EN Official Journal of the European Union C 198/13

Publication of an application pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

(2008/C 198/11)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months of the date of this publication.

SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘GENTSE AZALEA’

EC No: BE-PGI-005-0536-24.03.2006

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1. Responsible department in the Member State:

Name: Vlaamse Overheid, Departement Landbouw en Visserij, Afdeling Duurzame Landbouwontwikkeling Address: Ellipsgebouw Koning Albert II-laan 35 Bus 40 B-1030 Brussel Tel. (32-2) 552 78 84 Fax (32-2) 552 78 71 E-mail: lieve.desmit@lv.vlaanderen.be

2. Group:

Name: Vereniging van Vlaamse Azaleatelers Address: P/a Axelsvaardeken 29a B-9185 Wachtebeke Tel. (32-9) 342 91 26 Fax (32-9) 342 92 14 E-mail: info@vaneetvelde.com Composition: Producers/processors ( X ) Other ( X )

3. Type of product:

Class 3.5: Flowers and ornamental plants

4. Specification:

(Summary of requirements under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1. Name: ‘Gentse azalea’

4.2. Description: The ‘Gentse azalea’ is the ready-for-sale azalea (Azalea indica or Rhododendron simsii), from the first show of colour or the ‘candle-flame’ stage. It is available in various shapes (spherical shrub or standard azaleas, tall-stemmed, pyramid and various unusually shaped varieties) and colours (including white, salmon, red, carmine, pink, purple and lilac) and can be either pure or tinged with another colour (veined or edged). The unique characteristic of the ‘Gentse azalea’ is that it is the result of a quality-oriented production process based on tradition and diversity.

Quality is guaranteed by compliance with predetermined quality criteria based on product performance (e.g. bud distribution), user-friendliness (e.g. leaving a gap below the rim to allow for watering), reliability (e.g. guaranteed colour) and aesthetic character (e.g. fresh and green appearance). It is a product that is known for its quality, born of many years of tradition, expertise, extensive research and professional information.

4.3. Geographical area: The production area covers the whole of the province of East Flanders (with Ghent as its capital).

4.4. Proof of origin: A ‘Gentse azalea’ must come from a company listed in the register kept by the applicant group. That register is forwarded to the competent supervisory body. The registered companies are either azalea growers (cultivating azaleas from cuttings until they reach the fully grown ‘green’ stage or until the first show of colour) or traders/forcers (buying fully grown ‘green’ azaleas and placing them in forcing houses at least until the first show of colour).

Every ‘Gentse azalea’ producer must comply with the standards laid down by the Azalea Quality Project (Project Azalea Kwaliteit, PAK). The PAK is intended to maintain the high quality of the ‘Gentse azalea’ and is a way of guaranteeing that quality. By signing a quality charter and receiving a participant number and a PAK number, each and every registered company undertakes to comply with the quality standards laid down by the PAK. Registered azalea growers keep a crop information sheet for each batch until the plants are ready for sale. The crop information sheet guarantees that the growing method and quality standards have been applied. When ‘green’ azaleas are shipped to the forcer, they are accompanied by the crop information sheet for the batch in question and a PAK sticker showing their PAK number. Plants that are ready for sale are labelled by the grower or the trader/forcer with the label described in point 4.8 before leaving the company.

4.5. Method of production: For the ‘Gentse azalea’, the entire cultivation process (from the propagation of cuttings to the production of a plant that is able to bear flowers) takes place within the geographical area defined in point 4.3.

The ‘Gentse azalea’ is propagated by taking cuttings or by grafting onto other rootstock. The cuttings are immediately covered with a plastic sheet. Undersoil heating then increases the temperature of the propagation substrate to 23-25 °C.

