§ 4.1-53-01 — Definitions

North Dakota § 4.1-53-01

• Jurisdiction: North Dakota
• Title 4.1: Agriculture
• Ch. 4.1-53: Seeds

Text

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Agricultural seed" means:
a. The seed of cereal, fiber, forage, grass, or oil crops;
b. Irish potato seed tubers;
c. Lawn seed;
d. Any other seed designated by the seed commissioner as agricultural seed; and
e. Any mixture of seeds referenced in this subsection.
2. "Blend" means seed that consists of more than one variety, provided each variety
consists of more than five percent of the whole, by weight.
3. "Brand" means a design, name, number, symbol, or word used to identify the seed of
one person and distinguish the seed from that of another person.
4. "Certification" means a process that:
a. Is designed to maintain the genetic purity and varietal identity of crop cultivars;
and
b. Requires a variety of components, including:
(1) An examination of records provided by the producer;
(2) An inspection of the field in which the plants producing seed for certification
are growing; and
(3) The testing and grading of a representative sample.
5. "Certified" means a designation that the seed department has authorized a labeler to
use on seed that met the requirements for certification.
6. "Conditioning" means any process to remove unwanted seeds or other matter from a
seed lot in order to produce a uniform product.
7. "Flower seed" means the seed of a herbaceous plant grown for its bloom, ornamental
foliage, or other ornamental part.
8. "Germination" means the physiological process of development and the emergence
from the seed embryo of essential structures that are indicative of the ability to
produce a normal plant under favorable conditions.
9. "Hard seed" means a seed that has an impermeable seed coat and has not absorbed
water by the end of the prescribed test period.
10. "Inert matter" means anything other than unbroken seeds.
11. "Kind" means one or more related species or subspecies known singly or collectively
by a common name.
12. "Label" means a device or tag attached to a seed container, printed or stamped
information on a seed container, or written information accompanying a lot of bulk
seed.
13. "Labeler" means the person identified by name and address on the label.
14. "Lot" means an identifiable quantity of seed that is uniform within permitted tolerances
for the factors that appear on its label.
15. "Mixture" means seed consisting of more than one kind, each in excess of five percent
of the whole, by weight.
16. "Official seed-certifying agency" means:
a. An agency that is authorized under the laws of a state, territory, or possession to
officially certify seed and which has standards and procedures approved by the
United States secretary of agriculture to assure the genetic purity and identity of
any seed it certifies; or
b. An agency of a foreign country if the United States secretary of agriculture has
determined that the agency adheres to seed certification procedures and
standards that are comparable to those generally adhered to by a seed-certifying
agency meeting the criteria set forth in subdivision a.
17. "Prohibited weed seed" means:

a. The seed or propagule of any weed designated as noxious by the agriculture
commissioner in accordance with section 4.1-47-05; or
b. The seed or propagule of any weed determined by the seed commissioner to be
highly destructive and difficult to control by good cultural practices or by the use
of herbicides.
18. "Pure seed" means a quantity of seed that belongs to a particular kind or variety and
which does not contain either inert matter or seeds of another kind or variety.
19. "Record" includes all information relating to origin or source, variety, lot identification,
quantity, inspection, processing, testing, labeling, distribution, and file samples of the
seed.
20. "Restricted weed seed" means a seed that is determined by the seed commissioner to
be:
a. Objectionable in agricultural seed, lawn or turf seed, vegetable seed, and flower
seed; and
b. Controllable by good cultural practices or the use of herbicides.
21. "Selection" means a subgroup of a variety and includes clones, lines, and strains.
22. "Treated" means a seed has received an application of a substance intended to
enhance the performance of the seed or alter a physiological process of the plant.
23. "Unbroken seed" means a seed that is more than fifty percent intact.
24. "Variety" means a subdivision of a kind that:
a. Can be differentiated by one or more identifiable morphological, physiological, or
other characteristics from other varieties of the same kind;
b. Has describable variations in essential and distinct characteristics; and
c. Will remain unchanged in its essential and distinct characteristics and uniformity
when reproduced or reconstituted, as required by the different categories of
varieties.