Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 2 - Agriculture and Commerce › Part 1 - Rules of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce › Subpart 3 - Bureau of Plant Industry › Chapter 01 - Plant Diseases, Insects and Weeds › Regulations Governing Certification Of Mississippi Seed Sweet Potatoes And Plants › Section 2-1-3-01-124.05 - Inspection requirements

Current through June 25, 2024
1. Two or more
					 inspections, while growing in the field, must be made of sweet potatoes;
					 provided that only one inspection is required of varieties, which are known to
					 be highly resistant to sweet potato diseases. One or more inspections shall be
					 made of all seed sweet potatoes in storage and one or more plant bed
					 inspections.
2. All fields worked
					 with the same implements and teams shall be considered as one property for the
					 purpose of certification or determination of the proper grade. Areas separated
					 by roads, fences or other barriers which the district entomologist considers
					 satisfactory shall be considered separate fields and the finding of any disease
					 whatever in any field shall prevent any sweet potatoes produced on that
					 property from being classed as Grade A. If more than 50% of the sweet potato
					 acreage of a property fails to pass inspection, the entire property shall be
					 condemned, unless special conditions exist, which in the judgment of the
					 district entomologist warrant the certification of a smaller percentage of the
					 acreage.
3. The storage house or
					 other place, if previously used for storing sweet potatoes, shall be thoroughly
					 cleaned and disinfected before the new crop is stored.
4. If certified seed are stored in a building
					 with other sweet potatoes, they must be separated by a solid wall or walls from
					 all other potatoes. The grower must make such arrangements as are necessary for
					 the seed sweet potatoes to be easily accessible for inspection, or no
					 inspection for certification will be made.
5. The finding of black rot, scurf, soil rot,
					 or nematodes on any sweet potatoes in a storage house or other place where seed
					 potatoes are stored will prevent any potatoes therein from being classed as
					 Grade A.
6. At bedding time, seed
					 sweet potatoes shall be carefully handculled, discarding all potatoes showing
					 black rot, scurf, soil rot, or other diseases, and then treated with a
					 disinfectant approved by the Bureau of Plant Industry. If an old bedding
					 location is used, all of the old soil must be removed and hauled away from the
					 bedding site and the remaining soil treated with a formaldehyde solution
					 prepared by mixing 1 gallon of 40 percent formaldehyde solution in 50 gallons
					 of water and approximately 1 gallon of the diluted mixture applied to each
					 square foot of soil. All of the framing of the bed should be thoroughly soaked
					 also. The treated area should be covered with wet sacks and kept wet for a
					 period of 48 hours. The sacks should then be removed and the soil allowed to
					 dry for approximately 10 days to 2 weeks. A temperature of approximately
					 degrees F or above will be needed for aeration, and a temperature of 50 degrees
					 F or above is necessary for application of the chemical for best results. After
					 treatment is completed, new soil should be placed back in the bed from a
					 noncontaminated source.
7. Plants
					 must be produced from certified seed which has been inspected, handculled, and
					 disinfected as prescribed. Failure to disinfect seed at bedding shall make
					 plants ineligible for certification and issuance of certificate tags and tape.
					 If it is discovered after the issuance of tags and tape, such tags and tape
					 will be recalled.
8. The location
					 and material of the plant beds must be approved by a Bureau of Plant Industry
					 district entomologist. If lumber used in the construction of the beds has been
					 previously used for the same purpose, it must be thoroughly disinfected by
					 being allowed to soak for at least thirty minutes in a solution of copper
					 sulphate, one pound in 25 gallons of water or the formaldehyde solution
					 mentioned in paragraph 5 above, or other disinfectant approved by the Bureau of
					 Plant Industry.
9. Whenever black
					 rot or soil rot is found in sweet potatoes in storage on any property, the
					 handculling, disinfection and bedding of such potatoes shall be done under the
					 supervision of a Bureau of Plant Industry district entomologist. All plants
					 produced on such properties or from such seed must be dipped in a Bordeaux
					 mixture composed of 20 pounds hydrated lime, 20 pounds copper sulphate
					 (bluestone) and 50 gallons water, or other disinfectant approved by the Bureau
					 of Plant Industry.
10. All tools
					 needed in the construction of plant beds, and which have previously come in
					 contact with materials used in old beds, shall be dipped in a solution of the
					 copper sulphate or other approved solution.
11. Beds generally infected with black rot,
					 stem rot, or other serious disease will be condemned and sale of plants
					 prohibited.
12. If black rot or
					 stem rot is found in a limited portion of a bed, the infected potatoes and the
					 soil covering them, and the soil and potatoes not less than two feet from the
					 outermost limits of the infection in all directions must be removed form the
					 infected bed under the supervision of a district entomologist of the Bureau of
					 Plant Industry and the spot from which soil and potatoes were removed
					 thoroughly disinfected with a solution of copper sulphate prepared by using 1
					 pound of copper sulphate in 25 gallons of water; or by soaking the affected
					 area with formaldehyde using one quart of formaldehyde in 12 gallons of water.
					 Keep the affected area covered with wet sacks for a period of 48 hours. All
					 plants sold thereafter from the grower's bed must be dipped in the 20-20-50
					 Bordeaux mixture previously mentioned, or other disinfectant approved by the
					 Bureau of Plant Industry.
13. If a
					 plant grower beds both Grade A and Mississippi Certified seed potatoes, all of
					 the plants certified for him shall be Mississippi Certified Grade.
14. Where more than one variety of sweet
					 potatoes are grown, each variety must be separated in the field a distance of
					 at least fifteen (15) feet, and stored separately in storage and bedded in
					 separate beds. If found mixed in field, storage, or seed beds, such mixtures
					 shall automatically cause the potatoes to be classed as Mississippi Certified
					 Grade and certificate tags issued as mixed varieties.
15. Anyone not growing certified seed, but
					 who wished to sell plants may purchase certified seed from a certified grower
					 and bed them. At time of purchase, he must obtain from the certified grower a
					 certificate tag as proof of source of seed, so the source of seed and bedding
					 location may be approved by a district entomologist of the Bureau of Plant
					 Industry. Such plant grower would be subject to the same requirements of other
					 growers outlined in this regulation.