Any labeling, advertisement, or other representation subject to this chapter which represents that any seed is certified seed or any class thereof shall be deemed to be false in this respect unless (a) it has been determined by a seed certifying agency that such seed conformed to standards of genetic purity and identity as to kind or variety, and is in compliance with the rules and regulations of such agency pertaining to such seed; and (b) the seed bears an official label issued for such seed by a seed certifying agency certifying that the seed is of a specified class and a specified kind or variety. Seed of a variety for which a certificate of plant variety protection under the Plant Variety Protection Act [7 U.S.C. 2321 et seq.] specifies sale only as a class of certified seed shall be certified only when

(1) the basic seed from which the variety was produced furnished by authority of the owner of the variety if the certification is made during the term of protection, and

(2) it conforms to the number of generations designated by the certificate, if the certificate contains such a designation.

Terms Used In 7 USC 1562

  • advertisement: means all representations, other than those on the label, disseminated in any manner or by any means, relating to seed within the scope of this chapter. See 7 USC 1561
  • kind: means one or more related species or subspecies which singly or collectively is known by one common name, for example, soybean, flax, carrot, radish, cabbage, cauliflower, and so forth. See 7 USC 1561
  • label: means the display or displays of written, printed, or graphic matter upon or attached to the container of seed. See 7 USC 1561
  • labeling: includes all labels, and other written, printed, and graphic representations, in any form whatsoever, accompanying and pertaining to any seed whether in bulk or in containers, and includes invoices. See 7 USC 1561
  • seed certifying agency: means (A) an agency authorized under the laws of a State, Territory, or possession, to officially certify seed and which has standards and procedures approved by the Secretary (after due notice, hearings, and full consideration of the views of farmer users of certified seed and other interested parties) to assure the genetic purity and identity of the seed certified, or (B) an agency of a foreign country determined by the Secretary of Agriculture to adhere to procedures and standards for seed certification comparable to those adhered to generally by seed certifying agencies under (A). See 7 USC 1561
  • variety: means a subdivision of a kind which is characterized by growth, plant, fruit, seed, or other characters by which it can be differentiated from other sorts of the same kind, for example, Marquis wheat, Flat Dutch cabbage, Manchu soybeans, Oxheart carrot, and so forth. See 7 USC 1561