EUROPEAN-SEED.COM I EUROPEAN SEED I 27 the DUS test. At present, none of the CPVO test protocols in fruit and ornamentals include disease and insect resistance charac- teristics, whilst there are very few examples in agriculture. In the vegetable sector, 12 of the major species (including tomato, lettuce, pepper, cucumber, melon, pea, etc.) have a total of 127 disease and insect resistance characteristics within their respec- tive test protocols. Both examination offices and seed companies in the vegetable sector see benefits in including these character- istics in the test protocol. This is a good thing, since it promotes the use of modern vegetables varieties which have less need for phytosanitary products, thus leading to a greener and healthier product for the benefit of the environment and the consumer. ES: IN SOME CASES, CHARACTERISTICS ARE MADE MANDATORY FOR ALL EXAMINATION OFFICES TO ASSESS (THE SO-CALLED ASTERISK CHARACTERISTICS). WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ABOUT MAKING DISEASE RESISTANCE CHARACTERISTICS MANDATORY (I.E. WITH AN ASTERISK)? WHAT WOULD BE THE BENEFITS, AND WHAT ARE THE DRAWBACKS? SFS: The number of asterisked disease and insect resistance characteristics is relatively small compared to the overall number of such characteristics in CPVO test protocols. Just 33 out of the 127 disease and insect resistance characteristics are obligatory, and this is limited to the most important diseases/ insects in lettuce, tomato, French bean, melon, pea, pepper, spinach, and tomato rootstocks. A disease and insect resistance characteristic should only become obligatory for a vegetable crop if the pathogen is of economic importance within the whole of the European Union. By harmonising test procedures for these asterisked characteristics, it means that examination offices can exchange results and interpret them in the same manner. And for breeders, it stimulates them to create more uniform varieties which will also have a higher resistance profile for the benefit of society. The downside of making more of these characteristics obligatory is that both breeders and examination office have to invest in staff and facilities to provide disease and insect resist- ance testing facilities, and some smaller seed companies may also have to integrate such characteristics into their breeding programme in order to ensure that their varieties are uniform for such traits. Not fulfilling the mandatory requirements in the CPVO test protocols means that the variety can neither be marketed nor protected in the EU. ES: THERE WAS SOME CONTROVERSY OVER THE ADDITION OF AN ASTERISK TO CERTAIN DISEASE RESISTANCE CHARACTERISTICS. WHY WAS THERE A PROBLEM FOR SOME OF EUROPE’S BREEDERS? SFS:In the beginning of the decade, the CPVO was made aware by representatives of some vegetable breeding companies in cen- tral and eastern EU, that certain asterisked and insect disease resistance characterises were prejudicial to their interests. It was argued that such characteristics were of importance in the main salad crop growing areas in the south of the EU, but not so in the continental parts of the EU. The breeders from central and eastern EU were thus obliged to do active breeding for some disease and insect characteristics for which the growers in those parts were not interested in. Furthermore, even if the variety was declared as susceptible for any particular characteristic, it still had to conform to the uniformity criterion or otherwise risk failing the DUS test, and thus being unable to be registered for marketing purposes or protected by plant variety rights. To a certain extent, some of these characterises were already obliga- tory when these countries joined the EU in 2004, although there were other characteristics that have subsequently become oblig- atory with the backing of the CPVO vegetable experts group, made up of representatives from the entrusted examination offices and the European Seed Association (ESA). ES: WHAT HAS THE CPVO DONE TO DEAL WITH THESE CONCERNS? SFS: Some of the Slovak breeders took the affair to the Slovak Constitutional Court, and as a consequence the representatives of the Slovak examination office requested that the CPVO treat this delicate matter with urgency. In 2013, the Administrative Council of the CPVO decided to impose a provisional morato- rium on any new asterisks being added to disease and insect resistance characteristics in CPVO vegetable protocols. In the meantime, the CPVO, ESA, and the entrusted examination offices in vegetables continued to analyse the matter to try and find a technical solution. Part of this was a questionnaire for- mulated jointly by the CPVO and ESA, which was subsequently addressed to the ESA vegetable members in order to get their feedback on their experiences with the 127 disease and insect resistance characteristics. There was also a review of each of the 33 asterisked disease and insect resistance characteristics to see if these were necessary. The main proposal emanating from the consultation process was to establish a running-in phase in the adoption of new asterisked disease and insect resist- ance characteristics in CPVO vegetable protocols. This allows breeders to develop their breeding activity in that area over a period of time, as well as permitting examination authorities to establish or build-up the necessary testing facilities. The CPVO “Implementation of disease resistance testing for DUS testing in cereals is not recommended, because it increases the cost of breeding new varieties. The breeders had to test their plant materials for the presence, or respectively the absence of such disease resistance genes, which has no practical significance for the cultivation. In our opinion, the current DUS test methodology provides enough options for differentiating individual varieties. Implementation of molecular markers for DUS testing is also not recommended for the above reasons.” Rudolf Zajac, General Director of OSIVO a.s., one of the largest producers of certified seeds and seedlings of field crops in Slovakia