GE.6/BUR/2013/11
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE
COMMITTEE ON TRADE
Working Party on Agricultural Quality Standards
Specialized Section on Standardization of Seed Potatoes
Meeting of the Extended Bureau
Fargo, United States, 28 September - 2 October 2013
REPORT
At the invitation of the delegation of the United States, the meeting of the Extended Bureau took place
at the North Dakota State Seed Department in Fargo, North Dakota, from 28 September to 2 October
2013. The delegations of Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom
and the United States participated in the meeting. Mr Ken Bertsch, Seed Commissioner of the ND
State Seed Commission, welcomed the participants.
1.
UNECE Guide on Seed Potato Diseases, Pests and Disorders
Documentation:
Amended Guide on Seed Potato Diseases, Pests and Disorders, proposal
by the UK (GE.6/BUR/2013/2)
The delegation of the United Kingdom presented the amended version of the Guide. The Extended
Bureau reviewed the text of the Guide and selected about 150 photographs illustrating potato diseases,
pests and disorders to be covered by the Guide. The photographs selected for the Guide will also be
included in the List of Diseases and Pests available on the UNECE website.
The Extended Bureau decided to submit it to the November 2013 Working Party session for adoption
and asked the secretariat to proceed with publishing it in an A5 format with a spiral binding.
The revised version of the Guide and other texts reviewed by the Extended Bureau are available at
www.unece.org/index.php?id=33596 as post-session documents.
2.
External defects including sprouted tubers
Documentation:
Survey results, note by the secretariat (GE.6/BUR/2013/3)
External defects, note by the Netherlands (GE.6/BUR/2013/4)
The delegations noted that national practices in regulating sprouted tubes varied across countries and
regions. Some countries allowed sprouts up to 20 mm for 10 per cent of the lot; other countries’
regulations stipulate that sprouting should not be excessive and leave it to the discretion of the
inspector whether to accept or reject the lot. The RUCIP rules regulate sprouting depending on the
time of the year and varieties.
The Working Group consisting of the delegations of Australia, Finland (rapporteur), Germany, United
Kingdom and the United States will prepare a discussion paper to help the Specialized Section decide
whether to formulate a minimum requirement in the Standard or to agree on a Section position on this
issue. The Working Group will draw on document ECE/TRADE/C/WP.7/GE.6/2013/INF.5 prepared
by the delegation of the United Kingdom for the March 2013 session of the Specialized Section.
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The Extended Bureau reviewed the list of external defects and the description of pest damage in annex
III on the basis of the note submitted by the delegation of the Netherlands. The delegations agreed that
misshapen tubers and growth cracks should be excluded from the external defects as having no
negative impact on yielding capacity, storability or leading to secondary infection. The Extended
Bureau submitted the following definitions of “external defects” and “pest damage” to the Specialized
Section for approval as items 3 and 9 of annex III:
“3.
External defects. Tubers with the following external defects are countable:
•
•
Pressure bruises: spots of more than 10% of the tuber surface and discolouration
of more than 10 mm in depth
Mechanical damage: more than 10% of the total tuber weight (when removed by a
straight cut) is affected or any damage which is not healed”
“9.
Pest damage (e.g. slugs, wireworms, tuber moth, flea beetles): tubers with more than
10 holes or with more than 3 holes of 5 mm or more in depth are countable”.
The Extended Bureau decided not to include photographs showing the limits allowed for external
defects and pest damage in annex VIII.
3.
Tuber moth and flea beetle
Documentation:
Tuber moth, proposal by Belgium (GE.6/BUR/2013/5)
The above definition of pest damage agreed upon by the Extended Bureau would cover the tuber moth
and flea beetle damage.
4.
Tolerances for mild and severe virus symptoms
Documentation:
Mild and severe virus symptoms, proposals by United States
(GE.6/BUR/2013/9)
Field inspections of the growing crop are based on symptoms of diseases on plants. However, for
some varieties it is impossible to distinguish between symptoms caused by mild and severe viruses. It
might therefore be practical to regulate virus diseases with one tolerance for severe viruses and to test
for PVY only.
The delegations provisionally agreed on the definition of “severe virus diseases” to read as follows:
“Severe virus diseases:
Virus diseases that manifest themselves by deformations of the foliage with or without
discolouration, or are caused by PVY.
Symptoms can be rugosity, crinkle, rolling and brittleness of the leaves or dwarfing of the
plant, as with the severe mosaic and/or the potato leaf roll diseases. Certain combinations of
PVY strains and varieties may show very mild symptoms.”
The Extended Bureau decided to continue the discussion on merging the tolerances for mild and
severe viruses at its future meetings.
5.
