minutes of the ordinary general meeting 2013 · minutes of the ordinary general meeting 2013...

International Seed Testing Association Secretariat, Zürichstrasse 50, CH-8303 Bassersdorf, Switzerland Phone: +41 44 838 60 00 Fax: +41 44 838 60 01 Email: [email protected] - http://www.seedtest.org

Document OGM14-02

OGM14-02 Minutes of the OGM 2013 approved.docx 2014-08-12 17:22 Approved by OGM 19 June 2014 /47

Minutes of the Ordinary General Meeting 2013 This document includes the comments received and accepted by the Executive Committee decision number 836 and are published on the ISTA website. Any comments about these minutes will be considered at the Ordinary General Meeting 2014, to be held on 19 June at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, under Agenda point 4. Comments about the Minutes of the previous meeting.

http://www.seedtest.org/

Minutes of the Ordinary General Meeting 2013


Contents 1 Call to Order 3

2 President’s Address 3

3 Roll Call of Designated Members entitled to vote 4

4 Comments about the minutes of the previous Meeting 6

5 Report of the Executive Committee 6

6 Report of the Secretary General 11

7 ISTA Strategy 2013–2016 13

8 Election of Officers and members-at-large of the Executive Committee 14

9 Fixation of annual subscriptions 19

10 Consideration and adoption of the proposed changes to the ISTA Articles 19

11 Consideration and adoption of the proposed Rules Changes 2014 20

8 Election of Officers and members-at-large of the Executive Committee (continued) 30

11 Consideration and adoption of the proposed Rules Changes 2014 (continued) 31

8 Election of Officers and members-at-large of the Executive Committee (continued) 39

12 Consideration and adoption of reports 40

13 Announcement of the places and dates for the next Ordinary General Meetings of the Association 40

14 Any other business raised by a Member, of which notice in writing has been received by the Secretary General at least two months prior to the date of the meeting 44

15 Any other business raised by consent of the Executive Committee 44

16 Discharge of the Executive Committee 44

17 Installation of new Officers and Executive Committee members 45

18 President’s closing address 45

19 Adjournment 47



The Ordinary General Meeting of the Association The ISTA President, Joël Léchappé (France) began the meeting by welcoming the President of the National Organizing Committee, the Presidents and Directors of the various international organizations who were present, ISTA colleagues, and all others present.

1 Call to Order The President declared the Ordinary General Meeting 2013 open.

He announced that 368 people had attended the Congress from 58 countries and distinct economies. The Seed Symposium and following meetings were attended by 146 people.

The Honorary Life President, Attilio Lovato, was excused for personal reasons.

Honorary Life Members Alison Powell and Ronald Don were welcomed, as were representatives from the ISF (Dr Piero Sismondo, Director, Seed Technology and Trade), the OECD (Dr. Pier-Giacomo Bianchi, Vice-President), APSA (Dr. Jin Young Yoon), ICARDA (Mr. Abdoul Aziz Niane and Mr. Zewdie Bishaw), the SCST (past President Brent Reschly). The President also mentioned those who were not able to remain for the Meeting.

2 President’s Address The President mentioned the full agenda of the Ordinary General Meeting. There would be specific items on Accreditation and Finances, and presentations by the OECD and the ISF. A new Vice-President and Executive Committee Members will be elected, and the place and dates of the next Congress will be announced.

The order of business was laid out in document OGM13-01.

Agenda of the Ordinary General Meeting of the Association 1. Call to Order

2. President’s Address

3. Roll Call of Designated Members entitled to vote

4. Comments about the minutes of the previous meeting

5. Report of the Executive Committee

5.1 Executive Committee Report

5.2 Review of Accreditation

5.3 Internal finance tool

6. Report of the Secretary General

7. ISTA Strategy 2013–2016

8. Election of Officers and members-at-large of the Executive Committee

9. Fixation of annual subscriptions

10. Consideration and adoption of the proposed changes to the ISTA Articles

11. Consideration and adoption of the proposed Rules Changes 2014

12. Consideration and adoption of reports

13. Announcement of the places and dates for the next Ordinary General Meetings of the Association

https://www.seedtest.org/upload/cms/user/3FINALRollCallofDesignatedMembersentitledtovote.pdf

https://www.seedtest.org/upload/cms/user/5.1JLExecutivecommitteereport2012.pdf

https://www.seedtest.org/upload/cms/user/5.3Internalfinancetool1.pdf

https://www.seedtest.org/upload/cms/user/6SGReportshort.pdf



13.1. Annual Meeting 2014

13.2. Annual Meeting 2015

13.3. Congress 2016

14. Any other business raised by a Member, of which notice in writing has been received by the Secretary General at least two months prior to the date of the meeting

15. Any other business raised by consent of the Executive Committee

16. Discharge of the Executive Committee

17. Installation of new Officers and Executive Committee members

18. President’s closing address

19. Adjournment

As required by the Articles of the Association, the relevant documents were posted in April 2013 to the Designated Authorities and all ISTA Members, stakeholders and observer organizations, two months prior to the ISTA Ordinary General Meeting, and has been available on the ISTA web site.

After the roll call, a vote would be required to update the Rules of Order.

After the vote, the statutory agenda will be followed as usual.

All the topics were carefully prepared by the Executive Committee members together with the ISTA Secretariat. The President asked the Executive Committee members and the Secretariat staff to stand, in order to thank them for organizing the Meeting.

The President asked the Secretary General ad interim, Mr. Heinz Schmid, to call the roll.

3 Roll Call of Designated Members entitled to vote

Argentina Ignacio Aranciaga

Australia Lindsay Cook

Austria Andreas Ratzenböck

Belgium Anja Ritserveldt

Brazil Myriam Alvisi

Canada Steve Jones

Chile Luis Riveros Cuadra

Croatia Sanja Spoljaric-Marcovic

Czech Republic Barbora Dobiasova

Denmark Hanne Kerl Poulsen

Egypt Gamal El Azzab

https://www.seedtest.org/upload/cms/user/11.3AnnualMeeting2014invitation.pdf



Estonia Mari Jürmann

Finland Leena Pietilä

France Sylvie Ducournau

Germany Berta Killermann

Hungary Zita Ripka

Iran Aidin Hamidi

Ireland John Joe Byrne

Israel Lea Mazor

Italy Rita Zecchinelli

Japan Masatoshi Sato

Lithuania Arvydas Basiulis

Netherlands W. Joost van der Burg

New Zealand Craig R. McGill

Norway Hakon Tangeras

Philippines Ruel C. Gesmundo

Poland Irena Gera

Republic of Korea Eunhee Soh

Russian Federation Alexander M. Malko

Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu

Tso-Chi Yang

Slovak Republic Monika Holubicova

Spain Luis Martinez Vassallo

Sweden Karin Sperlingsson

Switzerland Silvia Zanetti

Tunisia Hichem Boudali

Turkey Kamil Yilmaz

United Kingdom Elizabeth Jane Taylor

United States of America Fawad Shah

Uruguay Cecilia Jones

Zambia Mable M. Simwanza



Zimbabwe Claid Mujaju

As there were in ISTA 65 countries and distinct economies with voting rights, and 41 Voting Delegates present, the Meeting was declared to be quorate, since 40% of member countries was required for a quorum.

Cheryl Dollard (Canada) and Rainer Knoblauch (Germany) were proposed as vote counters for votes in the plenary room, Valérie Grimault (France) and Brigitte Hendriksen (Norway) as vote counters for the elections, and Christoph Haldemann as election observer. These proposals were approved by applause.

3.1 Proposed Changes to the Rules of Order for Ordinary General Meetings

The President asked Executive Committee member Craig McGill (New Zealand) to present the next item “Proposed Changes to the Rules of Order for Ordinary General Meetings”, as detailed in document OGM 13-08.

The aim of the proposal was to make the Rules of Order for Ordinary General Meetings consistent with the Articles of the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA). Changes were: editorial (e.g. changing the word “Constitution” to “Article”), to correct grammatical errors, and to enable the Rules of Order to be used for ISTA General Meetings, not just the Ordinary General Meeting, by replacing the word “Ordinary” with “General”.

There being no questions, the President proceeded to the vote. The proposal was approved with 40 votes to zero.

4 Comments about the minutes of the previous Meeting

The Secretary General ad interim stated that no comments had been received with regard to the Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of 2012 and that the Minutes were therefore approved according to the Articles of the Association, and asked whether there were any comments from the floor. This not being so, he asked for a vote of approval by applause, which was granted.

The Secretary General ad interim then asked the President for the Report of the Executive Committee.

5 Report of the Executive Committee

5.1 Executive Committee report The President, Joël Léchappé (France):

“According to the Articles of the Association, I am very pleased to present the report of the Executive Committee. This report was prepared with the Executive Committee members, and the full text is in the document OGM 13-03 Activity Report of the ISTA Committees 2012. It was sent to the Members two months before the Ordinary General Meeting on April 15th. More information was given yesterday and the days before, during the introduction sessions and the discussion sessions on the Strategy, Finances and Accreditation on diverse occasions.

“This report is the last report of this Executive Committee, as it is the end of our role as Executive Committee members, and the report focuses on the main achievements since the meeting last year in Venlo. But it also refers to some of the important topics of the three-year term since the Congress in Cologne in 2010. My presentation of the work of the Executive Committee will focus on the representation of different regions of the world in the ISTA Executive Committee, the meeting, the main actions on



working items of the Executive Committee carried out in Working Groups, and the work of the Executive Committee Working Groups.

“The Executive Committee members represent the regions of the world. ISTA is the International Seed Testing Association, and the Executive Committee is convinced that the representation from all regions is absolutely necessary, and several actions have been taken to encourage Members to volunteer to become Members of the next Executive Committee. Information has been published in the issue of April of Seed Testing International. Further information was sent end of May to the Designated Authorities and Members and ECOM members.

“There are the Executive Committee meetings, meetings with the Technical Committee Chairs, and additional meetings and regular phone calls.

“Regarding the main actions, as you know already, the Executive Committee is organized in Working Groups, each led by an Executive Committee member in charge of the main actions and topics. The following slides are (…) actions, including those achieved after writing the report which was sent two months ago.

“The role of the liaison officers is now well established. It is aimed to facilitate the communication and support to the work of the Technical Committees. Two joint meetings, one in February and one in June, before the Congress, contribute to manage and support the technical work. As an example of the results of these meetings, the Executive Committee has decided to support financially the work of the Technical Committees. It was also decided to implement the web conferencing system, that allows interactive conferences, online workshops etc.

“Coming to Accreditation: the main aims of the Executive Committee Accreditation Working Group, chaired by Rita Zecchinelli, is to support the Accreditation and Technical Department, for the revision of documents, and answering questions on accreditation. A workshop to train technical auditors in GMO accreditation was organized together with the Accreditation and Technical Department and the GMO Committee.

“Another important topic: the Working Group has started with the implementation of a motion, approved by the membership in Venlo, to review the audit process. Rita Zecchinelli will resent this topic just after this presentation.

“Electronic publication: the possibility of moving to the electronic publication of Seed Testing International and the ISTA Rules has been investigated. The Members will be surveyed for their views on STI being available only as an electronic publication, and the ISTA Rules, as presented by Craig this week, will be made available electronically.

“International collaboration and relations: being an international association, the collaboration with other international or regional organizations is a major goal and task of the ECOM and the Secretary General. The main goals are providing information, get feedback from regions of the world, participate in seed science with other organizations, collaborate to harmonize seed testing methods with other organizations such as AOSA, and contribute as partner in the World Seed Project, and the contribution of ISTA in this project is to help developing seed testing capacities in countries selected by the organizations involved: FAO, OECD, UPOV and ISF. Grethe Tarp, as a member of the Executive Committee, has made an important contribution to the international relations. She has been involved in the World Seed Project, trainings in Africa, and participating at the ISF Congress on behalf of ISTA. The Executive Committee has a policy to strengthen the international relations with the aim to contribute better to the harmonization of rules of seed testing methods, in order to facilitate the production of good seeds, and to facilitate the movement of seeds.

“The Articles of the Association: following the adoption of the Articles in Venlo in June 2012, change proposals for the Articles were proposed by the Working Group on the Articles, and this Working Group is chaired by Craig McGill. This proposal will be presented today by Craig, and discussed during this Meeting, and finally, we hope they will be voted on.



“Management and Finances of the Association: all members of the ECOM are on the ECOM Working Group on Management and Finances. Steve Jones is the Chair, and a Sub-Working Group consisting of Alison Powell, Rita Zecchinelli, Francisco Krzyzanowski, Craig McGill and myself has been working in detail with specific projects as presented by Steve yesterday. Due to unexpected events and scheduled projects on finances, the last twelve months have been very busy to ensure the continuity of the Association. Members of the Group have taken responsibility for different tasks of the Secretary General in the interim period. After the February ECOM meeting, the ECOM decided to appoint Heinz Schmid as Secretary General ad interim, until Beni Kaufman takes the position in July.

“Since the new Articles have been approved by the membership in Venlo, the Working Group on Management, together with the Secretariat, have worked on the implementation. It started with ratifying the management regulations and responsibility of the Secretary General, and defining the working relationship with the ECOM. The Secretary General ad interim, with the support of the BDU fiduciary company, have submitted questions of taxes to the Swiss authorities, which confirmed officially the exemption of taxes for ISTA under its new status as an association. Which insurances are needed or not needed is being clarified for the Secretary General and the Officers, and together with the bank, the delegation of signatures has been totally revised to take into account the Articles of the Association, the change of Secretary General, and to introduce a four-eyes principle. This will protect better the staff of the Secretariat, and reinforce transparency.

