Plant Improvement Act, 2018 (Act No. 11 of 2018)

Regulations

Regulations made in terms of the Plant Improvement Act, 2018

Chapter I: Definitions

1. Definitions

Purchase

Unless the context indicates otherwise, words and expressions in these regulations have the meaning assigned to them in the Act, and—

"certified"

means certified in terms of a scheme contemplated in section 45;

"coated seed"

means seeds covered with material that may contain pesticides, fungicides, dyes or other additives and includes the following:

(a)	Encrusted seed - units more or less retaining the shape of the seed with the size and weight changed to a measurable extent.

(b)	Seed granules - units, more or less cylindrical, including types with more than one seed per granule.

(c)	Seed mats - broad sheets of material, such as paper or other degradable material, with seeds placed in rows, groups or at random throughout the sheets.

(d)	Seed pellets - more or less spherical units, usually incorporating a single seed with the size and shape of the seed no longer readily evident.

(e)	Seed tapes - narrow bands of material, such as paper or other degradable material, with seeds spaced randomly, in groups or in a single row;

"container" —

(a)	in the case of a plant, means the container in which such plant grows or is packed; and

(b)	in the case of propagating material, means the container in which such propagating material is packed, but does not include a shipping container in which such propagating material is imported;

"crop groups"

refer to the categories of crops according to their general usage as agricultural, vegetable and fruit crops, specified in Table 1 for the respective kinds of plants;

"grain"

refers to harvested material that is intended for consumption, not for cultivation;

"hemp"

means low THC plants or parts of plants of Cannabis sativa L. cultivated for agricultural or industrial purposes, of which the leaves and flowering heads do not contain more than 0.2% THC;

"Hemp Permit"

means the permit issued by the Registrar in accordance with Regulation 4 to a person who intends to perform an activity with low THC Cannabis (hemp) specified in this regulation;

"hemp seed"

means seed intended for cultivation that is certified in an approved manner as having been produced from hemp for agricultural or industrial purposes or when cultivated, will produce hemp in compliance with !he prescribed THC level not exceeding 0.2%;

"inert matter"

in relation to seed, means all material excluding other seed and pure seed which is present therein;

"introducer"

means the person, including the agent, who introduces a variety into the local market on behalf of the breeder or when the breeder is not known;

"ISTA"

means the International Seed Testing Association;

"lot"

or batch means a quantity of plants or propagating material of which the properties are homogeneous to the extent required by the Act and these regulations and, if applicable, the scheme concerned;

"lot number"

or batch number means a code number which a person has allocated to a particular lot of plants or propagating material for purposes of identification or traceability and which differs from the lot number allocated by him or her to any other lot of plants or propagating material;

"Medicines Act"

means the Medicines and Related Substances Act, 1965 (Act No. 101 of 1965) as amended;

"other material" —

(a)	in the case of coated seed, means all matter excluding the pure units of coated seed which are present therein;

(b)	in the case of seed of a specific kind which is uncoated, means all material, including other seed, which is present therein and is visually distinguishable from seed of the kind concerned; and

(c)	in the case of a mixture which is uncoated, means all matter, including other seed which is visually distinguishable from seed of the kinds comprising the mixture;

"other seed"

(a)	in the case of seed of a specific kind, means all seed, irrespective whether it is of a kind to which the Act applies, which is present therein and is visually distinguishable from seed of the kind concerned; and

(b)

in the case of a mixture, means all seed, irrespective whether it is of a kind to which the Act applies, which is present therein and is visually distinguishable from seed of the kinds which are specified on containers of that mixture or on fabe1s attached to the containers concerned, as kinds comprising that mixture;

"pest"

means any species, strain or biotype of plant, animal or pathogenic agent injurious to plants or plant products

"PIA registration number"

means the registration number assigned to a person or company for the registration of one or more types of business in terms of section 12 of the Act;

"port of entry"

means a place through which plants and propagating material may be imported tnto the country in terms of section 43 of the Act;

"pre-packer"

means the type of business where seed is packed into containers of limited size in accordance with the requirements specified in Table 4;

"pure seed",

in relation to seeds of a specific kind, means all whole seeds of that kind and portions thereof which are larger than half the original size;

"pure units of coated seed",

in relation to coated seed - means undamaged units, units with obvious cracks or fissures and damaged units larger than the original size, irrespective of whether those units contain any seed;

"restricted weed seed"

means seed of the following plant species:

(a)	Cuscuta spp. - Dodder;

(b)	Datura spp. - Thorn apple;

(c)	Solanum elaeagnifolium Cav - Silverleaf bitter apple; and

(d)	Stipa spp. excluding S. capensis Thunb. and S. dregeana Steud.- Serrated Tussock, Nasella;

"SAPS"

means the South African Police Service;

"seed"

means seed which is propagating material intended for cultivation;

"seed mixture"

means a lot consisting of seed of varieties of various kinds of plants and/or various varieties of a kind of plant which, with a view to its usefulness for agricultural purposes, is obtained by mixing such seed in a particular proportion;

"THC"

means (-)-transdella-9-tetrahydrocannabinol that occurs in plants and parts of plants of Cannabis sativa L.;

"the Act"

means the Plant Improvement Act, 2018 (Act No. 11 of 2018);

"TPS"

means true potato seed in the botanical context, that is used to produce seedling tubers;

"true to type"

with regard to a plant of a particular kind, means the plant corresponds with the description of the kind of plant concerned;

"true to variety",

in relation to—

(a)	seed of a particular variety referred to in regulation 27, means that all plants cultivated from the seed concerned correspond to the description of the variety concerned, and are clearly distinguishable from any other variety of the same kind of plant; and

(b)	plants and propagating material other than seed, of a particular variety referred to in regulation 46, means that all plants correspond to the description of the variety concerned and are clearly distinguishable from any other variety of the same kind of plant;

"UPOV code"

means the abbreviation of the scientific name for a kind of plant in accordance with the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) system;

"visually free"

means the physical examination of a plant or plant material where an employee or authorised person—

(a)	is unable to visually observe the occurrence or symptoms of a pest on that plant or plant material without using a microscope or magnifying glass; or

(b)	has visually observed the characteristic symptoms that are caused by a pest on a plant, but the testing, examination or analysis of that plant or plant material in a laboratory has not confirmed the presence of such pest on or in that plant;

"weed seed"

means the seeds of all kinds of plants generally recognized as weeds in the country,

"withdrawal of application"

means voluntary withdrawal of an application by the applicant or agent whilst the application is still under consideration and before a decision could be reached on the compliance of the variety with DUS.