigns provincial directorate of the Ministry and relevant institution(s) for the purpose of on-site inspection by the experts. The relevant assignment is announced to the objector. Objector deposits the inspection fee to account of revolving fund of service-providing institution. Objection inspection report prepared by the experts and the results of the laboratory analyses if required, are submitted the Directorate-
General by the provincial directorate of the Ministry within one month at the latest. Directorate-
General examines the results and notifies the producer, certification body and Application Authority of its definitive decision. Objection inspection report is definitive for certification.
. PART THREE
Miscellaneous and Final Provisions
Administrative Sanctions
ARTICLE 14 – (1) The provisions of Article 12 of Seed Law No. 5553 are applied to those who violate the rules in seed production and marketing.
Fees
ARTICLE 15 – (1) Certification and inspection services within the scope of this Regulation must be paid. The fees are deposited to the account of revolving fund of the institution which provides the service in accordance with the provisions of the “Regulation on Implementation of Revolving Fund at the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Affairs” issued in the Official Gazette No. 26390 and dated 28/12/2006. The Ministry defines these fees every year in January.
Exceptions
ARTICLE 16 – (1) There is no obligation of certification for young plants and propagation material used in scientific researches, R&D and work on bio-diversity protection and also those produced to meet own need of the producer
Power of Regulation
ARTICLE 17 – (1) The Ministry is assigned to make any kind of regulation to ensure the enforcement of this Regulation.
New names for units

ARTICLE 18 – (1) Unit No.1 mentioned in the Regulation on Certification and Marketing of Young
Plants and Propagation Material for Fruit and Vine Species published in the Official Gazette No.26759, dated
17/1/2008 is referred to as Motherblock Unit No.1; unit No.2 as basic young plant production unit; unit No.3 as
Motherblock Unit No.3 and finally unit No.4 as certified young production unit in this Regulation.
Repealed Legislation
ARTICLE 19 (1) “Regulation on Certification and Marketing of Young plants and Propagation material for Fruit species and Vine” published in Official Gazette No.26759 dated 17/1/2008.has been repealed.
Importation of certified propagation material
Importation of certified propagation material
TEMPORARY ARTICLE 1 – (1) Private or legal persons that hold the certificate of delegated seed enterprise in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation on Delegation and Inspection in
Seed Sector, can import certified propagation material in an amount equal to two hundred times of the imported basic young plant amount until the date of 31/5/2012, provided that they import basic young plants in order to establish motherblock unit No.3 with this the imported propagation material.
(2) The young plants imported for the purpose of the establishment of the motherblock
No.3 are planted under the supervision of the inspector assigned by the application authority and a report is prepared after the planting and it is submitted to the Directorate-General. Producers whose planting reports were submitted to the Directorate-General can import for every cycle, in certified category, the propagation material in an amount equal to two hundred times of the imported basic young plant amount until the date of 31/5/2012 without the obligation to import young plants for the motherblock unit No.3 in the following years.
Importation of vine rootstock
TEMPORARY ARTICLE 2 – (1) Private or legal persons that hold the certificate of delegated seed enterprise in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation on Delegation and Inspection in
Seed Sector, can import vine rootstocks under in-vitro condition provided that they are certified in pre-basic, basic or certified categories until the date of 31/12/2011.
(2) Private or legal persons that hold the certificate of delegated seed enterprise in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation on Delegation and Inspection in Seed Sector, can import vine rootstocks on condition that it is proved to be in certified category and produced by invitro methods until the date of 31/12/2011.

Submission of Declaration for 2009
TEMPORARY ARTICLE 3 – (1) The period for the submission of declaration is set to be between 1 st of January and 31 st of June for the year of 2009 related to all young plant productions laid down in the subclause (d) of the second clause of the Article 6 of this Regulation.
Enforcement
ARTICLE 19 – (1) This Regulation shall enter into force upon publication.
Implementation
ARTICLE 20 – (1) The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs shall implement the provisions of this
Regulation.
Annex -1
YOUNG PLANTS AND PROPAGATION MATERIAL OF VINE
CERTIFICTAION SCHEME
MOTHERBLOCK UNIT NO.1 (Vine) (variety owner/breeder material)
Pre-basic Propagation Material (Declaration/Inspection Form/Certificate/Label)

Pre-basic Young Plant (Declaration/Inspection Form/Certificate/Label)
MOTHERBLOCK UNIT NO.2 (vine) (variety owner/delegatedenterprise)
Basic Propagation Material (Declaration/Inspection Form/Certificate/Label)
Basic Young Plant (Declaration/Inspection Form/Certificate/Label)
MOTHERBLOCK UNIT NO.3 (vine) (producer)
Certified Propagation Material (Declaration/Inspection Form/Certificate/Label)
Certified Young Plant (Declaration/Inspection Form/Certificate/Label)
VINEYARD
RULES FOR LABELLİNG
1) Minimum information to be on the labels of young plant and propagation material is given below; a) Name and logo of the Ministry,
Annex -2

b) Name and logo of the institution preparing the label, c) Production year d) Species name, e) Variety name, f) Category of young plant and propagation material, g) Name and address of the producer company, h) Name of rootstock (together with clone number if available) i) Statement of “VIRUS FREE”, j) Amount of propagation material/young plant.
2) Labels with regard to propagation material and young plant categories are prepared in accordance with the colours given below.
Propagation material and young plant categories
Pre-basic
Basic
Certified
Standard
Label colours
White with purple stripe
White
Blue
Yellow
3) Minimum label dimension of propagation material and young plant shall be 35 x 120 mm.