“The Working Group on Management and Finances has been developing the financial tool presented by Patricia Muschick in Venlo last year, and by Steve Jones yesterday. Other topics have been discussed by this group, such as monetary reserves needed, the membership fees, business planning, financial support of technical work, and funding special projects. This was presented by Steve yesterday, and will be again summarized and updated by Steve today.

“The President of the National Organizing Committee of an ISTA Congress is also a member of the Executive Committee. Kamil Yilmaz and his team have been doing a huge work to prepare this Congress, and I want to highlight the work done by Kamil as Congress organizer, and his contribution to ISTA, being a member of the Executive Committee for three years. Thank you, Kamil.

(applause from the floor)

“This report is closing the three-year period 2012-2013. This period has been intensive, and the pace has been set both by the statutory needs of the Ordinary General Meetings and unexpected important events. The action have been based on the Strategy Plan, decided at the Ordinary Meeting in Cologne, Germany. It included seven key areas, and progress has been made in all areas. The new Strategy Plan will be decided today, to lead our Association into changing directions. Today sees the end of my stand-in role as President, and the start of my term of office as ISTA President. I would like to thank very much the Executive Committee members who have worked very hard without any limitation in time in a very good atmosphere, always putting forwards new ideas, the team spirit has been leading the motivation. I also thank the Secretariat for their help and their willingness to progress and overcome the difficulties.

Ronald Don, Honorary Life Member of ISTA, deserves special thanks for his advice and his great contribution to many topics.

To conclude: I am looking forward to leading ISTA with a common aim and vision for seed testing as defined in the new strategy and supported by you, the Members, the ISTA Secretariat, and both old and new faces who will be elected to the Executive Committee today. Thank you very much for your contribution and your support.”

The Executive Committee Report was approved by applause.

5.2 Review of Accreditation The President asked Rita Zecchinelli to give her presentation on Accreditation.



Rita Zecchinelli (Italy): “I have already presented this topic yesterday for discussion, and I will present it again today briefly, as it is a feedback to a motion approved by the ISTA membership, and today is the official Meeting of our Association.

“During the Meeting of last year in Venlo, the membership approved a motion jointly presented by the ECOM and the Designated Authorities of New Zealand and Australia. This motion is aimed at a review of the audit process. After that, a Working Group has been established. This Working Group is composed of representatives from ISTA: President Joël Léchappé, ECOM members Masatoshi Sato, Craig McGill and myself, Rasha El-Khadem (Head of the Accreditation Department), and by Ronnie Don (ISTA Honorary Member); a representative from the Australian Designated Authority, Graeme Smith; from the New Zealand Designated Authority, John Randall, and from the seed industry, Piero Sismondo (ISF).

“We defined terms of reference for our Working Group. These terms of reference and action plan have been approved by the ISTA Executive Committee. These terms are:

– identification of the needs of seed testing laboratories, Designated Authorities and other stakeholders;

– then, we want to compare the ISTA accreditation system with other accreditation systems, e.g. ISO 17025 and others; what we want to compare:

• how the audits are conducted and organized;

• the scope of the accreditation standards;

• the recognition that the systems have at the international level;

• how these systems fulfil the needs;

• if they provide also services and how much they cost;

• the costs and prices of the systems.

Moreover, we want to analyse the performance of the laboratories as shown by the proficiency tests with the results of the on-site audits

“After we will develop a proposal to improve the system, and this proposal will be submitted to the ISTA Executive Committee for revision and of course to the membership.

“The first part of our work was the preparation of two questionnaires. The first will be addressed to seed testing laboratories, and the second to the designated authorities and other stakeholders, starting with other international seed organizations. The questionnaire that will addressed to the laboratories will be a longer one, composed of three sections: one concerning general information about the lab; another one trying to focus on the need, as far as accreditation is concerned, and a third one tries to give feedback about the experience as an ISTA-audited laboratory (addressed to ISTA-accredited labs).

“I would like to remind you again that it’s very important to us to receive as many answers as possible, in order to have a true picture of the situation, and your involvement is crucial, so we really invite you to reply to answer the questions. It will be distributed at the latest by the middle of July, and you will have one month to reply. Thank you very much for your cooperation and your attention.”

5.3 Internal finance tool The President asked Steve Jones (Canada) to give an update on the finances.

Steve Jones:

“Good morning everybody. I did a more detailed presentation on the finances updates yesterday, and gave the details of the model; today, I’m just doing a cut-down version of that presentation so that there’s a summary for the people that may not have been yesterday.



“The 2012 finances finished at the end of December, and it’s a good news story for us when we look at the financial report from BDO, which will be presented by the Secretary General ad interim later on.

“Headline details from that is that ISTA is currently in a good financial position. There is no need to put a motion in front of the membership for an increase in membership fees this year or audit fees or the cost of blank Certificates. However, those fees of blank Certificate prices will go up as a result of the votes from last year, because they don’t become effective until this current year. So for example, the cost of a blank ISTA Certificate has gone up from 3 Swiss francs to 3.25.

“Better tools, better planning, with the help and work of the Secretariat and the financial tool that was presented by Patricia Muschick last year in Venlo. We started to input data from the time registration system that was put into the Secretariat, along with making use of allocating income and costs of the different projects and cost centres within ISTA. Using this as part of the budget planning process and allocating cost to income has been a good way forward with looking at how the cost and income in ISTA balance.

“Where does ISTA’s main cost come from?

– Overheads (salaries, back office, rent etc.)

– Auditing (travelling to and the work that’s spent on the audit process)

– Printing and mailing out publications

– TCOM support.

“These are very general areas of costs.

“ISTA’s income comes from accreditation and audit fees, membership fees, sales of blank ISTA Certificates, and sales of publications.

“ISTA’s nine business areas are:

– method standardization

– science and dissemination of knowledge

– accreditation programme (which includes the auditing)

– membership administration

– certificates

– proficiency tests

– international relationships and strategy

and this was added to the model that was presented last year, so we now have the nine areas:

– overheads

– projects and special projects.

“From those nine areas, some are income, some are costs, some a combination of both, and we needed to think about how we allocate the income from things like Certificates, membership, accreditation, to the costs. So we thought it was reasonable to put the costs for method standardization through to the membership administration income and put the science and dissemination cost through to that as well, and then put the international relationships and strategy also to the membership income. Because the membership fee that you pay, all those areas are general things that a member will benefit from.

“For the accreditation programme, we’ve put the costs of the proficiency tests to that as well as the costs of the accreditation programme itself.

“The last two items, we actually spread over the income areas of both accreditation, membership and Certificates. The best way to do that, we’re not really sure, but we’re making use of the time inputs in the time registration system, and also using or planning a pro rata allocation. Some of these things we’re practising and doing and



trying to make sure that it works. It is a working process, and it is taking a lot of Patricia’s time to make sure that all the item balancing makes sense so we can present it here for you.

“If you apply that financial tool or income/cost model, if we look at the annual income in 2012, it was nearly 3 million Swiss francs. And as we said, that comes from membership fees, sales of Certificates, publications and audit fees. Annual costs of activities was nearly 2.9, so there’s a surplus of about 45 000 Swiss francs. The figures that you have here are not identical to the figures that are in the BDO report that Heinz will present later, and that’s because we’re still looking at making sure that we’ve allocated the right costs to income. But what is the same, and allows us to work with is the surplus. The surplus in both the BDO report and here is 45 000 for the end of the financial year 2012. In the costs that we’ve included there, there are special projects, which we started in 2012 and are continuing into 2013, and there are just over 150 000 Swiss francs being used for those special projects, or available.

“If we then apply the same logic to the budget that’s being proposed for 2013, we end up with a surplus of nearly 3000 Swiss francs, and then there’s an additional 175 000 Swiss francs included in there for special projects.

“The special projects that we’re planning to continue and spend during 2013 are the electronic Rules that we talked about. There is a cost there because the Members used to buy extra copies of the International Seed Testing Rules. They will get one free copy for download as a Member; they must buy extra ones. We will have cost saving within the Secretariat on the time and mailing out, so this is an estimate for us of the biggest cost it might be to switch to the electronic Rules. But the ECOM thought that was a useful thing to do and to give to the membership.

“The ISTA web site needs upgrading. It’s good, it’s helpful, but it’s not the easiest web site to find your way around. There are some areas and innovation that the Secretariat would like on there, and also the Members, and the TCOM Chairs are being asked for their views, and we would also encourage you to provide your views on how to best improve it. For example, we may need a members-only site to the web site, so people can log in to that and swap documents between the Technical Committees, and also the Secretariat would like to make use of online credit card payments and things like that.

“The web video conferencing, to allow the TCOMs to interact better, that was mentioned in Joël’s report; make use of an electronic survey tool; updates to the time recording system, so that it’s more efficient and can do what was asked by the ECOM.

“And also – and this is the 2013 budget – we don’t know how many ISTA Certificates we’re going to sell in the year; we’re not 100% sure if there’s going to be all the membership fees and things through the year we’re expecting. So we wanted a contingency fund there, so that’s what the 40 000 is.

“So we’ve made a start on the financial model, we’re reporting to you; yesterday we reported in a bit more detail. The financial model is being used; we will evaluate how effectively it is working. We will review it regularly, and fine-tune it as required, update the membership and seek feedback.

“I’m presenting this as the Chair of the ECOM Working Group, but in the future this will be something very much in the remit of the new Secretary General.

“Thank you for listening, and thanks go to the current and past members of the Secretariat for putting ISTA into this good financial position, and also with their help for this presentation. I’d also like to thank the colleagues on the ECOM Working Group, who helped me with this during the last three years, and special thanks go to Patricia Muschick, who has been working on this project at the Secretariat.”

6 Report of the Secretary General Heinz Schmid, Secretary General ad interim:



“I will take you through the report relatively quickly, because it is based on the document OGM13-03, and I have just taken out a few informations which are in this report, which I thought were interesting. I have the pleasure to present something for which I have worked very little, because the OGM13-03 document was prepared before my arrival at the ISTA Secretariat.

“You see that the membership in 2012 was 71 countries and 1 distinct economy, it 2011 it was the same, so this means the membership remains stable. Member laboratories have grown considerably over the last years, which is also reflected in the budget, of course, and the accounts. ISTA is doing very well.

“Personal membership remains stable, and the Associate membership increased considerably to 55.

“Now I will talk about membership services. The ISTA Secretariat delivers a lot of membership services, which is part of their regular work which is done for you, and which is normally not made public very clearly, but I have taken out all the membership services I have seen in the report. So there were four publications last year made; there were proficiency tests made, five, with different tests, which is always a very great amount of work. There were membership services for the accreditation of laboratories, which has increased from an average of 115 to 124, of which 13 are performance-based approaches.

“There was an auditor workshop last year, in Bologna on GMO, and last year 50 audits were carried out. If you divide 123 laboratories by 3, more or less, this is about 10 audits more than would be on a three-year basis. What was interesting for me to see is that now the 5th and the 6th audits begin, and I remember we were in one or two, 12 years ago, so there is enormous progress to be seen for me here.

“Membership services also included seven workshops, and anybody who has ever organized a workshop or conference knows how much work is behind such a workshop.

“The sales of Certificates, I thought this also an interesting figure, in 2012 182 000 Certificates were sold, with the average 2007-2013 is 137 000, from 116 000 up and down a little bit, so I think that was an exceptionally high figure, which will have to be accounted for also in the budget. We will come to the financial reports in a minute, but just the finances for 2012 are solid and the budget for 2013 is balanced, so basically ISTA is in good shape. There were also membership services which are very important, which the general members very often do not see all of it: the meeting in Venlo, of course, but also two ECOM meetings as well. In the Secretariat there were changes with the staff, as it always happens. I will be there until the 30th June, and then from the 1st July Mr. Kaufman will take over. The number of full-time jobs has slightly decreased.

“You have had all this information; I just picked out a few which I thought were interesting.”

The report was approved by applause.

The Secretary General ad interim:

“I will come to the Financial Report 2012 and the Budget 2013. Again, these figures were published in the same document. You had the time to read it and study it.

“The profit and loss account sheet is what we are talking about, here are the accounts 2012; this is the asset and this is the liability sheet of 2012. There is no budget on it because that’s the balance sheet, the budget is always made on expenditure and income. Are there any comments on the financial report?

“BDO has approved it; this is what is also produced in OGM 13-03.

“BDO is a long-standing ISTA financial auditing company; they have already audited during my time under a different name, and it’s the fourth largest auditing company in Switzerland.

“If there are no comments, then I would like you to vote for approval”:

The President:



“Before we vote, I think that Tunisia has joined the Meeting.”


“Thank you very much. So we are 41 persons now. In case, anything else? Can we have a vote that you approve or not approve this Financial Report?”

The Financial Report was approved with 41 votes to zero.


“The next part is then the budget, which is also produced in OGM13-03. Now we are talking about this column here – this is the profit and loss account, these are the expenditures. Are there any comments on the budget? If there are no comments, do we approve the budget?

The budget 2013 was approved with 41 votes to zero.


“The next statutory point is we have to confirm the financial auditor for next year. Can you approve BDO as financial auditors?”

