PRODUCTION, TESTING AND CERTIFICATION OF SPECIALLY SELECTED OR VIRUSFREE PLANT MATERIAL IN THE NETHERLANDS

The inspection deals only with phytosanitary aspects and not with other features of quality. Because of the fact, that this is a compulsory inspection for the total production of the crops, mentioned by law, there is no need to give certificates. This means, that the selling of stocks of poor health is very much restricted, but for the other ones no indication is given which stocks are good, better or best. It is obvious that where everybody talks about quality, the growers, as well as the government were no longer satisfied with this system of inspection. At the moment, a revision of the law is in course of preparation to make a combination of phytosanitary and quality inspection obligatory. In the meantime, and already for many years, the Flowerbulb Inspection Service has been organizing, in co-operation with the growers, voluntary quality-inspections for specially selected stocks of iris and tulip and special inspections for virus-free hyacinths, gladioli and lilies.

The oldest certification-scheme is that of irises. It started in 1952. The idea was to obtain healthy and virus-free stocks of irises, that are true to variety. Soon it became clear, that the aim was unattainable, because:

1^e. all irises are infected with a mild mosaic;

2^e. by visual selection it is impossible to obtain stocks of irises which are free of iris grey virus and the severe mosaic virus.

The only possibility is to make higher demands on a certificate. Judgement takes place on a sample of about 1.000 irises, planted in a glasshouse and afterwards by the inspection of the stock in the field.

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