Cotton Seed Certification Standards

I.          Land Requirements

Land to be used for the production of Foundation, Registered and Certified cotton seed must be free from volunteer cotton plants.

II.         Field Inspection

At least one inspection shall be made after blooming starts, preferably after some bolls are open.

III.        Field Standards

A.        General

1.         Unit of certification

The unit of certification shall be a field, but a portion of a field may be certified provided precautions can be taken to prevent contamination from the portion not certified.

2.         Isolation

a.         For upland type cotton the isolation distance shall be a natural barrier or crop boundary, except minimum isolation shall be 100 feet if the contaminating source differs by easily observed morphological characteristics from the field to b e inspected.

b.   For Egyptian type cotton the isolation shall be 1320 feet from any other type of cotton for Foundation and Registered and 660 feet for Certified seed.

B.     Specific Requirements

Factor
Maximum permitted Ratio of plants
Foundation
Registered
Certified

Other varieties:Variety

None

1:35,000

1:7,000

 

IV.       Referee Sample

A representative two-pound sample of the seed as it is to be sold shall be submitted to the Association for laboratory analysis.

V.        Seed Standards

Factor
Standard for each class
Foundation
Registered
Certified

Pure seed (minimum)

98.50%

98.50%

98.50%

Inert matter (maximum)

1.50%

1.50%

1.50%

Objectionable weeds (maximum) 1

None

None

1 seed

per 2 lb.

Prohibited weeds (maximum) 2

None

None

None

Other kinds including other        varieties (maximum)

None

None

None

Germination (maximum)

80.00%

80.00%

80.00%

1Cocklebur (Xanthium spp.), Sandbur (Cenchrus pauciflorus).

2See Section XLI P.