Joost van der Burg (Netherlands):

“Although the audit company is excellent, and we have had a lot of service from them, during even more than ten years, I wonder whether it’s time to change the audit company; it’s normal practice to change audit companies regularly. Every five years, for instance. I would like to give this to the Executive Committee for consideration.”


“So you’re not submitting this as a motion, this is a consideration? Thank you very much.

Can we come to the vote, and the consideration will be taken on by the Executive Committee for the next term?”

BDO was approved as financial auditors for 2014 by 40 votes to zero.

The Secretary General ad interim returned the floor to the President. The President thanked the Secretary General ad interim for his presentation on the finances and budget.

The President then invited Mr. Pier-Giacomo Bianchi of the OECD Seed Scheme to make a presentation on recent developments within his organization.

Following this presentation, the President remarked on importance of having members of the OECD office also working in ISTA Technical Committees.

The President then invited Mr. Piero Sismondo of the ISF to give a presentation. He also thanked him and ISF for their contribution to ISTA work with their work with ISHI, debating and stimulating the development of new methods for seed health, and also for Mr Sismondo’s participation in different working groups within ISTA, on accreditation and other items.

7 ISTA Strategy 2013–2016 The President stated that the Strategy had been discussed the previous day, and modified according to the wishes of the membership, and that proposals had been made. He proposed to first vote on the proposals, which would not be inserted into the Strategy document, but recorded within the Minutes of the Ordinary General Meeting.

The proposals to be recorded were as follows:

• Enrico Noli (IT) proposed that in-house methods should be validated, published methods that are scientifically rigorous (“Promote harmonized Rules”, No. 2, point 3)



• Sylvie Ducournau (FR) proposed that the feasibility of ISTA recognizing ISO audits (ISO 17025) should be studied (will be considered by the Accreditation Review Working Group).

• Sylvie Ducournau (FR) proposed that the feasibility of ISTA accrediting bodies for sampling only should be considered (will be considered by the Accreditation Review Working Group).

• Dot Vittrup Pedersen (DK) suggested that the Rules should be freely available on the web site (will be considered by the ECOM Publications Working Group).

The proposals were approved by applause.

The President reminded the Members of the following amendments to the original document:

– The following sentence was deleted: “The programme appears ambitious; it will not be possible to achieve all actions listed, but once the strategy is approved an action plan will be developed, including priorities.”

– Under “Aims”, the designating letters were replaced by bullet points to avoid giving the impression of priorities.

– On the topic of Rules translations, Spanish was explicitly mentioned as an example.

The President asked for these amendments to the Strategy document to be formally proposed and seconded. This having been done, he asked for a vote on this motion. The motion to amend the Strategy was accepted with 38 votes to zero.

The President then asked for a vote to approve the ISTA Strategy 2013-2016 as contained in the amended document OGM13-09. The document was approved with 40 votes to zero.

8 Election of Officers and members-at-large of the Executive Committee

The President explained the procedure and asked for the presentations of the candidates for Vice-President (5 minutes) and Members-at-Large (2 minutes each).

Craig McGill (New Zealand), candidate for Vice-President:

“Mr. President, colleagues, good morning. My name is Craig McGill. I work for Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand, where I teach and research in the area of seed science and technology. The University has an ISTA-accredited laboratory as well. Science and accreditation are both important to ISTA. I have a science background. This, combined with my involvement in the Massey University ISTA laboratory, and the nearby AsureQuality accredited seed laboratory, also in Palmerston North, has given me a good understanding of the link between science and seed testing, and the need to strengthen and maintain that link in ISTA.

“As the Personal Member for an ISTA-accredited laboratory, and with my participation in the Working Group that is reviewing the ISTA Accreditation System, I have a good appreciation of the ISTA Accreditation System, its strength, but also areas where we could improve the system.

“A brief history of my involvement with ISTA: I attended my first ISTA conference in 2001, in Angers, where I joined the Moisture Committee, becoming Chair of that Committee in 2008. In 2010 I became Vice-Chair of the Rules Committee, and in 2011 joined the Executive Committee. Within the Executive Committee I chair the Working Groups on the ISTA Articles and ISTA publications. I am also a member of the ECOM Management Group. My active involvement in the Moisture, Rules and Executive Committees and Working Groups within the Executive Committee means that I know how ISTA functions, and the importance of the connections between the Executive Committee, the Technical Committees, the Secretariat and the membership,



Designated Authorities, other seed testing organizations, and regional and international organizations. We need to look for ways to strengthen those connections.

“For people not involved with ISTA, the web site is an important first point of contact. The continued improvement of the web site to deliver ISTA’s message, and to help with the work of the Association, is important. We need to use modern communication tools to strengthen our connections, but we must not forget the importance of face-to-face interactions at meetings such as this Congress, to enable us to work together on issues such as Rules harmonization.

“It would not be possible for me to seek election for Vice-President, which is a commitment of six years, without the support of a number of people and organizations. These include my employer, Massey University, who will allow me the time needed to fulfil my duties as your Vice-President, and in three years, President; the New Zealand Seed Quality Management Authority, that provide the financial support that enables me to attend the ISTA Ordinary General Meetings and Executive Committee Meetings outside the General Meetings; the New Zealand Designated Authority; and most importantly, my family, who are aware that some of my free time will be needed to carry out the duties of Vice-President.

“ISTA is an international organization that needs to link with other organizations. An aim for me since joining the Executive, with responsibility for ASEANEA, has been to raise the profile of ISTA in the region. Two ISTA workshops, one in Palmerston North in 2009, and one in Melbourne, Australia, in 2012, helped achieve this. The attendance by ISTA members and non-members from South-east Asia at both these workshops has also established links with colleagues in that part of the world, links I look forward to strengthening.

“Another important region for ISTA is Africa. I was fortunate to be able to contribute to an ISTA workshop in Nakuru, in Kenya, in 2008. This has given me some small direct approach to Africa. Massey University began as an agricultural college in 1926, and has always had a strong focus on education for overseas students. I have been involved in training and education in seed science and technology of students from Africa, South America and Asia. This hence also helps to give me an international perspective on the seed sector and the needs of other areas of the world. I have seen the difficulty of working in a language that is not someone’s first language.

“The seed industry and regulatory authorities are important stakeholders in ISTA. The New Zealand Seed Quality Management, which supports financially my attendance at ISTA meetings, comprises representatives of the New Zealand seed merchants, producers, the regulator, seed testing and research organizations. Through my involvement with the authority I have a good understanding of the industry needs, and in particular, needs as they relate to ISTA, and the role that ISTA has within the different regulatory frameworks.

Earlier, we approved the ISTA Strategy for 2013-2016. I have covered some of the key items in this presentation, but all areas of the Strategy are important. To achieve them all will be a challenge. I would consider it an honour and a privilege to be able to work with you, the new ECOM, and in particular Joël, as your Vice-President, to meet this challenge. Thank you.”

There followed the presentations of the candidates for Members-at-Large.

Rita Zecchinelli (Italy):

“Many of you already know me, some others, not yet. My name is Rita Zecchinelli, and I come from Italy. I am the head of a seed testing laboratory belonging to the seed certification institute in my country; it is an ISTA-accredited laboratory, of course.

“I am working for my institute since 1985, and for the first ten years I have been involved in seed certification tasks such as field inspections and seed sampling. Then I moved to the laboratory. I started to cooperate with ISTA in 2001, and I soon became a member of the Proficiency Test and the Flower Seed Testing Committees. After some years I also started to cooperate as a technical auditor in the framework of



the ISTA Accreditation System. I’m currently the Chair of the Flower Seed Committee, and a member of other Committees.

“I was elected a member of the ECOM for the first time in 2004, and starting from that time, I did my best to cooperate in managing our Association. I have been a member of different Working Groups, and liaison person for different Technical Committees, and if I think to a mission that I give to myself, in this framework, it is to bring to the Executive Committee the voice of the seed testing labs that I think are, and should remain, the heart of our Association. Thank you.”

Marcel Toonen (Netherlands):

“Good morning, dear ISTA colleagues, my name is Marcel Toonen, delegate for the Netherlands. I have taken my Ph.D. at Wageningen University, and after I worked for almost 15 years in science. Since three years I am Head of Laboratories at Naktuinbouw in the Netherlands, and there I’m responsible for the (…) and the lab that’s responsible for seed health testing.

“The seed industry is a technologically highly developed industry. (…) fast and spread around the world quickly. For that reason, it’s now (…) to continue to improve methods, and to develop new methods, including also new equipment and new technologies. For seed health, also, the speed of implementation of new test methods is essential. The contribution of vegetable crops becomes more important. This gives new challenges to ISTA. Vegetable seed lots are much smaller, and the value of one single seed can be higher. This raises new questions, for example in sampling.

“As an organization, ISTA is highly dependent on the work of many experts that work on a voluntary basis. This requires the organization to be transparent and to work cost-effectively. Collaboration with other organizations like AOSA, OECD, ISHI and others will be essential to achieve all ISTA goals. My background as Head of Laboratories at Naktuinbouw gives me the general background on technologies applied within ISTA.

“Working on the interface between government and industry will enable me to match the interests of all stakeholders within and outside ISTA. With this knowledge, I want to support ISTA in coming years, and I hope for your support. Thank you.”

Grethe Tarp (Denmark):

“Good morning, colleagues. It is a great pleasure for me to offer my candidature for the Executive Committee for the next period. I worked with seed testing at all levels in a number of countries during the last 35 years, in Africa, Asia and Denmark. I attended my first ISTA Congress in 1981 in Ottawa, and have participated in the all the ISTA Congresses and Annual Meetings since then. All the years I’ve been Chair of the Equipment Committee, and the Moisture Committee, and member of the Germination Committee. I was elected on the Executive Committee in 1995, and have been a member since then. In Denmark, I was responsible for the Danish Seed Quality Control for 15 years. From Denmark I also had the opportunity to assist in training courses and work as a seed consultant in a number of countries in Asia and Africa, where I used the ISTA Rules during the training.

“After reorganization of the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, I retired from my government position in 2012. I’m now working as a private seed consultant, and have recently been back in Mozambique, where I worked for 8 years in the 80s. I trained new staff at the National Seed Service in seed testing according to the ISTA Rules.

“I’m supported as a candidature for the Executive Committee by the Danish Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and the Danish seed trade.

“ISTA has developed a lot during the last ten years, and new challenges are appearing on the horizon. It has been a privilege to participate in the ECOM, and I hope that you will find me qualified to continue with the work for another three years. Thank you.”

Mable Simwanza (Zambia):

“Thank you, Mr. President, for giving me this chance to talk about myself. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Mable Simwanza from Zambia. I obtained the



first degree in seed technology from Mississippi State University some years back. Thereafter, other degrees related to seed technology.

“For the past five years I’ve been working in the seed industry of Zambia, and at the Seed Control Certification Institute. Apart from working as a civil servant, I’ve participated in several important assignments, and in the recent past years I participated actively in the harmonization of regulations in the Southern Africa Development Community countries, and also in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and during the harmonization process the emphasis was placed so much on the use of ISTA Rules for uniformity in seed testing.

“I’ve been a member of the Bulking and Sampling Committee of ISTA since 2008, and I’ve been a Personal Member of ISTA for the past years. Towards the end of last year, I was going on assignment under FAO to help in setting up a seed testing laboratory in one of the countries in West Africa. The assignment that I completed without any problems, with the experience that I have in seed issues.

“I have travelled extensively within Africa and outside the region, and I’ve seen progress and challenges that our countries are facing. Very few countries, as you may be aware, in Africa are members of ISTA. At this point I wish to commend Mary for the work that she did while she was representing the region. At the moment I can inform you that many countries in Africa, they know about ISTA. But the challenge is, they don’t really understand or appreciate the importance of becoming a member of ISTA.

So if you vote me to the Executive, I pledge to contribute something for the benefit of the Association, and my main aim will be to ensure that the presence of ISTA is felt in the countries in Africa, where they are not yet members of ISTA. This, I hope, will stimulate the need for them to become members and later on have their laboratories accredited. Thank you.”

Masatoshi Sato (Japan):

“Good morning everyone. I am Masatoshi Sato from Japan. I work in a seed testing laboratory. It is also an ISTA-accredited laboratory of the National Center of Seeds and Seedlings of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests. My first meeting of ISTA was the Congress in Budapest in 2004. Since that year, I have been involved in various ISTA activities. I am a member of the Executive Committee and the Seed Health Committee since 2007, and I also organized some proficiency tests for seed health. In 2011 I was the head of the National Organizing Committee of the ISTA Annual Meeting in Japan, but due to the unfortunate incidents of earthquakes, it was cancelled. During the last 16 years, I was aware of some particular situations in Asia through many opportunities that I had to meet a lot of people in the region. Should the opportunity provide me the challenge as a member of the Executive Committee again, I should like to become a hub, connecting people in the Asian region, and also become bridge connecting Asia to ISTA. Thank you.”

