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HOME / PROGRAMS & SERVICES / PROGRAMS AND SERVICES QUICK REFERENCE / CROP PRODUCTION PROGRAMS /

Strawberry Certification Program

The objective of the program is to improve the productivity and net income of strawberry nursery stock producers by providing an inspection and certification program to ensure production of a higher quality, marketable product.

Technical assistance is provided to all nursery stock growers who are accepted for certification under this program.

All P.E.I. producers wishing to grow Certified strawberry plants are eligible to apply for assistance under this program. Applications for certification must be submitted to the Berry Crop Development Officer for certification.

The regulations of this assistance program are as specified in Appendix A attached.

This program is administered by the Agriculture Resource Division of the Prince Edward Island Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture.

For additional information contact:
Berry Crop Development Officer
Farm Extension Services
P.E.I. Department of Agriculture and Forestry
P.O. Box 2000
Charlottetown, PE
C1A 7N8

This program will terminate on March 31, 2008, unless renewed by the Minister of Prince Edward Island Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture on or before that date.

This program may be amended or discontinued at any time at the discretion of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture.

1. INTERPRETATION

   In these regulations

   “Off-type” means any strawberry plant visibly different from the variety stated on the application for certification;

   “Inspector” means any person designated by the officer-in-charge as required by the Strawberry Certification Program;

   “Officer-in-charge” means a person designated as such by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture;

   “Department” means the Prince Edward Island Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture;

   “Nursery stock” means any strawberry plant or part thereof produced, marketed or used for propagation;

   “Domestic class” means any field inspected under the specific regulations for domestic class;

   “Export class” means any field inspected under the specific regulations for export class.

   “In Vitro” means any plant grown in a sterile tissue culture media environment.

2. CERTIFICATES

   Growers of strawberry plants that have been inspected in accordance with the following procedures and have been free, so far as can be determined by inspection and other tests and procedures as deemed necessary by the officer-in-charge, of serious diseases and other pests, will be entitled to a certificate stating that they have grown CERTIFIED strawberry plants that have met the present regulations of the department.

3. APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATION
   1. Any person wishing to grow CERTIFIED strawberry plants must make an application for certification on a form supplied by the Department and delivered to the office of the Department specified on the form on or before June 1 of the crop year in respect of which the application is made.
   2. Where an application referred to in subsection (1) is made in respect of a growing crop that was planted with strawberry plants not produced by the applicant, the application shall be accompanied by:
      1. an official tag from one container of each lot of nursery stock or
      2. a certificate from the producer stating class and variety of the nursery stock or
      3. for southern varieties, all plants must be brought in In Vitro or go through a meristeming or In Vitro process prior to planting in Prince Edward Island fields or the grower must provide documentation stating that the equivalent of such standards have been met or
      4. written permission from the officer-in-charge for the designated lot of nursery stock to enter the Strawberry Certification Program.
   3. Strawberry nursery stock shall be produced from nursery stock originating in a certification program approved by the officer-in-charge, or for southern varieties, nursery stock shall originate In Vitro. A field map showing the location of the field and the number of rows of each variety planted shall accompany each application for certification.
   4. The application must state the class of certification which the field is entered.
4. CONDITIONS FOR CROP INSPECTION

   Inspection of a growing crop shall only be made under the following conditions:

   1. the grower had made an application for certification as stated in section 3 and
   2. the person applying for certification is able, at the time of inspection, to establish to the satisfaction of the inspector the origin of each lot of strawberry plants planted and
   3. the growing crop must be at least 200 m from all cultivated strawberry plants not being grown under the Strawberry Certification Program and
   4. the growing crop must be at least 200 m from fields containing clover as the dominant species.
   5. Fields entered in the domestic class must have no history of red stele disease.
   6. Fields entered in the export class must have been fumigated in the previous ten months with an approved fumigant at a rate and method of application approved by the officer in charge.

    

   Inspection shall not be made of the growing crop if

   1. cultural conditions of the field entered for certification are such that proper inspection can not be carried out;
   2. the field has been used for growing raspberries, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant or strawberries not entered in the Certification Program during the previous four years or three years if fumigated as in 4 (f);
   3. the field has been used for growing strawberries in the previous year.

    

5. FIELD INSPECTION

    

   1. The growing crop shall be inspected by the inspector and/or the officer-in-charge as deemed necessary by the officer-in-charge to fulfill the requirements of the Strawberry Certification Program. During the growing year the crop must maintain the requirement of subsection 5 (b) to be eligible for certification.
   2. During the growing year:
      1. any plant found to be off-type shall be together with its daughter plants be removed immediately from any planting;
      2. a distance of 50 cm shall be maintained between plants of different varieties, including their daughter plants;
      3. no plant in a field designated as domestic class shall show the presence of the pathogen causing red stele disease either by visual symptoms or by other tests as approved by the officer-in-charge.
      4. the grower must follow a pest control program as recommended by the Department and maintain a log of treatment applications detailing the pesticides applied, treatment rates and dates of application;
      5. any plant showing visual symptoms of any virus or virus-like disease shall together with it daughter plants be removed immediately;
      6. visible symptoms of Verticillium Wilt may not exceed five mother plants, or their progeny, per 1000 mother plants for each cultivar. All plants with visible symptoms must be destroyed, including all runner plants.

    

6. STORAGE INSPECTION

   Any nursery stock stored prior to sale is also subject to inspection, tests or other procedures as deemed necessary by the officer-in-charge.