(1) Purpose. The purpose of certification of forest reproductive material is to make available reproductive material properly identified by species or species and cultivar, and by source or source and origin.

(2) Definitions:

(a) "Applicant" means the person or organization who submits application for certification of forest reproductive material to certifying agency and who assumes responsibility for compliance with these standards.

(b) "Audit" means periodic examination and check by certifying agency of any part or all of the records and procedures specified in field standards and conditioning standards, and of additional records pertinent to inventory and distribution of reproductive material including verification of corresponding physical inventory to assure that no significant errors or omissions exist.

(c) "Batch" means all or part of a lot of reproductive material of a single species collected during one crop season from within stated breeding zone(s) or from within stated five hundred foot elevation increment(s) in stated seed zone(s) that is collected or processed at one time.

(d) "Breeding zone" means a specific designated unit of land, the description of which is on file at the certifying agency, for which an improved population of trees of a specific species or species cross is being produced.

(e) "Buyer" means person who first receives reproductive material from the collector.

(f) "Certificate of genetic identity" means a document furnished by the producer on demand and verified by the certifying agency describing the ancestry and breeding behavior of a lot of reproductive material.

(g) "Certification of reproductive material" means execution by certifying agency of field inspection, plant/warehouse inspection and/or audit to accomplish the purpose described in subsection (1) of this section.

(h) "Certifying agency" means the designated agent of the state agency: In Washington state, the designated agent is the Washington State Crop Improvement Association.

(i) "Certificate of provenance" means a document issued by certifying agency which verifies source and origin of reproductive material by field inspection and audit. (Only certificates of provenance are issued to satisfy O.E.C.D.)

(j) "Character" means a distinctive trait, but not necessarily an invariable feature, exhibited by all individuals of a group and capable of being described or measured: E.g., growth; form; color; resistance to disease, insects, weather, animals, etc.

(k) "Code" means a unique identification of a group of the producer's pertinent records about a lot of forest reproductive material.

(l) "Collector" means a person who collects forest reproductive material at its source.

(m) "Elevation" means altitude above sea level and is divided in five hundred foot increments as shown below, or may mean appropriate elevational bands as provided for under code or breeding zone.

0	-	500 feet	—	Code 05	2501	-	3000 feet	—	Code 30
501	-	1000 feet	—	Code 10	3001	-	3500 feet	—	Code 35
1001	-	1500 feet	—	Code 15	3501	-	4000 feet	—	Code 40
1501	-	2000 feet	—	Code 20	4001	-	4500 feet	—	Code 45
2001	-	2500 feet	—	Code 25	4501	-	5000 feet	—	Code 50
					and so forth.

(n) "Field" inspection means observation by certifying agency of all activities and records involved in propagation, collection, buying, production, and transportation of forest reproductive material to assure compliance with field standards.

(o) "Forest reproductive material" means plant material of genera and species of trees which will be used for forestry.

(p) "Genetic identity" means the ancestry and breeding background of selected and tested classes only of the forest reproductive material.

(q) "Genetic superiority" means that forest reproductive material originated from tree(s) whose superiority in one or more characters important to forestry has been proven by tests conducted in specified environments.

(r) "Location" means description by seed zone or portion thereof and elevation and/or breeding zone or code.

(s) "Legal description" means legal cadastral survey subdivision.

(t) "Lot" means a homogeneous quantity of forest reproductive material.

(i) For tested and selected classes, it is of a single species, cultivar, or cross collected during one crop season from a distinctively described and recorded population of trees.

(ii) For source identified class, it is a single species collected during one crop season from within stated seed zone(s) and from within five hundred foot elevation increment(s)or breeding zones or appropriate codes.

(iii) For an audit class, it is a single species collected during one crop season from within stated seed zone(s) and from within five hundred foot elevation increment(s).

(iv) Lots shall be identified by number and/or code or breeding zone.

(u) "Origin" means the location of the indigenous parents; for nonindigenous parents, it is the location from which the seed or plants were originally introduced.

(v) "Plant/warehouse inspection" means observation by certifying agency of all activities and records involved in receiving, processing, storage and labeling of forest reproductive material to assure compliance with conditioning standards.

(w) "Producer" means person, company, bureau or agency with overall responsibility for producing forest reproductive material.

(x) "Provenance" means the original geographic source of seed, pollen or propagules.

(y) "Reproductive material" means seed, pollen, trees, cuttings, scions, etc., originating from forest trees.

(z) "Seed zone" means a geographic area delineated on western forest tree seed council's tree seed zone map published July 1973, or similarly authoritative maps of seed zones as approved by certifying agency.

(aa) "Source" means the location of the immediate parents, the origin of which may be indigenous, nonindigenous, or unknown.

(bb) "Test" means evaluation of parents by comparing the performance of their offspring under more controlled conditions that exist for the parent(s) or other applicable tests which evaluate specific character(s) of the parents or the offspring.

(cc) "Unit of measure" means a consistent volume of measure, i.e., bushels, pounds, grams, number, cubic centimeters, etc.

PDFWAC 16-319-020

Forest reproductive material certification standards—Purpose and definitions.