Alexander Malko (Russian Federation):

“Dear President, dear participants of the Congress: first of all, I would like to say, to thank you for nominating me as candidate of ECOM, ISTA. Something about me: I am from Russia, my name Malko, Alexander, I have worked for ten years as head of a laboratory of the Moscow Agricultural University for Plant Breeding and Seed Production. During this time also with colleagues, we created some (…) of seed health. At the same time, I took part in the development of the Russian legislation of the seed industry, created on the basis of seed certification in Russia. Then I have been made chief of the State Seed Inspection of Russian Federation. This organization is responsible for the varietal purity and seed quality control in the country. Then the State Seed Inspection was involved in the federal organization Russian Agricultural Centre. Now I am head of this organization, with headquarters in Moscow, and we have 78 regional offices in all the regions. Also we have an ISTA-accredited laboratory. It is one of the largest organizations in the agrarian sector of the country. Its primary role consists of the definition of quality of seeds in Russia, besides the organization of phytosanitary monitoring of the territory of Russia. Our experts perform seed quality test of about 10 million tonnes of seeds, and quality test on about



30 million tonnes of grain for food and forage. Also, I am author of scientific articles and some textbooks for field plant selection, seed production and plant protection. That is the basis for the educational process in Russia.

“I was elected as ISTA ECOM member in 2010. It was my first experience in this organization, and I hope to be useful for ISTA if I am elected as ECOM member next time. Thank you for your attention.”

Berta Killermann (Germany):

“Ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues. I am Berta Killermann from Germany. I studied agricultural science at the Technical University, Munich, majoring in crop science and plant breeding. I worked at the Bavarian Plant Breeding Association, and later I changed to the Bavarian State Research Centre for Agriculture. Since 2000, I am head of the ISTA seed testing station, and a lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences. In 2002, I finished my doctorate thesis at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, on marker-assisted selection in quality breeding by using biochemical markers.

“My activities within ISTA started in 2004, when I became a member of the Variety Committee. In 2007, I took over the Chair of the Variety Committee.

“It is a good thing, and it is important, that things change. Only with changes, progress is possible, and aims and solutions can be achieved. Sometimes, uncommon, unconventional and creative ideas and decisions are necessary. To make ISTA fit and robust for the future, my aims are to increase the cooperation with other international organizations such as the OECD, UPOV, ISF, AOSA and others, to avoid duplication of work; to increase and support the introduction of highly effective biotechnological methods into the Rules; and to support effective and transparent communication; to meet, finally, the requirements of ISTA’s work and that of the stakeholders.

“These are some of my reasons wanting to become a member of the ECOM, to aim for uniformity in seed testing. Thank you.”

Steve Jones (Canada):

“Thank you very much. Dear colleagues and friends: you know me as the Rules Chair for the ISTA Rules for the last 13 years. Originally, I started working for ISTA in 2001 at the Angers Meeting there, on behalf of the UK Official Seed Testing Laboratory. Five years ago, I moved to Canada, and I now work for the government agency Canadian Food Inspection Agency, based in Saskatoon at the Seed Laboratory there. My involvement with ISTA over the last three years has been on the ISTA Executive Committee, and I’ve been Chair of the Working Group on Management and Finances. I have also in the past been active in the Purity Committee, and most recently, joined the Bulking and Sampling Committee.

“My background is a seed physiologist, and most recently, as a manager of the seed testing laboratory germination and purity unit at the Saskatoon laboratory. I also serve on the ECOM as representative for North America, making links between the private and government labs in the US and Canada.

“It would be an honour for me to continue in this role on the Executive Committee for you for the next three years, if I’m elected. My aims are to keep going with the harmonization, the transparency and the informed decision-making that we’re trying to do within the Executive Committee. I would like to thank the colleagues for nominating me, and acknowledge the support I get from colleagues at the Saskatoon laboratory, and within CFIA the two colleagues who have been able to join me this year. I would also just like to acknowledge my family, especially my wife Jo, who has been my life partner for the last 33 years, supporting me in this work. Thank you very much.”

Cecilia Jones (Uruguay):

“Good morning to everybody. Thank you for all the people that nominated me; it’s an honour to be here. My name is Cecilia Jones; I come from Uruguay. I’ve done some research and teaching in the fields of plant physiology and plant pathology. After that I worked for seven years in vegetable seeds in California, working on bacterial



diseases and plant breeding. Since 2005, I’ve been Executive Director of the National Seed Institute in Uruguay. The National Seed Institute does seed certification and registration. We are UPOV members, and of course we have an ISTA-accredited lab. This year, we had our fourth or fifth audit for the lab.

“Uruguay has over 40 seed labs; I’m proud to say that all of them have the ISTA Rules in their lab. It’s in English, though, so that’s one issue that’s especially interesting for us, but all Uruguayan labs are for ISTA Rules.

“My goal, if I get chosen for the ECOM Committee, is to help to continue ISTA’s work for a uniform framework with standardized methods for seed testing, with the ultimate goal of facilitating seed trade, provide warranties to farmers and add value to agriculture, I really shouldn’t forget that in the end this is all about food and agriculture and the wellbeing of farmers and people.

“One thing that I’ve been thinking about these two minutes is to stress that, even with the tools that we have today, communication, geography and language can be a challenge, so I hope that I can contribute to act as a bridge for that gap, from South America to the region, the Mercosur region and the rest of the continent.

“There is work that I can do, to make the system stronger and more accessible to more seed laboratories in the world, and especially in South America, and in that sense I look forward to help to implement some of the proposals and ideas that have been presented during this week-long conference. Thank you very much, and later today we’ll be presenting Uruguay as a country for the 2015 Annual Meeting, so I hope you’re here for that presentation, so that we can invite you formally for that. Thank you.”

This concluded the presentations of the candidates.

The President informed that Mr. Gamal El Azzab had been nominated, but had declined the candidature.

The President gave the floor to the Secretary General ad interim to explain the voting procedure, first for Vice-President, then for the Members-at-Large.

The Voting Delegates then proceeded to cast their ballots for the election of the Vice-President.

The Secretary General ad interim, the ballot counters and the observer then retired to undertake the vote counting.

9 Fixation of annual subscriptions The President asked Francisco Krzyzanowski to present this item.

Based on the financial report from BDO which was presented, ISTA is currently in a good financial position. The ECOM therefore proposed no increase to any membership fees for 2014.

The Voting Delegates accepted this proposal with 40 votes to zero.

10 Consideration and adoption of the proposed changes to the ISTA Articles

The President invited Craig McGill to present this agenda point.

The proposals, which were listed in document OGM13-07, were shown again to the membership and the voting procedure explained.

It was also clarified that if any motions were presented to change the Articles, or motions that if accepted would require a change to the Articles, it would be made clear that such motions would require a two-thirds majority.

Proposal OGM13-07-1 was accepted with 40 votes to zero.







The President thanked the delegates for their acceptance of the changes, and also thanked Craig McGill for his work in preparing the proposals.

The President then announced that Craig McGill had been elected as Vice-President, and that the voting for the elections of the Members-at-Large would take place after the lunch break.

11 Consideration and adoption of the proposed Rules Changes 2014

The President invited Steve Jones (Rules Chair) to present the Rules Change Proposals for 2014.

The Rules Proposals had been circulated to the ISTA Designated Authorities, ISTA Members and ISTA Observer Organizations for information two months prior to the ISTA Ordinary General Meeting 2013 in documents OGM13-05 and OGM 13-05A, and had been discussed and amended at the Rules Committee meeting two days previously on 16 June.



Proposal A.1. General editorial corrections

– Since the 2014 ISTA Rules will be completely reissued, the current “effective from” dates will all be re-set to 1 January 2014.

– All marks which indicate changes from the previous edition will be removed, except for the latest changes made for the 2014 edition.

– The English version of the 2014 ISTA Rules will be in A4 format.

– Wherever ‘shall’ is used it will be replaced with ‘must’, if that is the intent, or where it makes grammatical sense.

– References to old family names (e.g. Compositae, Gramineae) will be deleted.

– The Seed Health Methods, currently referred to as “Annexe to Chapter 7”, will now be part of Chapter 7.

– In all Seed Health Methods, the phrase ‘sponsored by’ will be amended to ‘prepared by’ together with details of the organization which organized the comparative test. Prepared by is also used to list the authors so in this case prepared by will be replaced by Authors. The citation for ISHI-Veg will be updated to International Seed Health Initiative-Vegetables, ISF (ISHI-Veg).

– In all Seed Health Methods, standardise the way the equation for TSW is presented as: TSW = (weight of seeds / numbers of seeds) x 1000

CURRENT VERSION PROPOSED VERSION

1.5.2.2. Purity

3.7 Reporting results

§5… (e.g. Elytrigium repens).

1.5.2.2. Purity

3.7 Reporting results

§5… (e.g. Elytrigia repens).

With regard to the editorial change in the Table 6A entry for Lactuca, to replace the word “pervading” with “pervasive”, the Tetrazolium Committee preferred to withdraw the proposal until the method sheets had been updated.

All other parts of Proposal A.1. were accepted by applause.

Proposal B.2. Changes to the ISTA Stabilized list affecting names used in the ISTA Rules

In addition to the changes presented in document OGM13-05A, Festuca trachyphylla was proposed to be added.

Leena Pietilä pointed out that Festuca trachyphylla would also be included in section 2.5.4.2: “Large herbage seed lots of Poaceae”

Proposal B.2. was accepted by a large majority to zero no votes.

Part C. Rules changes and new methods requiring a vote

Chapter 1: Certificates

Proposals C.1.1., C.1.2. and C.1.3. were presented for information only, since they referred to changes to Chapter 1: ISTA Certificates, if other proposals were accepted.



Chapter 2: Sampling

C.2.1. Storage of samples after testing

2.5.3. Storage of samples after testing … Protection against insects and rodents may be necessary.

2.5.3. Storage of samples after testing … Protection against insects and rodents may be necessary. To provide for re-testing by the original or by another seed testing laboratory, samples on which ISTA Certificates have been issued must be stored at least for one year from the receipt of the sample. Submitted samples in moisture proof containers, and samples of recalcitrant or intermediate species, must be stored under appropriate conditions for as long as it can be expected that the results of a re-test are not affected by the storage.

When a re-test in a different testing laboratory is required, a portion shall be drawn from the stored sample in accordance with 2.5.2.2, and submitted to the designated laboratory. The remainder shall be retained in store. …

When a re-test in a different testing laboratory is required, a portion must be drawn from the stored sample in accordance with 2.5.2.2, and submitted to the designated laboratory. The remainder must be retained in store. …

2.5.4.6 Storage of submitted samples after testing To provide for re-testing by the original or by another seed testing laboratory, submitted samples on which ISTA Certificates have been issued shall be stored for one year from the date of issue of the certificate. Only in the case of very expensive seeds …

2.5.4.6 Storage of submitted samples after testing Submitted samples on which ISTA Certificates have been issued must be stored. Only in the case of very expensive seeds …

Proposal C.2.1. was accepted by a large majority to zero no votes.

C.2.2. Changes to the minimum submitted sample sizes of coated seeds


2.5.4.4 Submitted sample Minimum size of submitted samples are as follows: a) For moisture determination, 100 g for species that have to be ground (see Table 9A) and 50 g for all other species. When moisture meters are to be used for testing, a larger sample size may be necessary. Contact the ISTA seed testing laboratory for specific instructions.

2.5.4.4 Submitted sample The minimum size of submitted samples are as follows: a) For moisture determination, 100 g for species that must be ground (see Table 9A) and 50 g for all other species. When moisture meters are to be used for testing, a larger sample size may be necessary. Contact the ISTA seed testing laboratory for specific instructions.

b)… b)…



c) For all other tests, at least the weight prescribed in column 3 of Table 2A. As long as a determination of other seeds by number is not requested, the submitted sample shall weigh at least the amount indicated for the working sample for purity analysis in column 4 of Table 2A. In the case of coated seeds, the submitted samples shall contain not less than the number of pellets or seeds indicated in column 2 of Table 2B, Part 1 and Part 2.

c) For all other tests, at least the weight prescribed in column 3 of Table 2A. As long as a determination of other seeds by number is not requested, the submitted sample must weigh at least the amount indicated for the working sample for purity analysis in column 4 of Table 2A. In the case of coated seeds, the submitted samples must contain not less than the number of pellets or seeds indicated in column 2 of Table 2B, Part 1 and Part 2. As long as a determination of other seed by number or size grading is not requested, the submitted sample need only contain as a minimum the number of seeds indicated for the working sample for purity analysis in column 3 of Table 2B Parts 1 and 2.

If the submitted sample is smaller than prescribed, …

If the submitted sample is smaller than prescribed, …

Table 2B Part 1. Sample sizes (number of seeds) for pelleted seeds, encrusted seed and seed granules Determinations Minimum

submitted sample

Minimum working sample

Purity analysis (including verification of species) 2500 2500 Weight determination 2500 Pure pellet

fraction Germination 2500 400 Determination of other seeds 10000 7500 Determination of other seeds (encrusted seeds and seeds granules)

25000 25000

Size grading 5000 1000 Table 2B Part 2. Sample sizes (number of seeds) for seed tapes and mats Determinations Minimum submitted sample Minimum working sample Verification of species 300 100 Germination 2000 400 Purity analysis (if required) 2500 2500 Determination of other seeds 10000 7500 C.2.3. Consequential changes affecting Chapter 11: Testing of Coated Seeds

In the Chapter 11: Testing of Coated Seeds there are Tables 11A and 11B that are copies of the Tables 2B Part 1 and Part 2. In the case that the proposal concerning Tables 2B Part 1 and Part 2 is accepted then also Tables 11A and 11B should be changed.

