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SEED TESTING INTERNATIONAL APRIL 2026
• ACCREDITATION 
First in Hainan! Yazhou Bay Seed Quality Testing 
Center Obtains ISTA Accreditation
He Minggao1, Wang Fang2 and Han Shengnan3
1Technical Director
2Seed Analyst
3Seed Analyst
SANYA YAZHOU BAY INNOVATION AND 
DEVELOPMENT CENTER CO. LTD (CN13), 
established the Yazhou Bay Seed Quality Testing 
Center in 2021. The laboratory is located in the 
Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City, Sanya, 
Hainan Province, China, with a floor area of 
approximately 700 square meters.
As a key technological platform serving the 
construction of the National Nanfan Silicon 
Valley and supporting the internationalisation 
of China’s seed industry, the Center provides 
accurate, reliable and internationally compliant 
testing services for research institutions, 
universities and enterprises. It ensures seed 
quality and biosecurity from the source, 
facilitates cross-border seed trade, and reduces 
trade costs. Moving forward, the Sanya Yazhou 
Bay Innovation and Development Center Co.  
Ltd will continue to align with the steady 
expansion of institutional openness and 
the enhancement of trade and investment 
liberalisation and facilitation in the Hainan Free 
Trade Port, providing technical support  
for building a first-class, market-oriented, 
law-based and internationalised business 
environment.
The Yazhou Bay Seed Quality Testing Center 
conducts seed quality testing strictly in 
accordance with the International Rules for 
Seed Testing (ISTA Rules). Its service scope 
covers seeds of several crop groups: cereals, 
pulses, other agricultural crops and vegetables, 
primarily offering the following seven testing 
services: sampling from the lot, purity and 
determination of other seeds, germination, 
viability, moisture content and thousand-seed 
weight.
The main asset of our laboratory is our staff and 
their skills in performing seed testing, as well 
as their use of the laboratory instruments and 
equipment, including electric centrifugal divider, 
stereomicroscope, purity analysis workbench, 
drying oven, grinding mill, automatic seed 
counter, and a modern climate chamber for 
sample storage.
On 30 July 2025, a full-day on-site audit was 
conducted professionally, systematically and 
patiently by two experts, Florina Palada and Rita 
Zecchinelli. Following a few months of effort by 
a dedicated and competent laboratory team, all 
necessary rectifications were implemented. The 
Center officially obtained the ISTA Laboratory 
Accreditation Certificate on 13 November 2025. 
Consequently, the Center has become Hainan’s 
first ISTA accredited laboratory, authorised to 
issue globally recognised International Seed 
Testing Certificates (ISTA Certificate): the ISTA 
Orange International Seed Lot Certificate (OIC) 
and the ISTA Blue International Seed Sample 
Certificate (BIC).
Laboratory CN13 staff and the ISTA auditors at the end of the audit day
Go to the Sanya Yazhou Bay Innovation and 
Development Center Co. Ltd membership page 
on the ISTA website: www.seedtest.org/en/
membership/sanya-yazhou-bay-innovation-
development-center-co-ltd.html

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