Section 156.01. Definitions.

  In this chapter:

(1)  "Bacterial ring rot" means one of the following:

(a) For purposes of visual inspection under this chapter, the condition caused by Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. Sepedonicus.

(b) For purposes of laboratory testing under this chapter, Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. Sepedonicus .

(2)  "Certified seed potatoes" means seed potatoes certified and graded by any of the following:

(a) The college under subch. II and the department under subch. III .

(b) The seed certification agency in another state, under standards equivalent to those under subchs. II and III as determined by the college.

(3)  "College" means the college of agricultural and life sciences of the university of Wisconsin-Madison, department of plant pathology.

(4)  "Damage" means any defects, except sunburn, greening or hollow heart, which materially detract from the internal or external appearance of a potato, or which cannot be removed without removing more than 5% of the total weight of the potato. "Damage" includes any of the defects identified in s. ATCP 156.11 (1) or (2) .

(5)  "Department" means the Wisconsin department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection.

(6)  "Diameter" means the greatest dimension at right angles to the longitudinal axis of a potato, where the longitudinal axis is determined without regard to the position of the stem (rhizome).

(7)  "External defect" means a defect that can be detected by inspecting the outer surface of a potato, regardless of whether cutting is needed to determine the extent of internal injury related to the external defect. "External defect" includes any of the defects listed in s. ATCP 156.11 (1) .

(8)  "Fairly well shaped" means not pointed, dumbbell-shaped or otherwise ill-formed to a material degree.

(9)  "Farm" means land in this state on which a seed potato grower produces seed potatoes. "Farm" includes all land, equipment, and storage facilities used to plant, grow, harvest, handle or store potatoes grown on the farm. A "farm" includes all land that the seed potato grower uses to produce potatoes of any kind, except that the seed potato grower and the college may agree to treat non-contiguous tracts of land as separate "farms" if the seed potato grower refrains from doing any of the following:

(a) Storing potatoes from non-contiguous tracts of land in the same storage facility.

(b) Using the same planting, cultivation or harvesting equipment on more than one non-contiguous tract of land, unless the grower cleans and disinfects the equipment according to college specifications between uses on different non-contiguous tracts of land.

(10)  "Field propagation" means the outdoor production of potatoes in this state or another state. "Field propagation" does not include any of the following:

(a) Production of propagative material in a laboratory or greenhouse.

(b) Outdoor production, under a recognized breeding program, of propagative material that is subsequently approved under s. ATCP 156.03 (1) (f) .

(11)  "Field inspection" means inspection of growing potato plants on a farm where seed potatoes are produced.

(12)  "Foundation seed potatoes" means seed potatoes that are certified for use in the production of other certified seed potatoes. "Foundation seed potatoes" includes all of the following:

(a) Foundation seed potatoes certified, classified and graded as foundation seed potatoes under this chapter, including Badger State Brand Foundation seed potatoes and Yellow Tag Grade Foundation seed potatoes.

(b) Seed potatoes that the seed certification agency in another state has certified, classified and graded as foundation seed potatoes for use as seed for certified seed potatoes, under standards equivalent to those in this chapter as determined by the college.

(13)  "Internal defect" means any defect that cannot be detected without cutting the potato. "Internal defect" includes any of the defects listed in s. ATCP 156.11 (2) .

(14)  "Internal discoloration" means discoloration on the inside of a potato, including discoloration caused by necrosis, stem-end browning or internal brown spot.

(15)  "Laboratory test" means a laboratory test by the college, or by a laboratory approved under s. ATCP 156.07 .

(16)  "Leafroll" means the condition caused by leafroll virus.

(17)  "Line" means all generations of propagative material descended from a single tissue culture plantlet, or from a single set of tissue culture plantlets of the same potato variety or selection. "Line" does not include other tissue culture plantlets subsequently produced from tubers or plants in the line, or any propagative material descended from those other tissue culture plantlets.

(18)  "Lot" means potatoes of the same variety and line that are produced from the same type of propagative material from the same source, and are grown on the same farm in the same year.

(19)  "Microtubers" means pathogen-free tubers produced aseptically in tissue culture.

(20)  "Minitubers" means tubers produced from plants grown in pots, or in a hydroponic system, in a controlled environment such as a greenhouse.

(21)  "Mosaics" means symptoms caused by potato virus Y, X or A. "Mosaics" includes symptoms, produced by other viruses, which are similar to those produced by virus Y, X or A.

(22)  "Nematode or tuber moth injury" means the presence of nematode or tuber moth, or the evidence of nematode or tuber moth activity.

(23)  "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, cooperative, limited liability company, or other legal entity.

(24)  "Plant variety protection act" means the United States plant variety protection act, 7 USC 2321 et seq., as amended.

(25)  "Pre-approved" means approved by the college, in writing, prior to being planted in the field.

(26)  "Propagative material" means tubers, tuber portions, microtubers, minitubers, tissue-culture plantlets, or potato plants used to produce seed potatoes. "Propagative material" includes foundation seed potatoes.

(27)  "Seed certification agency" means a state agency, state academic institution, or state grower organization that is responsible for certifying seed potatoes and issuing certification documentation for seed potatoes or propagative materials.

(28)  "Seed potato" means a tuber, minituber or microtuber that is used, or that is held, offered, sold or distributed for use, for the field propagation of potatoes.

(29)  "Seed potato grower" means a person, other than the college, who produces seed potatoes on land in this state that the person owns or controls.

(30)  "Sell" means to contract for sale, offer for sale, hold for sale, transport or distribute for sale, or advertise or label for sale.

(31)  "Serious damage" means any defects, except sunburn, greening or hollow heart, which seriously detract from the internal or external appearance of a potato, or which cannot be removed without removing more than 10% of the total weight of the potato. "Serious damage" includes any of the defects identified in s. ATCP 156.11 (3) .

(32)  "Soft rot or wet breakdown" means any soft, mushy, or leaky condition of seed potato tissue.

(33)  "Spindle tuber" means the condition caused by potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd).

(34)  "State" means any of the following:

(a) A state in the United States.

(b) A United States territory.

(c) A nation other than the United States.

(35)  "Tissue culture plantlet" means a pathogen-free potato plant grown aseptically, from a tissue sample, in an aseptic artificial medium.

History: CR 06-085 : cr. Register April 2007 No. 616 , eff. 5-1-07.