Table 11A. Sample sizes of pelleted seeds in number of pellets. Note: this table is a copy of Table 2B Part 1 Determinations Minimum

submitted sample Minimum working sample

Purity analysis (including verification of species)

2500 2500

Weight determination 2500 Pure pellet fraction Germination 2500 400 Determination of other seeds 10000 7500



Determination of other seeds (encrusted seeds and seeds granules)

25000 25000

Size grading 5000 1000 Table 11A. Sample sizes of seed tapes Note: this table is a copy of Table 2B Part 2 Determinations Minimum submitted sample Minimum working sample Verification of species 300 100 Germination 2000 400 Purity analysis (if required) 2500 2500 Determination of other seeds 10000 7500

Steve Jones:

“There were some minor amendments as we went through: the “1000” that we introduced there, we didn’t underline it before, it was a new entry; there was a discussion whether it really needed “if required” after the purity analysis; and there were some other questions outside the meeting as to why the minimum submitted sample size for germination was only 2000, and not 2500 like it is for purity analysis. If I could answer the one question about the germination: purity is always based on a minimum of 2500, or a weight worked out to be like that. Germination is usually only based, in the test, on 400 seeds, so I’m assuming, I could be wrong, that really, they just reduced it that little bit. But that does mean there’s a little inconsistency between the tables.

“I haven’t had any comments from the Committees involved to say if they want to delete the “if required”, so I wasn’t going to delete it.”


C.2.4. Consequential changes affecting Chapter 16: Rules for size and grading of seeds




Chapter 3: The Purity Analysis

C.3.1. Adding the use of an anemometer for the uniform blowing method

CURRENT VERSION PROPOSED VERSION 3.4 Apparatus

Aids … Hand lenses … Sieves …

3.4 Apparatus

3.4.1 Magnifiers, reflected light and sieves

Aids … Hand lenses … Sieves …

3.4.2 Seed blowers

Seed blowers can be used to separate light-weight material such as chaff and empty florets in grasses from the heavier seeds. Blowers that will give the most accurate separations normally handle only small samples (up to 5g). A good blower should provide a uniform flow of air, be capable of standardization and retain all the particles which it separates.

Seed blowers can be used to separate light-weight material such as chaff and empty florets from the heavier seeds for all species as a tool for purity analysis. Blowers that will give the most accurate separations normally handle only small samples (up to 5g). A good blower should provide a uniform flow of air, be capable of standardization and retain all the particles which it separates. For certain species and varieties of Poaceae, seed blowers must be used by the uniform blowing method (3.5.2.5) to separate light-weight material such as chaff and empty florets from the heavier seeds.

In order to maintain a uniform flow of air the blower should have one or more air compression chambers and a fan driven by a uniform speed motor. The diameter of the blowing tube should be in proportion to the size of the working sample and the tube should be long enough to allow satisfactory separation of the sample. The valve or gate that regulates the air flow should be capable of precise adjustment, should be calibrated and marked to permit easy reading, and its construction and location should prevent areas of strong and weak currents in the blowing tube.

In order to maintain a uniform flow of air, the blower should have one or more air compression chambers and a fan driven by a uniform-speed motor. The diameter of the blowing tube should be in proportion to the size of the working sample, and the tube should be long enough to allow satisfactory separation of the sample. The valve or air gate that regulates the air flow should be capable of precise adjustment, should be calibrated and marked to permit easy reading, and its construction and location should prevent areas of strong and weak currents in the blowing tube.

A manometer is desirable for standardizing the blower.



CURRENT VERSION PROPOSED VERSION A blower to be used for the uniform blowing method must be capable of: a) blowing at different pressures

(determined by the use of the calibration samples) to suit different species;

b) maintaining a uniform flow of air along the tube at any required pressure;

c) rapid adjustment to any pressure likely to be required. The setting to provide each pressure should be checked periodically by blowing a calibration sample issued under the authority of ISTA;

d) accurate time setting.

A seed blower to be used for the uniform blowing method must be capable of: a) blowing at different air velocities

(determined by the use of the calibration samples) to suit different species;

b) maintaining a uniform flow of air at the velocity required by the crop species under test;

c) rapid adjustment to any velocity likely to be required. The setting to provide each velocity should be checked annually by blowing a calibration sample issued under the authority of ISTA;

d) accurate time setting.

3.4.2.1 Calibration of the seed blower The air gate openings and the Equivalent Air Velocity (EAV) value (see 3.4.2.2) of the optimum blowing point for a General type seed blower are determined by using the uniform calibration samples. Calibration samples are issued under the authority of ISTA and are available for Dactylis glomerata and Poa pratensis. Prior to calibration, the calibration samples must be exposed to room conditions overnight. For those not having a General type seed blower, please contact the ISTA Secretariat.

The air gate opening for the varieties of Poa pratensis listed in Table 3A, with an average thousand-seed weight less than 0.35 g, and for Poa trivialis is obtained by multiplying the value of the air gate setting for Poa pratensis by 0.82 (applies only for General type seed blowers).

3.4.2.2 Determination of the equivalent air velocity After a General type seed blower has been calibrated according to 3.4.2.1, the EAV of the air gate opening must be measured using an anemometer. The following procedure must be used:

1. Set the blower at the optimum blowing point, i.e. the air gate opening, obtained with the ISTA uniform calibration sample for the relevant species, e.g. Dactylis glomerata or Poa pratensis. Do not change that air gate opening.



CURRENT VERSION PROPOSED VERSION 2. Remove the sample cup from

the cup holder, insert the anemometer with digital display facing up, and align the fan of the anemometer over the blower opening where the air flows from the chamber into the sample cup holder.

3. Turn on the anemometer and select metres per second (m/s), hold the anemometer in a steady position and then turn on the blower.

4. Read the air velocity value after the digital display of the anemometer reaches a steady reading (typically about 30 seconds after the blower was turned on). Example: If the anemometer indicates 2.3 m/s most frequently and fluctuates between 2.2 and 2.4 m/s, the EAV value of that specific air-gate opening would be recorded as 2.3 ± 0.1 m/s.

Once the optimum air velocity has been measured, the seed blower can be recalibrated using the anemometer, by adjusting the blower setting until the optimum air velocity for the blower and species or variety is reached. The EAV for one blower is not transferable to another blower.

The optimum blowing point must be verified using the ISTA uniform calibration sample after major servicing of the blower, such as changing parts of the motor or the glass column. In general, it is strongly recommended that the blowing point be verified annually using the ISTA uniform calibration sample.

Laboratories that can not, or do not, use the EAV to determine the blowing point must calibrate the blower with the ISTA uniform calibration sample.

Note: Frequent use of the ISTA uniform calibration sample can cause a shift in blowing point due to deterioration and monitoring the blowing point simply by air gate opening may be reliable in some blowers and not in others.



CURRENT VERSION PROPOSED VERSION 3.4.2.3 Anemometer type

Any suitable anemometers can be used as long as the anemometer fits in the sample cup holder compartment of the blower and has a scale calibrated in metres per second for reading the air velocity value. 3.4.2.4 Calibration of the anemometer The anemometer should be calibrated at the set intervals set by the laboratory. In addition, the batteries should be replaced at least once a year.

3.5.2.5 Uniform blowing method This method is obligatory for Poa pratensis, Poa trivialis and Dactylis glomerata.

3.5.2.5 Poa pratensis, Poa trivialis and Dactylis glomerata For Poa pratensis, Poa trivialis and Dactylis glomerata, the uniform blowing method (see 3.4) is obligatory.

The working sample size is 1 g for Poa pratensis and Poa trivialis, and 3 g for Dactylis glomerata. The blowing pressure is determined for Poa pratensis and Dactylis glomerata by means of a calibration sample issued under the authority of ISTA. The blowing pressure for the varieties of Poa pratensis listed in Table 3A with an average weight of 1000 seeds <0.35g is obtained by multiplying the blower setting for Poa pratensis by 0.82 (applies only for General Seed Blowers). The blowing pressure for Poa trivialis is obtained by multiplying the blower setting for Poa pratensis by 0.82 (applies only for General Seed Blowers). Prior to calibration, both the calibration and working samples must be exposed to room conditions.

The working sample size is 1 g for Poa pratensis and Poa trivialis, and 3 g for Dactylis glomerata. The optimum blower settings for Poa pratensis and Dactylis glomerata are determined by means of a uniform calibration sample issued under the authority of ISTA (see 3.4.2.1). The optimum blower setting for the varieties of Poa pratensis listed in Table 3A, with an average thousand-seed weight less than 0.35 g, and for Poa trivialis is obtained by multiplying the value of the optimum blower setting setting for Poa pratensis by 0.82 (applies only for General type seed blowers).

For those not having a General type seed blower, please contact the ISTA Secretariat.

3.5.2.5.1 Blowing Set the blower at the blowing point obtained with the uniform calibration sample. Place the working sample into the cup and blow for exactly three minutes.

For blowing samples, set the seed blower to the optimum blower setting, obtained with the ISTA uniform calibration sample or the anemometer (see 3.4.2.1). Place the working sample into the cup and blow for exactly 3 min. Prior to blowing, the working sample must be exposed to room conditions to equilibrate with ambient conditions..




Chapter 5: The Germination Test

C.5.1. Harmonisation on seedling evaluation in respect to the evaluation of the cotyledons (50% rule)


5.2.6 The 50% rule The 50% rule is used in the evaluation of cotyledons and primary leaves. Cotyledon tissue: – Seedlings are considered normal as long as half or more of the total cotyledon tissue is functional – Seedlings are abnormal when more than half of the cotyledon tissue is missing, necrotic, decayed or discoloured.

5.2.6 The 50% rule The 50% rule is used in the evaluation of cotyledons and primary leaves. Cotyledon tissue: – Seedlings are considered normal as long as half or more of the total cotyledon tissue is functional – Seedlings are abnormal when more than half of the cotyledon tissue is missing, necrotic, decayed or discoloured.

Primary leaves: … The 50% rule does not apply if the tissue around the terminal bud or the terminal bud itself is necrotic or decayed; such seedlings are abnormal irrespective of the condition of the cotyledons or primary leaves.

Primary leaves: … The 50% rule does not apply if the two points of attachment of the cotyledons to the seedling axis or the terminal bud itself is necrotic or decayed; such seedlings are abnormal irrespective of the condition of the cotyledons or primary leaves. It does not apply also if one point of attachment of one cotyledon is necrotic or decayed and if the other cotyledon is not intact; such seedlings are also considered as abnormal.

Further details of how the 50% rule is applied can be found in the ISTA Handbook on Seedling Evaluation. …

Further details of how the 50% rule is applied can be found in the ISTA Handbook on Seedling Evaluation. …

5.2.8.1. Seedling abnormalities … 3 Abnormalities of the cotyledons and primary leaves …

5.2.8.1. Seedling abnormalities … 3 Abnormalities of the cotyledons and primary leaves …

Note: damage or decay of the cotyledons at the points of attachment to the seedling axis or near the terminal bud renders a seedling abnormal, irrespective of the 50% rule.

Note: damage or decay of the cotyledons at the two points of attachment of the cotyledons to the seedling axis or near the terminal bud renders a seedling abnormal, irrespective of the 50% rule. The 50% rule also does not apply if one point of attachment of one cotyledon is necrotic or decayed and the other cotyledon is not intact; such seedlings are also considered as abnormal.




C.5.2. Growing media for germination test.

Growing media for germination test. It is suggested to delete the sentence referring to the use of “moistened porous paper or absorbent cotton” in order to avoid confusion regarding the need to determine the water content and the water retention capacity of these substrates. The following proposal is from the Germination Committee and approved by a vote.


5.6.2.1 Growing media 5.6.2.1.1. Methods using paper Top of paper (TP): the seeds are germinated on top of one or more layers of paper which are placed: –… – directly on trays in germination incubators. The relative humidity in the incubators must then be maintained at a level that prevents tests drying out. Moistened porous paper or absorbent cotton can be used as a base for substrates.

5.6.2.1 Growing media 5.6.2.1.1. Methods using paper Top of paper (TP): the seeds are germinated on top of one or more layers of paper which are placed: –… – directly on trays in germination incubators. The relative humidity in the incubators must then be maintained at a level that prevents tests drying out. Moistened porous paper or absorbent cotton can be used as a base for substrates. The water content and the water retention capacity of substrates used as a base layer does not need to be determined.

Steve Jones:

“There has been a change made here. I was approached, and the Committee won’t know about this, I couldn’t do it earlier, I was approached by some people to say they thought it was clearer to leave the existing text in there, but actually clarify that the water content and the water retention capacity of the substrate used as a base layer does not need to be determined. What I’m proposing to do is to bring this to your attention here now, let the Committee and people think about that over that lunch, and we can make a change and reflect that then after lunch.”

Lindsay Cook (Australia):

“We were one of the delegation who asked to retain that wording, precisely as you’ve explained, and I’m just up to support the wording in green, because it meets our requirement to clarify the position. We thought that the wording in that sentence was in fact more confusing.”

Steve Jones:

“So it’s not requiring any more testing, it’s just being 100% clear that the moisture content and water retention of the base substrates doesn’t have to be checked. Could I leave the Germination Committee to talk about it over lunch?

The Ordinary General Meeting then adjourned for lunch.

LUNCH BREAK

8 Election of Officers and members-at-large of the Executive Committee (continued)

The President asked the Secretary General ad interim to introduce the voting procedure for the election of the Members-at-Large. The Secretary General ad interim



established that there were 38 Voting Delegates in the room and explained the procedure. After the Voting Delegates had cast their ballots, the Secretary General ad interim, the vote counters and the observer retired to count the votes.

