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Preface To The 2020 Edition of The ISTA Rules
Preface To The 2020 Edition of The ISTA Rules
Since 2014, the International Rules for Seed Testing Details of changes
(ISTA Rules) are primarily available in electronic form
only. The ISTA Rules can be downloaded as a complete The 2020 changes are editorial corrections or Rules
PDF file or as individual chapters from: changes adopted at the Ordinary General Meeting held
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ista/rules at Hyderabad, India, in June 2019. Edits were made in
If required, users of the ISTA Rules can print their own Adobe InDesign by Vanessa Sutcliffe of HeartWood Edi-
copies. For further information on the ISTA Rules, see: torial (www.heartwoodeditorial.co.uk).
http://www.seedtest.org/rules The changes in the text content from the previous
The electronic version includes the English, French, edition of the ISTA Rules are listed below. They can be
German and Spanish versions of the ISTA Rules. If there displayed as yellow highlighted text as a ‘layer’ within
are any questions on interpretation of the ISTA Rules, the the electronic copy with comments on what has changed.
English version is the definitive version. For the previous history of amendments to the ISTA
Rules, see the Prefaces for 2003 to 2019 on the ISTA
website.
Seed health testing methods
Ernest Allen, ISTA Rules Committee Chair
Previously, the seed health testing methods were
published as a separate Annexe to Chapter 7 of the ISTA Susan Alvarez, ISTA Rules Committee Vice-Chair
Rules. They are now available as separate method sheets
from the ISTA web site at: ISTA Secretariat
http://www.seedtest.org/seedhealthmethods
2.5.2.2.3: Revision requested by BSC for readability and Proposal supported by a validation study done within
to remove the part that the spoon method is the rec- the Germination Committee.
ommended method for seed health testing. Proposal Table 5A Part 1: Organic growing media added as
discussed by BSC and approved by vote. a primary media for the germination of Phaseolus
2.5.4.2.1: Festuca trachyphylla was erroneously omitted vulgaris. Proposal supported by a validation study
from the Species group 2 list some years ago. It was done within the Germination Committee.
part of the experiment and should be included. Table 5A Part 1: The Germination Committee has con-
2.5.4.4: Editorial change requested by BSC to correct er- ducted a validation study on Zea mays to compare
roneous reference; approved by BSC by vote. the results obtained with TP method using CCP, to
Table 2C (formerly 2A): Updates to nomenclature as a the results obtained with the other ISTA approved
result of changes to the ISTA List of Stabilised Plant substrates.
Names. Table 5A Part 3: Germination method moved from Ta-
Table 2C (formerly 2A) Part 3: Lot sizes and sample ble 5A Part 2 to Part 3 for Malva sylvestris, as this is
sizes moved from Table 2C (formerly 2A) Part 2 to not a woody species.
Part 3 for Malva sylvestris, as this is not a woody Table 5A Part 3: Germination methods for Salvia
species. hispanica included in the Rules, following validation
Table 2C (formerly 2A) Part 3: Inclusion of Salvia studies carried out within the Germination Committee.
hispanica L. to the ISTA Rules; proposed sample and
maximum seed lot size submitted to BSC by Purity Chapter 6
Committee based on thousand-seed weight determi-
nations. Discussed by the members of BSC and ap- Table 6A: Updates to nomenclature as a result of chang-
proved by vote. es to the ISTA List of Stabilised Plant Names.
Chapter 3 Chapter 7
3.2.3: Editorial change required due to species in Taxo- Table 7A: Updates to nomenclature as a result of chang-
diaceae being absorbed into Cupressaceae. Correc- es to the ISTA List of Stabilised Plant Names.
tions approved by Nomenclature Committee. Method 7-019a: Addition of Xanthomas campestris
Table 3B Parts 1 and 2: Updates to nomenclature as a pv. raphani in the plating assay as the pathovars are
result of changes to the ISTA List of Stabilised Plant undistinguishable on the semi-selective media used.
Names. Inclusion of a process flow diagram in Background
section to reflect optional and mandatory steps in the
Chapter 4 method. Proposal approved by a vote of Seed Health
TCOM and supported by the Committee.
Throughout Chapter, Phelipanche added where Method 7-025: Improvements to the description of the
Orobanche is mentioned, with the assumption that the method and detailed descriptions of nematode iden-
9.2.5.1: References corrected and optimised where need- 15.8.4.4.1: Removal of requirement for a control seed lot
ed; an additional reference is added, and it is stressed for the radicle emergence (RE) test. Following their
that the correct sample size shall be used and where experience with the test, the Vigour Committee be-
to find it. Proposal approved by Moisture Committee. lieves that when the test is completed following the
9.2.5.1, 9.2.5.2, 9.2.5.4 and 9.2.5.5: Changes to time prescribed ISTA Rules protocol, the use of a control
limits for drawing working samples; time limits are seed lot is not necessary.
given for mixing, grinding, cutting and drawing the
working sample separately. Proposal approved by Chapter 18
Moisture Committee.
Table 9A: Updates to nomenclature as a result of chang- 18.8: Editorial change to ‘Reporting results’. As a gen-
es to the ISTA List of Stabilised Plant Names. eral principle, any statement of the applicant may
9.3.2.4.1: Addition of requirement for storing the re- be reported only in the space reserved for applicant
mainder of the submitted sample for moisture using statements/declarations. This space is reserved at
moisture meters; addition of the same requirement to the top of the ISTA certificate under ‘Stated by ap-
storing time as for the submitted sample using the oven plicant’. Therefore, the components of seed mixtures
method. Proposal approved by Moisture Committee. as reported by the applicant cannot be reported under
‘Analysis results’ as this space is reserved for labora-
Chapter 15 tory results obtained by an ISTA laboratory through
seed testing.
15.3 and Table 15B: Addition of Triticum aestivum to 18.8.1: Clarification on how to report purity content of
the radicle emergence (RE) test, following a method seed mixtures (i.e. the percentage by weight of pure
validation study illustrating that the test identifies dif- seed, inert matter, and other seeds).
ferences in vigour (field emergence) of seed lots of
this species and is repeatable and reproducible.
Preface to the 2020 Edition of the ISTA Rules