N.D. Cent. Code § 4.1-53-01

Current through 2023 Legislative Sessions

Section 4.1-53-01 - Definitions

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Agricultural seed" means:

a. The seed of cereal, fiber, forage, grass, or oil crops;

b. Irish potato seed tubers;

c. Lawn seed;

d. Any other seed designated by the seed commissioner as agricultural seed; and

e. Any mixture of seeds referenced in this subsection.

2. "Blend" means seed that consists of more than one variety, provided each variety consists of more than five percent of the whole, by weight.

3. "Brand" means a design, name, number, symbol, or word used to identify the seed of one person and distinguish the seed from that of another person.

4. "Certification" means a process that:

a. Is designed to maintain the genetic purity and varietal identity of crop cultivars; and

b. Requires a variety of components, including:

(1) An examination of records provided by the producer;

(2) An inspection of the field in which the plants producing seed for certification are growing; and

(3) The testing and grading of a representative sample.

5. "Certified" means a designation that the seed department has authorized a labeler to use on seed that met the requirements for certification.

6. "Conditioning" means any process to remove unwanted seeds or other matter from a seed lot in order to produce a uniform product.

7. "Flower seed" means the seed of a herbaceous plant grown for its bloom, ornamental foliage, or other ornamental part.

8. "Germination" means the physiological process of development and the emergence from the seed embryo of essential structures that are indicative of the ability to produce a normal plant under favorable conditions.

9. "Hard seed" means a seed that has an impermeable seed coat and has not absorbed water by the end of the prescribed test period.

10. "Inert matter" means anything other than unbroken seeds.

11. "Kind" means one or more related species or subspecies known singly or collectively by a common name.

12. "Label" means a device or tag attached to a seed container, printed or stamped information on a seed container, or written information accompanying a lot of bulk seed.

13. "Labeler" means the person identified by name and address on the label.

14. "Lot" means an identifiable quantity of seed that is uniform within permitted tolerances for the factors that appear on its label.

15. "Mixture" means seed consisting of more than one kind, each in excess of five percent of the whole, by weight.

16. "Official seed-certifying agency" means:

a. An agency that is authorized under the laws of a state, territory, or possession 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 any seed it certifies; or

b. An agency of a foreign country if the United States secretary of agriculture has determined that the agency adheres to seed certification procedures and standards that are comparable to those generally adhered to by a seed-certifying agency meeting the criteria set forth in subdivision a.

17. "Prohibited weed seed" means:

a. The seed or propagule of any weed designated as noxious by the agriculture commissioner in accordance with section 4.1-47-05; or

b. The seed or propagule of any weed determined by the seed commissioner to be highly destructive and difficult to control by good cultural practices or by the use of herbicides.

18. "Pure seed" means a quantity of seed that belongs to a particular kind or variety and which does not contain either inert matter or seeds of another kind or variety.

19. "Record" includes all information relating to origin or source, variety, lot identification, quantity, inspection, processing, testing, labeling, distribution, and file samples of the seed.

20. "Restricted weed seed" means a seed that is determined by the seed commissioner to be:

a. Objectionable in agricultural seed, lawn or turf seed, vegetable seed, and flower seed; and

b. Controllable by good cultural practices or the use of herbicides.

21. "Selection" means a subgroup of a variety and includes clones, lines, and strains.

22. "Treated" means a seed has received an application of a substance intended to enhance the performance of the seed or alter a physiological process of the plant.

23. "Unbroken seed" means a seed that is more than fifty percent intact.

24. "Variety" means a subdivision of a kind that:

a. Can be differentiated by one or more identifiable morphological, physiological, or other characteristics from other varieties of the same kind;

b. Has describable variations in essential and distinct characteristics; and

c. Will remain unchanged in its essential and distinct characteristics and uniformity when reproduced or reconstituted, as required by the different categories of varieties.

N.D.C.C. § 4.1-53-01

Added by S.L. 2011, ch. 69 (HB 1027),§ 3, eff. 7/1/2011.

This chapter was renumbered as Chapter 4.1-43 by S.L. 2017, ch. 61 (SB 2026),§ 12, but the renumbering was not carried out by the code revisor.