11 Consideration and adoption of the proposed Rules Changes 2014 (continued)

The Rules Chair Steve Jones continued with the adoption of the Rules Proposals.

He informed the Meeting that the Germination Committee had decided to withdraw Proposal 5.2., owing to the uncertainty that was raised, and re-submit it for the following year. This was confirmed by Sylvie Ducournau (Chair, Germination Committee), and agreed to by Lindsay Cook (Australia). A motion to withdraw the proposal was made, seconded, and accepted by the delegates with a large majority to zero no votes.

C.5.3. List of seedling abnormalities


5.2.8.1. Seedling abnormalities … 4 Abnormalities of the coleoptiles and the primary leaf 41 The coleoptile …

5.2.8.1. Seedling abnormalities … 4 Abnormalities of the coleoptiles and the primary leaf 41 The coleoptile … 41/12 is trapped under the lemma or the testa. Note: a seedling with its coleoptile trapped under the lemma or seed coat is considered normal, if development is otherwise normal. If the growth of such a seedling is stunted, it must be evaluated as abnormal.


C.5.4. Change required due to moving genus Arachis from PSD 11 to PSD 21


5.6 Procedure 5.6.1 Working sample … Multigerm seed units are not broken up for the germination test but are tested as though they were single seeds.

5.6 Procedure 5.6.1 Working sample … Multigerm seed units, except for Arachis, are not broken up for the germination test but are tested as though they were single seeds. For Arachis, although a pod is a pure seed unit, seed must be removed from the pod before use in a germination test.


C.5.5. Duration of germination test for certain grass species

Table 5A Part 1 Agricultural and vegetable seeds PROPOSED VERSION

Species Substrate Temperature (°C) First count (d)

Final count (d)

Recommendations for breaking dormancy

1 2 3 4 5 6



Festuca filiformis

TP 20<=>30; 15<=>25 7 21 14 KNO3; prechill

Festuca heterophylla

TP 20<=>30; 15<=>25 7 21 14 KNO3; prechill

Festuca ovina TP 20<=>30; 15<=>25 7 21 14 KNO3; prechill Festuca rubra TP 20<=>30; 15<=>25 7 21 14 KNO3; prechill Festuca trachyphylla

TP 20<=>30; 15<=>25 7 14 KNO3; prechill

Lolium x hybridum

TP 20<=>30; 15<=>25; 20

5 14 10 KNO3; prechill

Lolium multiflorum

TP 20<=>30; 15<=>25; 20


Lolium perenne TP 20<=>30; 15<=>25; 20


Poa nemoralis TP 20<=>30; 15<=>25; 10 <=>30


Poa palustris TP 20<=>30; 15<=>25; 10 <=>30


Poa pratensis TP 20<=>30; 15<=>25; 10 <=>30


Proposal C.5.5. was accepted by 33 votes to 4.

C.5.6. Modification to 5.6.4 to add clarity


5.6.4 Duration of the test … If it seems advisable, when for example some seeds have just started to germinate, the prescribed test period may be extended by 7 days or up to half the prescribed period for the longer tests.

5.6.4 Duration of the test … If it seems advisable, when for example some seeds have just started to germinate, the prescribed test period may be extended by:

a) 7 days; b) up to half the prescribed period; c) up to 21 days for Lolium spp.; d) up to 32 days for Festuca spp.

(except F. arundinacea and F. pratensis);

e) up to 42 days for Poa spp. (except P. bulbosa);

f) up to 54 days for Poa bulbosa. If, on the other hand, the maximum germination of the sample has been obtained before the end of the prescribed test period, a test may be terminated. At the request of the applicant the germination test may be terminated when the sample reaches a predetermined germination percentage. …

If, on the other hand, the maximum germination of the sample has been obtained before the end of the prescribed test period, a test may be terminated. At the request of the applicant the germination test may be terminated when the sample reaches a predetermined germination percentage. …

Proposal C.5.6. was accepted by a large majority to one no vote.



Chapter 6: Biochemical Test for Viability. The Topographical Tetrazolium Test.

C.6.1. Amended explanation for testing Helianthus and Bracharia species.

Helianthus spp.

W/18 Remove pericarp and seed coats from the seed.

1 3 Cut longitudinally through the cotyledons and the radicle-hypocotyl axis. Observe both sides of the seed.

⅓ radicle measured from radicle tip, ⅓ of distal end of cotyledons if pervasive pervading, ½ of distal end of the cotyledons if superficial

Brachiaria spp.

BP/16; W/6

Remove glumes, cut transversely near embryo

1 18 Observe external embryo surface.

⅓ radicle

BP/16; W/6

Cut longitudinally through embryo and 3/4 of endosperm.

1 2 Observe cut surface. ⅓ radicle




Annex to Chapter 7: Seed Health Testing Methods

C.7.1. Changes to existing seed health methods to provide a uniform approach

Addition of positive controls in all methods (Note methods 7-005, 7, 17, 18 are not modified yet as SHC reviews are in progress or new method modification are proposed) Method 7-001a:

• In Materials, reference material: the use of reference cultures or other appropriate material is recommended

• In method o 2.1 o 2.2 Positive control (reference material): Aseptically place seeds

evenly spaced (CCP) onto the surface of the filter paper in enough an appropriate number of plates to obtain the reference culture, or plate a reference culture on media. The number of plates required will depend on the level of contamination of the positive control seed lot.

o 6. …Fig 1, bottom left). Compare with positive control. Record…

The Seed Health Committee had requested that the new text on positive controls in seed health methods be amended further for clarification. Steve Jones remarked that these amendments would be applied to all seed health methods correspondingly.


C.7.2. Modification to existing seed health method

7-028: Detection of infectious tobamoviruses on Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) by the local lesion assay (indexing) on Nicotiana tabacum plants



7-019b: Detection of Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris on Brassica spp. disinfested/disinfected seedProposal C.7.3. was accepted by a large majority to zero no votes.


7-021: Detection of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli and Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli var. fuscans on Phaseolus vulgaris (Bean) seedProposal C.7.4. was accepted by a large majority to zero no votes.

C.7.5. New seed health method

7-029: Detection of Pseudomonas syringae pv. pisi on Pisum sativum (Pea) seed

The text of this method was amended further to include the words “for vegetable (green) peas” under “Sample and subsample size”.

Sample and subsample size The sample (total number of seeds tested) and subsample size to be tested depends on the desired tolerance standard (maximum acceptable percentage of seeds infested) and detection limit (theoretical minimum number of pathogen propagules per seed which can be detected), in any case the minimum sample size should be 5 000 seeds and the maximum subsample size should be 1 000 seeds for vegetable (green) peas. Proposal C.7.5. was accepted by a large majority to zero no votes.



C.7.6. New seed health method

7-007: Detection of Alternaria linicola, Botrytis cinerea and Colletotrichum lini on Linum usitatissimum (Flax) seed


Chapter 8: Species and Variety Testing

C.8.1. Editorial and Committee review of the whole of Chapter 8.

There were some editorial and Committee text changes to this review.


8.2 Definitions

8.2.1 Authentic standard sample

An authentic standard sample is a valid seed sample of species or variety identity or a valid sample with presence of the specified traits.

8.2 Definitions

8.2.1 Authentic standard sample

An authentic standard sample is a seed sample of a known species or variety or a sample with a known specific trait. It is recommended that this sample is of a known origin, e.g. a certified reference sample or a sample taken by an official or another person who can ensure vouch for the sample identity and characteristics. This sample will be used for obtaining enzymatic, protein or DNA profiles.

8.2.2 Standard reference

A standard reference is a valid descriptive attribute of a species or variety, e.g. zygosity; isozyme, protein or DNA banding pattern produced by gel electrophoresis or similar techniques; allelic profile or nucleotide sequence.

8.2.2 Standard reference

A standard reference is a valid descriptive attribute of a species or variety, e.g. zygosity, or an isozyme, protein or DNA banding pattern produced by gel electrophoresis or similar techniques, or an allelic profile or nucleotide sequence or a molecular weight standard (MWS) for protein or DNA. This descriptive attribute trait should be obtained by a n in-house validated or internationally validated methodology and should be from an authentic standard sample or obtained from a reliable source as for MWS.

When a standard reference is available, the test is done by comparing the traits of the seeds, seedlings or plants of the working sample with the standard reference.

When a standard reference is used in a test, the interpretation of the result is done by comparing the traits descriptive attributes of the seeds, seedlings or plants of the working sample with the standard reference. In the case of species or variety …

8.9.3 Brassica spp. … Germinate the seeds in darkness at 20–30 °C. After five days transfer the cotyledons to Petri dishes containing alcohol (85–96%) and placed on a white surface. After four hours determine the colour.

8.9.3 Brassica spp. … Germinate the seeds in darkness at 20<=>30 °C. After five days the cotyledons are transferred to Petri dishes containing alcohol (85–96%) and placed on a white surface. After four hours the colour is determined.




C.8.2. New improved A-PAGE method for the verification of Triticum

There were some editorial and Committee text changes to this proposal. 8.8.8.5 Extraction 8.8.8.5.1 Extraction (option 1) 8.8.8.5.1.1 Solutions a) Extraction solution Ethanol: 70% prepared immediately before use Acetone: concentrated b) Sample buffer Glycerol: 30% w/v Urea: 6 M Acetic acid: 25 mM Pyronine G: 0.05% Add water to the final volume. Keep the solutions at room temperature. 8.8.8.5.2 Extraction (option 2) 8.8.8.5.2.1 Solution 2-Chlorethanol: 25–30% Pyronine G or methyl green: 0.05% Add water to the final volume. Keep the solution cold (4 ºC). 8.8.8.5.2.2 Procedure Add 150–200 µL extraction buffer. When using microcentrifuge tubes, mix the samples with e.g. a vortex. With microtitre plates, mixing is not necessary. Incubate the samples overnight at room temperature (approx. 20 °C). If necessary, before loading the gel, centrifuge the samples at 13 000 r.p.m. for 15 min. Extracts can be stored at 4 °C for some days. 8.8.8.6.2 Gel preparation (option 2) 8.8.8.6.2.1 Gel mix Acrylamide: 10% final concentration (from solution or powder) Bisacrylamide: 0.4% Final concentration (from solution or powder). Or use a pre-prepared gel mix of acrylamide and bisacrylamide. Note: The powder forms of acrylamide and bisacrylamide are much more readily inhaled, as they are very light and highly electrostatic, so the powder floats in the air as soon as the bottle is opened. Handle in a fume hood. Urea: 6% Ferrous sulphate: 0.005% Ascorbic acid: 0.005– 0.1% Add the following buffer: 0.1% glycine (w/v), 2% glacial acetic acid (v/v) and water to final volume. Mix until complete dissolution. 8.8.8.9 Fixing and staining 8.8.8.9.1 One-step fixing and staining (option 1) Stock Coomassie: Coomassie R 250 1g/100 mL ethanol. Store this solution at 4 ºC in a dark bottle. Fixing and staining solution: 2.5% stock Coomassie Blue R250 (v/v) + 6.25% trichloroacetic acid (TCA) (w/v), water to 400 mL, or use a pre-prepared solution. This solution is enough for 2 gels 16 x 18 cm x 1.5 mm thick. Shake overnight with orbital shaker. The solution can be used once only. 8.8.8.9.2 One-step fixing and staining (option 2) Stock Coomassie: 0.25% (w/v) Coomassie Blue G250 + 0.75% (w/v) Coomassie Blue R250 + water to complete volume, or use a pre-prepared solution. Fixing and staining solution: 8.3% (w/v) trichloroacetic acid (TCA) + 5.8 (v/v) acetic acid + 12.5 % (v/v) ethanol + 2% (v/v) stock Coomassie. Staining is complete after 1 day, but at the earliest after 4 h. The solution can be used six times.



8.8.8.9.3 Two-step fixing and staining (option 3) Stock Coomassie: 0.25% (w/v) Coomassie blue G250 + 0.25% (w/v) Coomassie blue R250, complete volume with ethanol 100%, or use a pre-prepared solution. Store this the solution at 4 ºC in a dark bottle. Fixing solution: 10% TCA. Store at room temperature under hood. Staining solution: 20% stock Coomassie (v/v) + 8% acetic acid (v/v). Add water to complete volume. Store under hood at room temperature in a dark bottle. 1. Fix gels in TCA 10% for 1 h. Gels can be saved in this solution for few days. 2. Stain the gels for approx. 3 h or overnight. The fixing and staining solutions can be used six times. 8.8.8.11 Storage of the gels Gels can be kept in either 10% TCA solution or in a glycerol solution (3%), and then dried between two cellophane sheets, or photographed or scanned. In polyethylene bags gels can be stored at 4 ºC for months without deterioration. After drying they gels can be stored for years.


