Special Requirements and Standards

Limitation of Generations

The Certified class of seed shall be limited to one generation of increase from Registered class seed or from eligible non-commercial F1 hybrid seed.

Producing and Processing Colored Lint Cotton

The Arizona Department of Agriculture administers legislation and rules pertaining to the production and processing of colored lint cotton. This information is available on the department’s web site at agriculture.state.az.us on the world wide web or by contacting the ACIA office.

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General Field Standards

Land History

Land planted for production of any class of certified seed must be free of volunteer cotton.

Land planted for Foundation class seed production shall not have grown cotton during the previous year, unless such cotton was the same variety as the crop to be certified, and the land shall have grown an irrigated crop since cotton of a differing variety was last grown.

Land planted for Registered and Certified class seed production shall not have grown cotton differing by lint color, by species or by other easily observable morphological characteristics during the previous year.

Field Inspection

At least one official inspection shall be conducted, preferably when the earliest bolls reach maturity. Additional official inspections may be necessary under certain circumstances.

Unit of Certification

A portion of a field may be accepted for certification if the non-eligible portion does not affect the genetic purity of the certified portion.

Isolation

* Vegetative characteristics are those not associated with lint color.

** Isolation shall include at least 50 feet of border cotton on the side facing an offending field that is within one-half mile of the field being certified.

*** Buffer adequacy shall be determined by the inspector. Normally, at least 100 feet of border or an intervening field shall be considered adequate buffering within a distance of one to three miles of an offending field.

Specific Field Standards

The maximum permitted frequencies of off-type plants and plants of another variety having the same lint color are (total of both): 

Foundation and Registered class production -

1:45,000 for a different species

1:10,000 for the same species

Certified class production -

1:9,000 for a different species

1:5,000 for the same species

Fields containing plants of differing lint color during the pollinating season are not eligible to produce any class of certified seed even if off-color plants are removed before harvest, because of the outcrossing that may have occurred.

Inspectors may disapprove a field or a portion of a field due to presence of excessive cocklebur or may require the removal of cocklebur plants before harvest as a condition of approval for certification.

Harvesting and Handling

All equipment used in picking and handling cotton shall be cleaned to the satisfaction of a representative of ACIA. This requirement applies particularly to trailers having wire mesh sides.

Trailers and modules containing seed cotton from certified production fields shall be clearly labeled as to variety, class and field of origin before being transported to the gin.

Gins shall be cleaned to the satisfaction of a representative of ACIA prior to ginning and saving any class of certified seed. Gins from which certified seed is to be saved shall have been free of cotton of differing lint color anywhere on their premises for one complete ginning season.

Delinting plants shall maintain clearly identified storage facilities to prevent the contamination of eligible fuzzy seed by non-eligible fuzzy seed of the same or different varieties. Delinting plants which intend to produce certified cotton seed shall have been free of seed of differing lint color for one complete delinting season and shall have no history of storing fuzzy seed of differing lint color anywhere on their premises. Fuzzy seed of differing lint color that is delinted must be discharged from trucks directly into the delinting line and packaged immediately after conditioning.

Seed Standards for Cotton