During cultivation, the tops of the plants need to be pinched out regularly. This involves removing the top part of the sprig to allow the plant to produce more shoots. The number of times this is done depends on the desired size of the final product. During the first phase of cultivation (up to and including the second time the tops are pinched out), the plants remain under cover. Further cultivation may occur either under cover or in the open air. Once it has reached the desired final diameter, the ‘green’ azalea will finally form buds. For this to happen, the plant must first be exposed to cold temperatures for a certain period of time. Depending on the length of this exposure, Gentse azaleas are classified as very early flowering (from 15 August), early flowering (from 1 December), medium-early flowering (from 15 January) and late flowering (from 15 February). ‘Green’ azaleas are sold when the buds are sufficiently mature. The standards laid down as part of the Azalea Quality Project apply to both ‘green’ and flowering azaleas. Flowering azaleas are obtained through forcing. This is done by exposing the sufficiently mature plants to a temperature of at least 20 °C, watering them regularly and, in many cases, using artificial lighting. They are sold from the first show of colour or the ‘candle-flame’ stage.

4.6. Link: This application for recognition of the ‘Gentse azalea’ is based on the reputation of the product. However, the characteristic cultivation of the ‘Gentse azalea’ came about through a combination of historical, natural and human factors.

Over the past two centuries, the Ghent region became the hub of azalea cultivation and trade in Western Europe. Research in this area, the dissemination of information and the supply sector are also concentrated in the region.

The development of azalea cultivation in the geographical area in question was due not only to historical circumstances but also to natural factors. The region around Ghent has a temperate maritime climate that is well suited to azalea growing. Azaleas also need permeable soil. They were primarily grown in a substrate of pine-needle and leaf litter, which was available in the region.

The Ghent master gardener Judocus Huytens first brought azaleas to the region from England in 1774, but Azalea indica was actually brought over from England in 1808 by Captain Welbanck. A key factor in the success of the azalea was the founding of the Ghent Agricultural and Botanical Society in 1808.

The reputation of the ‘Gentse azalea’ is shown by the following:

The first azalea was exhibited by Baron Du Bois de Vroeylande at an exhibition held on 6 February 1819. A big flower show, judged by an international jury, has been held every five years since 1839. It is still going today and enjoys worldwide fame as the ‘Gentse Floraliën’.

Louis Van Houtte was a pioneer of ‘Gentse azalea’ growing, as he perfected the growing technique and his work in the field of selection and breeding resulted in various new shapes and colours being developed. His first catalogue was published in 1839 and already included 97 varieties of Azalea indica.

On 17 May 1869, the ‘Gentse azalea’ was exhibited at the St Petersburg Flower Show in Russia.

Azalea cultivation became so important for the region around Ghent that a periodical dedicated exclusively to azaleas, entitled Iconographie des azalées de l'Inde (Iconography of Indian azaleas), was launched in 1881.

In 1893, Georges Truffaut wrote in his Étude sur la culture et la végétation de l'Azalea Indica (Study on the cultivation and vegetation of Azalea indica): ‘The most important centres of azalea cultivation are to be found in Belgium, particularly in the region around the town of Ghent’.

In 1938, a postage stamp bearing an azalea was issued in Ghent on the occasion of a three-day azalea exhibition that ran from 17 to 19 December.

Various publications testify to the fact that growers strove to achieve the greatest possible variety of colours and shapes. In the ‘Landbouwtijdschrift’ (Journal of Agriculture) published in October 1954, F. Peeters wrote: ‘Azalea cultivation, for which Ghent is famous, is practised by numerous horticulturalists. They grow a large number of varieties, which differ in terms of colour and shape …’

4.7. Inspection body:

Name: Federale Overheidsdienst Economie, K.M.O., Middenstand en Energie Algemene Directie Controle en Bemiddeling Tweede Afdeling Gespecialiseerde Diensten, Sectie A Controles Uitgaven EOGFL en Marktordening Address: WTC III Simon Bolivarlaan 30 B-1000 Brussel Tel. (32-2) 208 40 40 Fax (32-2) 208 39 75 E-mail: Dirk.Demaeseneer@economie.fgov.be

4.8. Labelling: A label displaying the indication ‘Gentse azalea’, the European PGI symbol and the PAK number is affixed to the plants.

(1) OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.