C.8.3. New SDS-PAGE method for the verification of Triticum and ×Triticosecale varieties

There were some editorial and Committee text changes to this proposal. PROPOSED VERSION

8.8.9.4 Sample preparation Single seeds crushed with pliers or alternatively 50–70 mg of flour are transferred to 1.5 mL polypropylene centrifuge tubes or microtitre plates. 8.8.9.5.2 Extraction procedure Add 150-500 µL (depending on the equipment used) of the extraction buffer and thoroughly mix the sample. Leave to stand overnight at room temperature. With microtitre plates, mixing is not necessary. Heat the samples in a boiling water bath for 10 min and allow to cool. Before the gel is loaded, the tubes are centrifuged at 18 000 x g. With microtitre plates, heating is not necessary. 8.8.9.6 Gel preparation Two gels, 16 x 18 cm, 1.5 mm thickness, depending on the equipment used. 8.8.9.6.1 Stacking gel Stacking gel: acrylamide 3%, 0.125 M Tris-HCl, pH 6.8. Acrylamide 40% solution: 1.5 mL Bisacrylamide 2% solution: 0.43 mL Or use a pre-prepared gel mix of acrylamide and bisacrylamide. Tris-HCl 1 M pH 6,8: 2.5 mL SDS 10%: 0.16 mL Water: 14.87 mL For polymerization: APS 1%: 0.75 mL TEMED: 20 µL Add the reagents to a 19.46 mL of stacking gel solution. 8.8.9.6.2 Resolving gel Resolving gel: acrylamide 10%, 0.375 M Tris-HCl, pH 8.8 Acrylamide 40% solution: 20 mL Bisacrylamide 2% solution: 5.2 mL Or use a pre-prepared gel mix of acrylamide and bisacrylamide. Tris-HCl 1 M pH 8.8: 30 mL SDS 10%: 0.8 mL Water: 20.8 mL For polymerization: APS: 1% 2 mL TEMED: 40 µL Add the reagents to a 76.80 mL of resolving gel solution.



PROPOSED VERSION

8.8.9.8 Electrophoresis Two gels, 16 x 18 cm, 1.5 mm thickness, depending on the equipment used. Stacking gel: constant voltage at 100 V (about 40 mA) Running gel: 80 mA (max. 400 mA) Water should be circulated through the buffer tank to maintain the temperature at 15 to 20 °C. Stop the run 40 min after the tracking dye has reached the bottom of the gel 8.8.9.9 Fixing and staining Fixing: TCA 15%, approx. 30 min Staining: Sol A: Coomassie Blue G-250 0.25 g Coomassie Blue R-250 0.75 g Made up to 100 mL with water. Or use a pre-prepared solution. Sol B: TCA: 27.5 g Acetic acid: 32.5 mL Ethanol: 90 mL Sol A: 12.5 mL Water to 400 mL Stain overnight at room temperature. 8.8.9.11 Storage of the gels Gels can be stored in polythene bags at 4–6 °C for many months without deterioration. Gels can be kept in either 10% TCA solution or in a glycerol solution (3%), and then dried between two cellophane sheets, photographed or scanned. In polyethylene bags gels can be stored at 4 ºC for months without deterioration. After drying gels can be stored for years.


Chapter 11: Testing Coated Seeds

C.11.1 Testing methods and reporting for the tetrazolium test for coated seeds

Proposals C.11.1. and C.1.1. were accepted by a large majority to zero no votes.

Chapter 18: Seed Mixtures

C.18.1. Testing methods and reporting for the tetrazolium test for seed mixtures

There were editorial changes to this proposal. 18.7 Tetrazolium test

For species representing more than 5% of the seed mixture, four replicates of 100 seeds are tested from the pure seed of each component species. If insufficient seed is available from the pure seed fraction, the test will be carried out on (in order of priority) two replicates of 100 seeds, one replicate of 100 seeds or on all pure seed of the species in the pure seed fraction, depending on seed availability. For species representing 5% or less of the mixture, a tetrazolium test will not be carried out except at the specific request of the customer applicant. In this case the tetrazolium test is carried out on two replicates of 100 seeds, one replicate of 100 seeds or on the all all the pure seeds of the species in the pure seed fraction, depending on seed availability. Proposals C.18.1. and C.1.2. were accepted by a large majority to zero no votes.

Chapter 19: Testing for Seeds of Genetically Modified Organisms

C.19.1. New Chapter for the ISTA Rules

There were editorial changes to this proposal.



The GMO Committee added the words “and incidental” to the definition of “adventitious presence”.

A link to a document on the ISTA web site was also corrected.

PROPOSED VERSION

19.2 Definitions 19.2.1 Adventitious presence Adventitious presence (AP) in seeds refers to the unintentional and incidental presence of foreign material in a seed lot. This may happen during production, harvesting, storage or marketing. 19.5.2 Protein-based methods 19.5.2.1 General principles of protein-based testing ... follow the ISTA Principles and Conditions for Laboratory Accreditation under the Performance Based Approach (see http://www.seedtest.org/upload/cms/user/Acc-D-04-AccreditationunderthePBA1.pdf). http://www.seedtest.org/upload/cms/user/ISTAMethodValidationforSeedTesting-V1.01.pdf

Proposals C.19.1. and C.1.3. were accepted by a large majority to zero no votes.

Steve Jones congratulated the GMO Committee on their new chapter.

Ignacio Aranciaga (Argentina) raised some questions about the newly accepted Proposal C.5.4., which stipulates that Arachis seeds must be removed from the pods before a germination test.

– Breaking the pod before the germination test to remove the seed could cause damage to the seed which could affect the result of the germination test.

– If a pod contains multiple seeds, how many seeds from a pod should be used for the germination test?

Jane Taylor (United Kingdom) remarked that damage to the seeds had also been possible previously when Arachis was in PSD 11, when the pods were broken before the purity analysis, so there was no change to the previous procedure. She also suggested to look at the AOSA Rules, which had two pure seed definitions for Arachis.

Sylvie Durcournau stated that multiple seeds from one pod were also defined as pure seed, and therefore all could be used for the germination test.

There was a question on the new GMO Chapter 19 regarding the definition of the cause of adventitious presence of foreign material. It was confirmed that the possible causes given in section 19.2.1 were examples and not exclusive definitions.

There was one final vote to formally accept the Stabilized List for 2013, for the record of the Meeting. There was a large majority for acceptance with zero votes against.

This concluded the voting for the Rules Proposals for 2014.

The President thanked Steve Jones and Craig McGill for their work on the Rules.

8 Election of Officers and members-at-large of the Executive Committee (continued)

Before announcing the results of the election of members-at-large of the Executive Committee, the President gave the floor to the Secretary General ad interim. The Secretary presented and thanked the ballot counters Valerie Grimault, France, and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvesting

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_storage



Brigitte Hendriksen, Norway, and the observer Christoph Haldemann, Switzerland. Christoph Haldemann confirmed that the ballot counting had been performed regularly.

The President then proceeded to announce the results of the election. The elected members-at-large of the Executive Committee were (in reverse alphabetical order):

Rita Zecchinelli, Italy

Grethe Tarp, Denmark

Mable Simwanza, Zambia

Masatoshi Sato, Japan

Alexander Malko, Russian Federation

Berta Killermann, Germany

Steve Jones, Canada

Cecilia Jones, Uruguay.

12 Consideration and adoption of reports The President then asked the Technical Committee Chairs to come on stage for the adoption of their reports, and proposed that the report be approved by applause, which was granted.

13 Announcement of the places and dates for the next Ordinary General Meetings of the Association

The President asked the Valerie Cockerell for her presentation on Edinburgh, the venue of the Annual Meeting 2014.

Valerie Cockerell (United Kingdom):

“Good afternoon, Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased to present to you for the ISTA Annual Meeting to be held in Edinburgh 2014, on behalf of the National Organizing Committee. Why Edinburgh? It’s the centenary of the Official Seed Testing Station in Edinburgh, and what better way to celebrate than to hold the annual ISTA meeting as part of our year-long celebrations. Also, Edinburgh is a stunning setting, and beneath that old façade, there is a modern and dynamic city. There is easy access: we have direct flights from 120 destinations, 200 flights daily from London, and we have direct flights from New York and Toronto. So most of the European hubs have direct flights to Edinburgh, for those that come from further afar.

“The venue is the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh; it’s a stylish venue, it’s just been refurbished, and it’s located in the centre of the UNESCO Edinburgh World Heritage Site. It has sufficient space for the needs of the Annual Meeting. Her we have the Music Hall, where the Annual Meeting will take place, and we have the Ballroom, where we’ll enjoy lunch and have our exhibition.

“The programme is as normal for an Annual Meeting; we are also holding, prior to the Annual Meeting, a Seed Health Symposium from the 12th to 14th June, and also a Seed Sampling Workshop. Now you will note that in the leaflets that we have the Seed Sampling Workshop prior to the Annual Meeting, but as you’ve heard, things change, and now it looks as if it will be after the Annual Meeting, because of the OECD meeting.

“You will also have noticed the price list available in the booklet, and all I can say is that we are still looking at the prices, and if we can, we will bring the registration fee

https://www.seedtest.org/upload/cms/user/11.3AnnualMeeting2014invitation.pdf



down for the Annual Meeting, but I make no promises, as I can’t do any miracles. But if you check the web site in October, then you will know what the final cost will be.

“Accommodation in Edinburgh is quite expensive, but we’ve done our best, and we have accommodation from 63 pounds which is here at Pollock Hall, it’s student accommodation, but it’s nice student accommodation. At the higher End, we’re looking at 100 to 135 pounds. All the hotels are in walking distance to the venue.

“We have some social events: we have the welcome reception, we have a whisky tasting for those that are interested, and we have a visit to SASA, if there’s enough interest, and we have the dinner. And what I would say about the dinner is, I hope it is as good and people enjoy it as much as the one we have had here in Turkey this week, and, that the next morning, you won’t feel too blurry.

“If you intend to do some things other than the Annual Meeting, what I suggest is that you talk to my colleague Gillian, and she’ll advise on shopping, talk to Lauren, and she’ll take you to the adventure sports, and Craig, I’ll make sure you get to see the pandas at Edinburgh Zoo. And gentlemen, speak to Gerry, he’ll make sure you can experience the exhilaration of wearing a kilt.

“The weather: we may have sunshine, but it wouldn’t be as warm as it is here.”

There followed a short film.

“My last thing is, please come and join us and experience it. Thank you.”

The President introduced the presentation by Cecilia Jones (Uruguay).

Cecilia Jones:

“Everyone saved the date for 2014, now we’ll talk about 2015. So I’m here to invite you to Uruguay for 2015. We have a preliminary date from the 15th to the 18th June. The goal of this presentation is to show you a little bit about my country. Uruguay is a pretty safe country with a good standard of living. That’s a scene from the city where I live, and most of the delegation, Montevideo. It’s a country that’s also easy to reach from anywhere in the world, and it’s a very small place. We are 300 km across and 400 km in the other direction, so everything is nearby. Here I have a map where we are located; we have borders with Argentina and Brazil, and we are located in the centre of one of the most production agricultural regions in South America. Transportation is very active to move goods to other countries in the world.

“We are a member of Mercosur, and in Montevideo is the headquarters of Mercosur. As far as agriculture goes, in South America we are the first rice exporter and the second beef exporter of South America. We are third in wheat production and fourth as a soybean exporter. Most of our agriculture is exported, since we’re only 3 million people.

“As far as what places you will find when you visit Uruguay, we have 350 km of beaches on the Atlantic Ocean and the Rio de la Plata. As the Annual Meeting will be held in June, the beaches will be nice to take pictures, but it’s going to be pretty cold.

“Montevideo is the capital of Uruguay, and as I mentioned before where the administrative offices of Mercosur are located. This is one of the venues where we might hold the meeting, that’s one of our options. Within 1-1½ hours distance we have Colonia del Sacramento, that’s an old Portuguese city, that has a pretty nice historic downtown, where you can visit old residences and museums. Also within an hour, hour and a half distance from Montevideo we have Punta del Este, a pretty famous beach resort in the summer. It’s located 120 km from Montevideo. That’s the other option we’re considering, to hold the Annual Meeting here. Cuisine: we’ll probably eat a lot of beef, for those of you that eat beef; we’re pretty proud of our beef, especially roast beef. And for those that are interested, there is a lot of Spanish and Italian cuisine that’s been mixed over the years, and we have good wines for people that like wines. We have been thinking also how to entertain you. We share with Argentina as a place where Tango was born, and Uruguay we could probably get you to a couple of lessons of how to tango. I now have a small video to show you.

“We are working on what workshops will be included. I don’t know what the programme will be, that will be finalized next year, in February.”



(Film)

“So you are invited to come to Uruguay in 2015.”

The President then invited Margus Friedenthal, Estonia, to present the place of the next Congress.

Margus Friedenthal:

“Dear ISTA Congress delegates, ladies and gentlemen. I am Margus Friedenthal from Estonia, and I’m very pleased to announce that ISTA accepted the application of Estonia to organize the next ISTA Congress in Estonia. In conclusion, it means that the next 31st ISTA Congress will take place in Estonia in 2016. And of course, it’s m any hours to go, but time is running very fast, so the aim of my presentation is just to introduce Estonia in very general terms.

“I should like to point out that Estonia is a very, very, small country, located in the Baltic region of Northern Europe, next to Scandinavia and Northwest Russia, and Finland is a short hop across the sea, just 80 km away. When we look at distances between capitals, our closest neighbour is Helsinki, only 85 km from Tallinn. Riga is the next, 307 km, St. Petersburg, 395 km, Stockholm, 405 km, and Vilnius, 620 km. So distances are very short. And just joking, if here in Antalya we are driving 1 hour by car, we are still in Antalya, but in Estonia if you are driving 1 hour by car, you are already in a neighbouring country. That means that we need to be very careful. The area is only approximately 45000 km2, similar in size to Denmark or the Netherlands, but the population is ten times smaller. That means that we have plenty of space for walking on the street. The population is only 1.3 million, of which 69% are Estonians, 25% Russians.

