The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has indicated in its Forward Regulatory Plan that it intends to amend the Seeds Regulations to “reduce overlap and redundancy; increase responsiveness to industry changes; address gaps, weaknesses and inconsistencies; and provide clarity and flexibility to affected regulated parties.”
It has also suggested some activities may no longer be required or that certain goals of the Seed Program could be achieved in a different manner.
As we begin the process of Seed Regulatory Modernization, it is an opportune time to review various aspects of the Seed Program and how they contribute to the overall quality and value of seed in Canada. Variety verification is one such component of the Canadian seed system.
The CFIA’s variety verification program evaluates the seed certification system’s effectiveness in preserving the varietal (genetic) identity and varietal purity of pedigreed seed in Canada. A variety is defined by its distinguishing characteristics or phenotype (the expression of its genotype). The CFIA monitors pedigreed seed lots by verifying those expressed characteristics (which impact field performance and yield) in field plots.
Every year, over 2,000 seed samples are submitted to the CFIA for variety verification testing. These samples are planted in field plots at the CFIA’s Fallowfield Farm in Ottawa, Ontario. They are grown out alongside a reference sample of the variety, and CFIA staff examine the plots throughout the growing season to monitor the varietal identity and varietal purity of seed produced in Canada and a limited number of imported seed lots as well.
Most of the samples are submitted by CSGA-accredited pedigreed seed plot growers. These samples represent the first-generations of seed (Select and Foundation) derived from original Breeder seed of the variety. Accredited plot growers must submit seed samples from their plot production to the CFIA to receive a crop certificate from the CSGA.
The CFIA’s variety verification program is a cornerstone of the Canadian seed varietal certification system. It is a check not only on the seed grower and his/her ability to maintain the identity and purity of pedigreed seed, but also on the plant breeder, the licensed seed crop inspector, and the processor. It confirms and safeguards Canada’s seed varietal certification system, occasionally identifying problematic seed lots before they are multiplied and widely distributed.
Varietal Identity and Varietal Purity
Varietal purity is a measure of the proportion of plants or seeds within the population that conform to the variety’s official description. Plants or seeds of the same kind that do not conform to the norm of the variety are considered varietal impurities or off-types. Canada has some of the highest standards for varietal purity of seed crops in the world.
The main purpose of crop inspection is not so much to verify varietal identity but to verify varietal purity. A seed crop inspector only spends a short time on a specific day examining a seed crop. The inspector has a description of variety to go by but is not expected to catch varietal identity issues unless they are quite obvious.
Seed crop inspection involves the inspector making six “counts” of 10,000 plants, that is six areas of the field comprising approximately 10,000 plants each are examined closely for off-types. These are reported and described on a seed crop inspection report, which is submitted to the CSGA.
The CFIA’s variety verification plots are primarily intended to confirm varietal identity. They grow multiple samples of the same variety beside a plot planted with the legal reference sample of the variety. Plots of cereals generally consist of 5,000 plants, so variety verification plots are not as robust as a crop inspection for determining varietal purity but are excellent for confirming varietal identity.
CFIA technicians and biologists can inspect the variety verification plots multiple times during the growing period from seedling emergence to seed set and harvest, noting and describing off-types throughout the season.
Variety verification testing applies the seed varietal purity standards established by the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) and referenced by the CSGA in Circular 6 – the Canadian Regulations and Procedures for Pedigreed Seed Crop Production.
Supporting International Trade
Variety verification testing is fundamental to Canada’s international seed trade. As a participant in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Seed Schemes, Canada is obliged to conduct variety verification testing on all OECD Pre-Basic and Basic status seed lots and a percentage of OECD Certified status seed lots that have been certified for export by the CFIA pursuant to the OECD Seed Schemes.
Canada’s participation in the OECD Seed Schemes enables Canadian seed to move in international trade and is mandatory for seed exports to the European Union. Canada is recognized internationally as a supplier of high-quality seed with reliable varietal purity and varietal identity.
What about Molecular Testing?
As DNA testing becomes faster, cheaper, and more sophisticated, laboratory tests could carry out some of the varietal verification that our system requires to provide high-quality certified seed.
Testing a small number of seeds in a lab may confirm whether a seed sample matches the DNA fingerprint associated with a certain variety. Still, you’d have to test several thousand seeds from a representative sample of a seed lot to determine varietal purity with the statistical confidence and accuracy of an in-field crop inspection, which examines the phenotype (or genotype expression) of at least 60,000 plants in each seed crop.
Why Varietal Purity?
Do all Canadian farmers need the high level of varietal purity assurance that the CSGA’s seed crop production procedures and standards provide for all pedigreed seed? After all, the highest grain grades allow significantly more kernels of other classes than are permitted in Certified seed – up to 20 times more, in fact.
Seed growers have always been proud of the high level of varietal purity they provide, which gives Canada a strong reputation on the world stage. High levels of varietal purity also allow farmers to save seed of some crop kinds for several generations and still produce a quality crop in following years.
Future Change
Changes to our current seed varietal certification system are inevitable. As breeders increasingly employ biotechnology tools to develop and bring innovative new varieties to market, variety verification will need to adapt and adopt various methods to confirm that commercial seed meets certification requirements. With its focus on field plots supplemented by laboratory analysis, the CFIA’s variety verification program has responded to the needs of Canada’s seed producers and agriculture for many decades.
Official third-party oversight of Canada’s seed varietal certification system is a valuable quality assurance component of Canada’s Seed Program and something worth preserving.
As seed sector stakeholders engage with CFIA on Seed Regulatory Modernization, changes to the variety verification program may be proposed. These should be carefully studied in consideration of the implications for crop production and the international trade of seed.
—Mike Scheffel is managing director, policy and standards, for the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association
