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INTRODUCTION
The aims of the Flower Seed Testing Committee are:
1. To prepare and publish new method sheets for the ISTA Handbook on Flower Seed Testing, making it more and more comprehensive, with the final aim to clarify laboratory seed testing methods listed in the ISTA Rules in Table 5A Part 3.
2. To provide and introduce laboratory seed testing methods for new species which are tested in the laboratories, but which are not yet included in the ISTA Rules.
3. To improve the methods in the ISTA Rules for flower seed sampling and testing.
4. To represent the main reference for all stakeholders interested in flower seed testing, and to provide analysts with practical information about flower seed testing by organizing workshops, or just by being available in the everyday work.
In 2008, the first edition of the ISTA Handbook on Flower Seed Testing was published, the result of long and hard work by the FSC.
It provides now a useful guide for laboratories testing flower seeds. The work is still going on, in order to include more and more flower species.
Flower species are characterized by their mainly ornamental use, and by the fast-changing trends in the flower seed market. New varieties and hybrids are often created and introduced, and even new species may become relevant very quickly. The FSC is like to contact anybody interested in including these new species in the ISTA Rules.
The ISTA Rules already include tables with species of flowers, herbs, spices and medicinal plants. These specific tables are included in Chapter 2: Sampling and Chapter 5: Germination. The Rules cover 352 flower species from 192 genera and 55 botanical families, both monocotyledons (5 families with only 6 genera and 7 species) and to dicotyledons (50 families with 186 genera and 345 species). Nevertheless, there may be interest in adding new species. If you have any new species to propose, please don’t hesitate to contact the FSC!
Nowadays, flower species are included in the scope of ISTA accreditation of 54 seed testing laboratories. The FSC is happy to help other laboratories wishing to include flowers in their scope. In the framework of accreditation, the FSC organizes together with the Proficiency Test Committee at least one Proficiency Test round in each three-year period.
This is the wide scope of the FSC, which is ready to help the ISTA laboratories testing flower species and to continue the work aimed at improving the ISTA seed testing methods for this large and interesting group of species. |
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Latest issue of Seed Testing International
STI 145 April 2013
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30th ISTA Congress 2013 - Register today!
30th ISTA Congress 2013
Antalya, Turkey
June 12-18, 2013
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Reports available from the ISTA Annual Meeting 2012
ISTA Annual Meeting 2012
June 11-14, 2012
Venlo, The Netherlands
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ISTA / ISF Experiment on Herbage Seed Lot Size
Technical Protocol and participating companies
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Outcome on the
World food security: urgent measures on seed needed
Second World Seed Conference 2009
held September 8-10,
in Rome, Italy
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ISTA Seed Mixture Experiment
to collect information that may be used to determine the reliability of seed mixture test results and establish tolerances.
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Universal List of Species
ISTA list of 130 plant species that accredited laboratories may wish to include in their seed collections
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Position Paper on
ISTA's view regarding the units for the reporting of quantitative results on presence of seeds with specified traits in conventional seed lots
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Accreditation Documents for the Testing of Specified Traits
Related Documents for download
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ISTA's Memorandum of Understanding with FAO
Read the full Press Release
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