“The capital is Tallinn, the biggest city, and has about 400 000 citizens. What are amazing figures, even for me, is that Estonia has more than 1500 islands, 1000 lakes, and these 1000 lakes makes 5% of Estonian territory. At the same time, we have 7000 rivers and streams, and bogs and wooded swamplands of different types cover one fifth of the country.

“Estonia regained its independence in 1991, and the next very important year is 2004, when Estonia became a member of NATO, and on 1 May 2004, joined the European Union. Since 2007, Estonia is part of the Schengen visa area, and from January 2011, part of the EU Euro currency area.

“The national language is of course Estonian, but the young generation is speaking many other languages, such as English, Russian, Finnish and many others. That means there are different languages widely spoken. In the Internet I found that the Estonian language is a nightmare to learn, but actually, I don’t believe it. Something is wrong.

“If we look at Estonia as such a small country, has this country at all natural resources. Yes, we have. We have timber, oil shale, phosphorite, peat, limestone and dolomite.

“About two thirds of the population is of Estonian ethnicity. The second largest ethnic group is Russian, forming about 25%.

“Religion: overall, most Estonians are not religious, but in general, religious beliefs do not affect business activities in Estonia. Estonians are predominantly Lutherans, but there are also small Russian Orthodox, Baptist and other communities across the country.

“Climate: we have temperate climate characterized by warm summers and fairly severe winters. The weather is often breezy and humid due to the proximity of the Baltic Sea. Average temperatures range from 20.9 °C in summer to -8.0 °C in winter. Occasionally the temperature may rise to 30 °C.

“What is unique for Estonia? We have so many videos on Youtube that means that the (…) wonderful, beautiful city is Tallinn and its medieval old town. It is impossible to deny that this is the main reason why most people come to Estonia, to see the best protected and intact medieval city in Europe , it is Tallinn, and it is now very well restored.

Forest: don’t forget about 50% of Estonia is covered by forest. Hiking trails criss-cross the forest, many of which are protected or part of national parks.



In Estonia, we have hundreds of manor houses, built over the centuries; they have been opened to visitors, and many also have been converted to high-class hotels.

From my point of view, Estonia is very proud of Estonian song festivals. First held in 1869, it takes place every 5 years. In 2009, 26 000 choral singers gathered to perform for an audience of 80 000 people. But even I believe that these figures are a little decreased; at least I have heard that during our last song festival about 200 000 people came, standing side by side, and they had a wonderful festival. It is recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.

“Some words about business and economy in Estonia, for such a small country. And of course, if a country is very small, the absolute figures are also very small. First of all (and this selection is made by myself), I would like to point out that Estonia has a relatively good and rapidly developing production infrastructure (ports, roads, telecommunications, warehouse facilities). From my point of view, a very good example is that Estonia has highly developed electronic communications, good access to the Internet, digital signatures, ID cards and web-based projects. And I just raise a question: did you know that Skype was developed in Estonia? And this ID technology is developing so fast, that means that we are ordering and supplying such kinds of services to m any countries very far away from Estonia.

“Key economic indicators: GDP per capita is 16 000 euros. This figure is not so high, but GDP per capita is 67%, if we take for the Eurozone, which consists of 27 countries, it is 100%; this means that the Estonian figure is 67% of countries. Real growth of GDP in 3.5%; inflation is 3.9%; unemployment, still we have unemployment of 9.7%, and the average monthly wage is about 855 euros.

Just a few words about export and import possibilities: our biggest partners for export is Finland and Sweden, and it is good to see that the exports is high; at the same time also imports are high. The main exports are machinery and equipment.

I can’t finish this small presentation without dealing with the agricultural sector. Our agricultural sector is also very small. It was only 2.2% of GDP, but for me the second figure is very positive, that about 19 700 agricultural holdings, mostly dealing with growing of cereals, production of milk and mixed farming. If we keep in mind that these holdings are entrepreneurs, it’s about 20 000. The second important figure is that about 54% of these holdings then have land less than 10 ha, and it influences the capabilities of Estonian agriculture, but it is still developing nowadays very fast. And only 9% of holdings have more than 100 ha, and they use 73% of agricultural land.

And finally, the (…) is marked by yellow. That means that we produce also seed for certification, and the growing area is about 8 or 9 thousand hectares, and quantities are about 12 to 20 thousand tonnes. I am very proud that the seeds are tested by the institution where I am from, and in this institution, we have a seed-testing laboratory that is accredited by ISTA, and due to the fact that this laboratory has been accredited, it is a very strong link to ISTA activities, and the head of the laboratory is present here in the Congress and a very well recognized expert, Mari Jürmann.

Finally, I should just like to point out the main activities of our agricultural research centre, which is covered by the Ministry of Agriculture. Under point 2 we have “Analysis of seeds for seed certification”, and I’m very proud to be here in Antalya to confirm that the next ISTA Congress will be held in Estonia in such a small country, very fast-developing country, very interesting country, and I hope we have a lot of fun in Estonia when we come together in 2016. Really, before I came over to Turkey, to Antalya, I found a fine Youtube link where Estonians are singing, but I’m very much afraid that at the moment this link doesn’t work, due to the fact that I was not prepared to make presentation by video today. But anyway, I had planned to show you video today. But I am very much sure that when you are going back home, please use the time and look on Internet, and you will see wonderful dancing and song from Estonia, and Estonians are very proud and happy to be part of this very fast-developing world. Thank you very much.”

The President thanked Margus Friedenthal for his presentation.



14 Any other business raised by a Member, of which notice in writing has been received by the Secretary General at least two months prior to the date of the meeting

The Secretary General ad interim announced that no such business had been received.

15 Any other business raised by consent of the Executive Committee

The President stated that no such business had been received.

16 Discharge of the Executive Committee The President:

“The 30th ISTA Congress is close to its end. From all comments I have heard and from my own opinion, this Congress will be recorded as an exceptional Congress.

“In many aspects, all events have been very successful:

“Science has been a major event of the Congress. During the Seed Symposium, attendance at all sessions was very high, demonstrating, if needed, the high quality of all the presentations. Thanks, again, to Dr Alison Powell, Convenor of the Seed Symposium, Honorary Life Member of ISTA, and thanks to the Session Chairs and the presenters.

“Training and sharing knowledge has also been an important aspect of this Congress, including the two workshops before the Congress, the Symposium, the technical meetings and all side meetings.

“This Congress has also been the opportunity to debate topics which are important for the future of ISTA. As examples: accreditation, DNA methods, finances and strategy. On behalf of ISTA, I thank all lecturers and presenters, and the members who have actively participated in all the Congress events.

“Coming to the organization of the Congress: the organization, the facilities, the social events, the assistance, all have been perfect. We all have been impressed by the professionalism and the exceptional quality of the organization. It started with the traditional dancing at the opening ceremony, which provided a memorable introduction. This high starting point continued through all aspects of the Congress organization, meeting rooms, conference room, coffee breaks, lunches and dinners, and many other things you have been enjoying. The organization of the meetings has been outstanding, including the technical support, which has contributed to the very high quality of the meetings. May I ask Kamil Yilmaz, President of the National Organizing Committee, and his colleagues, if there are some still in the room, to join me.

“For all what has been done, all that we have been enjoying these days, I would like to thank Kamil. Kamil, I have the pleasure and the great honour to present you with a gift, to thank you for the exceptional quality of the organization of this 30th ISTA Congress. I propose a standing ovation for Kamil.

“On behalf of ISTA, I have the honour to give you a certificate, which will also be for your colleagues and team: Metin Kaycioglu, Ibrahim Demir, Tayfur Caglayan, Adnan Horan, Ferhat Colak. Thank you Kamil, and thank you to your team.

“I would also like to thank Flaptour, and Mr Emre Aydin and his team.



“We all enjoyed all the technical aspects of this Congress, and we all experienced how efficient it was to recover from the electrical breakdown, so I would like to thank the technicians, for their professionalism, which was really outstanding.

“May I ask all the colleagues of the Secretariat to stand? ISTA meetings and Congresses are an important task of the ISTA Secretariat. I propose to thank warmly the colleagues of the Secretariat for their great amount of work which has been done and the competent way it was done: Rasha El-Khadem, Nadine Ettel, Cannice Gubser (Switzerland), Martina Haefeli, Agnes Hegedüs, Patricia Muschick, Branislava Opra, Axel Ohleyer, Florina Palada, Julia Punnacherry, Jonathan Taylor, Stefania de Tomasi.

“Now may I ask the current Executive Committee members to join me in front of the screen? We are finishing our term today, altogether. Some of us will continue for three more years. I have very much enjoyed working together. We have been working as a strong team. All of us have been strongly involved, giving a lot of working time, and more often free time. The spirit has been very positive. I personally thank all of you for your involvement, and the English-speaking colleagues for assisting with writing English. Thank you very much! I will give a certificate right now, and also thanks to you, the members, who participated in this Congress.”


“Ladies and gentlemen, I have now the honour to request that you discharge this Executive Committee 2010 to 2013 by applause.”

The Meeting discharged the Executive Committee by applause.

17 Installation of new Officers and Executive Committee members


“Now I have the very great honour and pleasure to begin the installation of the new officers and Executive Committee members, and I would like to ask the new ISTA President, Joël Léchappé, to install the new Executive Committee.”

The President:

“Now I Have the great pleasure to ask the new elected Committee members to join me in front of the screen. May I ask Cecilia Jones, Steve Jones, Berta Killermann, Alexander Malko, Masatoshi Sato, Mable Simwanza, Grethe Tarp, Rita Zecchinelli, and Margus Friedenthal as Chair of the National Organizing Committee for the next Congress, and the Vice-President, Craig McGill.”

The Meeting applauded the new Executive Committee.

_____________________________________________________________________

18 President’s closing address The President:

“We are now coming to the end of this ISTA 30th Congress. It is a great honour to have the opportunity to address you as your President for the next triennium 2013–2016. This presidency follows a series of presidencies in ISTA started 89 years ago. We owe the former Presidents and Executive Committees what ISTA is today. Thanks to them, ISTA has contributed to the improvement of the quality of seeds by providing harmonized methods and knowledge over the world. I would personally acknowledge the former Presidents with whom I have worked since I have been a member of the Executive Committee: Prof. Attilio Lovato (Honorary Life President), Prof. John Hampton, Dr. Katalin Ertsey, P. Oosterveld and Prof. Honorary Life Member Norbert Leist. Working with them has been a great honour and a great pleasure.



“In this closing address I propose to summarize the main goals as decided in the Strategy voted on this morning. I also propose to share with you the way of working that I propose to continue to develop in collaboration with other organizations.

“In the Strategy adopted this morning, the following aims were approved:

1. To continue maintaining and developing the seed testing capacity worldwide; This is an ambitious and not easy topic as the needs are very different between regions of the world. ISTA has to adapt to target areas. As an example, some areas are pushing forward the accreditation of laboratories, while other regions need information on the existence of Rules, and assistance to establish laboratories.

2. A second important topic defined in the Strategy, is to continue providing harmonized rules. In this framework, exploring the needs of the members and the needs of the stakeholders should be broadly developed. A way to achieve this is to invite stakeholders to participate more in ISTA working groups.

3. As a third topic, the scientific and technical work in ISTA are absolutely necessary to develop methodology for the future and contribute to up-to-date training and knowledge.

4. Review of the audit process, encouraging the participation of membership, management and finances are other major items of the Strategy; I am not going into details, as it was discussed yesterday.

“Following the congress a working activity plan will be prepared to define the priority actions and timelines. The action plan needs to be supported by appropriate financial and manpower means.

“As presented during this congress the finances have been carefully studied. A financial structure has been set up. This will help to allocate budgets to projects such as supporting the work of the TCOMs, the electronic publication or improving the communication, building a new website. Manpower is the other important means to achieve the goals. The contribution of all members and involvement of a new generation of members is essential. It is also stimulating for ISTA to involve new people in the Association’s goals.

“In addition to the means, I am convinced we need to strengthen the network of collaborations. We have to be amenable to cooperation with other organizations on special projects of common interest. The existing collaborations with other organizations are very good; nevertheless, ISTA could be more proactive, building collaborations beyond mutual participation in meetings. ISTA should invite more experts from other organizations to participate in ISTA working groups. ISTA should also encourage the participation of ISTA members into working groups from other organizations. Examples are:

– Continue working with ISHI on seed health methods

– Work together with AOSA on harmonisation of methods.

– Participate as observer to the working groups of organizations such as IPPC to contribute to the movement of seeds.

– Continue working in the World Seed Project aimed at helping to develop testing capacities in selected countries.

“Other examples of ongoing or newly started topics are the review of accreditation, in-house methods, and guidelines for wild species.

“To conclude: Strengthening the network of collaborations, creating more bridges with other organisations and within ISTA are really important keys for progress. I am looking forward with great pleasure and enthusiasm to working together with the newly elected Vice-President Craig McGill, the re-elected and new ECOM members, the Technical Committees, and Beni Kaufman and his team.

“You are invited to participate at the next ISTA Ordinary General Meeting next year in Edinburgh in Scotland.



“I now formally close the 2013 ISTA Ordinary General Meeting and the 30th ISTA Congress.

“I wish you all a safe journey back home. Thank you very much.”

19 Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 17:00.

minutes of the ordinary general meeting 2013 · minutes of the ordinary general meeting 2013...

Documents