Statutory Rule 1999 No. 502

The Marketing of Ornamental Plant Propagating Material Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999

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STATUTORY RULES OF NORTHERN IRELAND

1999 No. 502
PLANT HEALTH
The Marketing of Ornamental Plant Propagating Material Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999

	Made	22nd December 1999
	Coming into operation	31st December 1999

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, being a Department designated[1] for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972[2] in relation to the common agricultural policy of the European Community, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by the said section 2(2) and of every other power enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement
     1. These Regulations may be cited as the Marketing of Ornamental Plant Propagating Material Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 and shall come into operation on 31st December 1999.

Interpretation
     2. - (1) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954[3] shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

    (2) In these Regulations -

"the Department" means the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development;

"inspector" means any person authorised in writing by the Department to be an inspector for the purposes of these Regulations;

"lot" means a number of units of a single commodity, identifiable by its homogeneity of composition and origin;

"marketing" in relation to any propagating material means the holding available or in stock, the display with a view to sale, the offering for sale, or the sale or delivery by a supplier to another person of that material;

"propagating material" means plant material intended for -

"propagation" means reproduction by vegetative or other means;

"supplier" means any person professionally engaged in the marketing or in the importation from third countries of propagating material; and

"third country" means a country other than a Member State.

Marketing requirements and exceptions
3. - (1) Subject to paragraph (2), a supplier shall not market any propagating material unless it complies with the requirements of these Regulations.

(2) These Regulations shall not apply to propagating material intended for -

(a) export to third countries, if identified as such and kept sufficiently isolated from plant material not intended for such export;

(b) trials or scientific purposes;

(c) selection work;

(d) use in the conservation of genetic diversity.

Quality requirements for propagating material
4. Propagating material shall, when marketed -

(a) be substantially free from any defects likely to impair its quality as propagating material and in particular, at least on visual inspection, be substantially free from any harmful organisms impairing such quality, or any signs or symptoms of such organisms, which reduce its usefulness as propagating material;

(b) have satisfactory vigour and dimensions in respect of its usefulness as propagating material;

(c) in the case of seeds, have a satisfactory germination capacity;

(d) have satisfactory identity and purity relative to the genus or species or group of plants to which it belongs; and

(e) if marketed with reference to a variety pursuant to regulation 11, have satisfactory varietal identity and purity.

Further provisions relating to citrus propagating material
5. In addition to meeting the requirements of regulation 4, citrus propagating material shall -

(a) have been derived from initial source material which has been checked and found to show no symptoms of any viruses, virus-like organisms or diseases;

(b) have been checked and found to be substantially free of viruses, virus-like organisms or diseases since the beginning of the last cycle of vegetative growth; and

(c) where grafting has taken place, have been grafted on to rootstocks of a kind which are not susceptible to viroids.

Further provision relating to flower bulbs
     6. In addition to meeting the requirements of regulation 4, flower bulbs shall have been derived directly from material which, at the time the crop of bulbs concerned was growing, was checked and found to be substantially free from any harmful organisms and diseases or any signs or symptoms of such organisms and diseases.

Registration
     7. - (1) Subject to paragraph (2), a person shall not carry on business as a supplier unless he is registered as such by the Department.

    (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the Department shall maintain a register of persons carrying on business as a supplier.

    (3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a supplier marketing only to persons who are not professionally engaged in the production or sale of ornamental plants or propagating material.

    (4) An application for registration under this regulation shall be made to the Department in writing and shall be accompanied by the following information -

(a) the name of the applicant;

(b) the address of the main premises at which the applicant carries on or intends to carry on business as a supplier;

(c) the activities which the applicant carries on or intends to carry on which are or will be covered by these Regulations.

    (5) Registration of a supplier on the register referred to in regulation 16 of the Plant Health Order (Northern Ireland) 1993[7] is deemed to constitute registration under and for the purposes of this regulation.

    (6) A supplier registered under this regulation shall keep records of his sales and purchases of propagating material and shall retain them for a period of not less than 12 months from the date of the sale or purchase, as the case may be.

Measures to be taken by suppliers
     8. - (1) Any supplier who engages in the production of propagating material shall -