Cooperation between UNECE and IPPC
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Documentation:
IPPC-related text in the Standard, proposals by New Zealand
(GE.6/BUR/2013/6)
The Extended Bureau thanked the delegation of New Zealand for the excellent job on revising the
IPPC-related text of the Standard to address the concerns of the IPPC secretariat. The delegations also
took note of the suggestion by the IPPC secretariat that any reference to IPPC be withdrawn from the
Standard.
The Extended Bureau was of the opinion that eliminating all the references to IPPC would be
detrimental to understanding the Standard as an internationally recommended tool for seed potato
certification. The delegations went through the text proposed by New Zealand, agreed on changes to
sections III.B, IV, VI, as well as to the definition of regulated non-quarantine pests in annex VII, and
recommended the revised text to the Specialized Section for approval.
The Extended Bureau asked the UNECE secretariat to inform the IPPC secretariat about the outcome
of revising the IPPC-related text in the Standard.
6.
Update on PVY, Dickeya, Zebra chip and herbicide damage
Drs. Neil Gudmestad, Gary Secor and Andrew Robinson of North Dakota State University joined the
meeting for a discussion on PVY, Zebra chip, silver scurf and herbicide damage. The Extended
Bureau agreed on the text and photographs on Zebra chip and chemical damage to be included in the
Guide on Seed Potato Diseases, Pests and Disorders. The delegations noted that the Zebra chip disease
was of no epidemiological importance and that there was no need to control it within a certification
scheme by establishing a tolerance.
7.
Revision of the Specialized Section’s position on PVY, blackleg, silver scurf,
vigour and cut seed tubers
Documentation:
Specialized Section’s position texts
(www.unece.org/trade/agr/standard/potatoes/pot_e.html)
ESA letter on cutting tubers (GE.6/BUR/2013/10)
The Extended Bureau addressed the concerns of the European Seed Association with regard to the
Specialized Section’s position on cutting seed tubers. Cutting, being a form of multiplication, requires
authorisation from the breeder or trader. The Specialized Section’s position was amended by adding
the following sentence at the end of the position text:
“When cutting seed of protected varieties, permission may be required from the breeder rights
holder.”
The Extended Bureau left the Specialized Section’s position on other topics unchanged.
8.
Definition of tolerances by weight or by number
Documentation:
Tolerances by weight or by number, note by Sweden (GE.6/BUR/2013/7)
The Extended Bureau took note of the Swedish paper and decided to revisit this topic at its next
meeting.
9.
Promotional leaflet
Documentation:
Promotional leaflet (GE.6/BUR/2013/8)
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The Extended Bureau reviewed the text of the leaflet and submitted it to the Specialized Section for
approval. The delegations were asked to send to the secretariat photographs that could be included in
the leaflet.
10.
Impact of the revision of the Council Directive 2002/56/EC on the UNECE
Standard
The delegations of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands informed the meeting about the changes
to the annexes to Council Directive 2002/56/EC on the marketing of seed potatoes. Many of the
proposed revisions bring the Directive more in line with the UNECE standard. The expectation is that
the proposed revisions will progress to a vote in the EU Standing Committee towards the end of 2013.
11.
Other business
Documentation:
Crop-inspection training field (updated INF.12 of the March 2013
session)
Field inspection system in Finland (PowerPoint presentation)
The delegation of Finland made a presentation on their field inspection system. National practices in
carrying out field inspections could be used to create a guidance document on organising and
conducting seed potato certification in practice. The delegation of the United Kingdom suggested that
such a guide could address the following topics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Crop inspection training field
Crop inspection training course topics
Eligibility checks
a.
Origin of parent stock
b.
Suitability and authenticity of the planted field
Field inspection methods
a.
Sampling
b.
Recording faults
c.
Calculations
d.
Testing done in support of the visual inspection
e.
Handling suspected quarantine issues
Tolerance tables
Data handling and reporting results
Appeals
The delegation of Canada volunteered to prepare a draft of the guide which could be called “Seed
potato field inspection. Recommended practices”. The delegations of Finland, Germany and the
United Kingdom will assist Canada in developing the guide.
The Extended Bureau agreed on the following topics for future work: guide on seed potato field
inspection, external defects, merging tolerances for mild and severe viruses, definition of tolerances by
weight or by number, update on the revision of Council Directive 2002/56/EC. At its next meeting, the
Extended Bureau may wish to revisit the issue of cooperation between IPPC and UNECE, as well as to
review the photographs for the promotional leaflet.
The delegation of Australia suggested that the next meeting of the Extended Bureau be held in their
country in April 2014 (exact dates to be confirmed). The annual session of the Specialized Section will
have to be postponed from March to October 2014.
The Extended Bureau thanked the delegation of the United States for the excellent organization of the
meeting in Fargo and for the opportunity to visit Hoverson Farms - a large potato farm in Larimore, as
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well as the greenhouse at the North Dakota State University, the seed stock production facility and
diagnostic laboratory at the North Dakota State Seed Department.