(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, distribute for sale, offer for sale, expose for sale, handle for sale, or solicit orders for the purchase of any agricultural, vegetable, flower, tree, or shrub seed within this state:

(a) Unless the test to determine the percentage of germination required by s. 578.09 has been completed immediately prior to sale, exposure for sale, offering for sale, or transportation, except for a germination test for seed in hermetically sealed containers which is provided for in s. 578.092.

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 578.13

  • 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 law. See Florida Statutes 578.011
  • Certified seed: means a class of seed which is the progeny of breeder, foundation, or registered seed. See Florida Statutes 578.011
  • Certifying agency: means :
    (a) An agency authorized under the laws of a state, territory, or possession of the United States to officially certify seed and which has standards and procedures approved by the United States Secretary of Agriculture to assure the genetic purity and identity of the seed certified; or
    (b) An agency of a foreign country that the United States Secretary of Agriculture has determined as adhering to procedures and standards for seed certification comparable to those adhered to generally by seed certifying agencies under paragraph (a). See Florida Statutes 578.011
  • Department: means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services or its authorized representative. See Florida Statutes 578.011
  • Germination: means the emergence and development from the seed embryo of those essential structures which, for the kind of seed in question, are indicative of the ability to produce a normal plant under favorable conditions. See Florida Statutes 578.011
  • Kind: means one or more related species or subspecies which singly or collectively is known by one common name; e. See Florida Statutes 578.011
  • Label: means the display or displays of written or printed material upon or attached to a container of seed. See Florida Statutes 578.011
  • Labeling: includes all labels and other written, printed, or graphic representations, in any form, accompanying and pertaining to any seed, whether in bulk or in containers, and includes invoices and other bills of shipment when sold in bulk. See Florida Statutes 578.011
  • Lot: means a definite quantity of seed identified by a lot number or other mark, every portion or bag of which is uniform within recognized tolerances for the factors that appear in the labeling. See Florida Statutes 578.011
  • mixture: means seed consisting of more than one kind, each present in excess of 5 percent by weight of the whole. See Florida Statutes 578.011
  • Origin: means the state, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or possession of the United States, or the foreign country where the seed were grown, except for native species, where the term means the county or collection zone and the state where the seed were grown. See Florida Statutes 578.011
  • person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • Record: includes the symbol identifying the seed as to origin, amount, processing, testing, labeling, and distribution, and any other document or instrument pertaining to the purchase, sale, or handling of agricultural, vegetable, flower, tree, or shrub seed. See Florida Statutes 578.011
  • Shrub seed: means seed of a woody plant that is smaller than a tree and has several main stems arising at or near the ground. See Florida Statutes 578.011
  • Stop-sale: means any written or printed notice or order issued by the department to the owner or custodian of any lot of agricultural, vegetable, flower, tree, or shrub seed in the state, directing the owner or custodian not to sell or offer for sale seed designated by the order within the state until the requirements of this law are complied with and a written release has been issued; except that the seed may be released to be sold for feed. See Florida Statutes 578.011
  • Variety: means a subdivision of a kind which is distinct in the sense that the variety can be differentiated by one or more identifiable morphological, physiological, or other characteristics from all other varieties of public knowledge; uniform in the sense that the variations in essential and distinctive characteristics are describable; and stable in the sense that the variety will remain unchanged in its essential and distinctive characteristics and its uniformity when reproduced or reconstituted. See Florida Statutes 578.011
(b) Not labeled in accordance with this law, or having false or misleading labeling.
(c) Pertaining to which there has been a false or misleading advertisement.
(d) Containing noxious weed seeds subject to tolerances and methods of determination prescribed in the rules and regulations under this law.
(e) Unless a seed license has been obtained in accordance with this law.
(f) Unless such seed conforms to the definition of a “lot.”
(2) It shall be unlawful for a person within this state to:

(a) Detach, deface, destroy, or use a second time any label or tag provided for in this law or in the rules and regulations made and promulgated hereunder or to alter or substitute seed in a manner that may defeat the purpose of this law.
(b) Disseminate any false or misleading advertisement concerning agricultural, vegetable, flower, tree, or shrub seed in any manner or by any means.
(c) Hinder or obstruct in any way any authorized person in the performance of her or his duties under this law.
(d) Fail to comply with a stop-sale order or move, handle, or dispose of any lot of seed, or tags attached to such seed, held under a “stop-sale” order, except with express permission of the department and for the purpose specified by the department.
(e) Label, advertise, or otherwise represent seed subject to this chapter to be certified seed or any class thereof, including classes such as “registered seed,” “foundation seed,” “breeder seed” or similar representations, unless:

1. A seed certifying agency determines that such seed conformed to standards of purity and identity as to the kind, variety, or species and, if appropriate, subspecies and the seed certifying agency also determines that tree or shrub seed was found to be of the origin and elevation claimed, in compliance with the rules and regulations of such agency pertaining to such seed; and
2. 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 specified to the kind, variety, or species and, if appropriate, subspecies.
(f) Label, by variety name, seed not certified by an official seed-certifying agency when it is a variety for which a certificate of plant variety protection under the United States Plant Variety Protection Act, 7 U.S.C. ss. 2321 et seq., specifies sale only as a class of certified seed, except that seed from a certified lot may be labeled as to variety name when used in a mixture by, or with the written approval of, the owner of the variety.
(g) Fail to keep a complete record, including a file sample which shall be retained for 1 year after seed is sold, of each lot of seed and to make available for inspection such records to the department or its duly authorized agents.
(h) Use the name of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services or Florida State Seed Laboratory in connection with analysis tag, labeling advertisement, or sale of any seed in any manner whatsoever.
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