INDUSTRIAL HEMP (CANNABIS SATIVA L. SUBSP. SATIVA) CERTIFICATION STANDARDS

• APPLICATION OF GENETIC CERTIFICATION STANDARDS
• The general requirements for seed certification found in Section I through IV of the Genetic and Crop Standards apply to (are basic) all crops, and together with the following specific standards, constitute the certified Industrial Hemp standards.
• The Genetic Standards are modified as follows:
• All production of industrial hemp crops are subject to license application approval that may be required by regulatory authorities.
• Only varieties of industrial hemp approved by regulatory authorities are eligible for certification.
• The allowable area of an industrial hemp research area or production field may be determined by state or local agencies.
• Growers is required by regulatory agencies to obtain THC test results according to applicable regulations. Growers is required to submit these results to the seed certifying agency before a crop certificate is issued.

• LAND REQUIREMENTS

A.    Hemp crops for Foundation and Registered classes must not be grown on land which in any of the preceding 3 years produced a crop of industrial hemp.
B.    Hemp crops for Certified classes must not be grown on land which:
1.   In the preceding year produced a certified crop of the same variety.
2.   In either of the preceding 2 years produced a non-certified crop of industrial hemp or a different variety of industrial hemp.
C.    Weeds
1.   The presence of Broomrape (Orobanche spp.) in industrial hemps crops is cause for declining certified status.

•  FIELD STANDARDS
• Crop Inspection
• It is the grower’s responsibility to ensure that fields are inspected by an authorized inspector at least once prior to swathing or harvesting, except in the case of Foundation, Registered, and Certified monoecious types and unisexual hybrids and Foundation dioecious types, in which 2 inspections are required.
• A field that is cut, swathed or harvested prior to crop inspection is not eligible for certification.
• Fields must be inspected at a stage of growth when varietal purity is best determined. Crops not inspected at the proper stage for best determining varietal purity may be cause for declining certified status.
• First inspection for all classes of monoecious types must be made just before or at early flowering. First inspection for all classes of dioecious types must be made after flowering when male plants are beginning to senesce.
• Second inspection for all classes of monoecious types, and the Foundation class of dioecious types must be made when seeds are well forming.
• Isolation areas will be inspected for volunteer industrial hemp plants on each inspection.

B.    Isolation
1.   The area, density, stage of maturity and location of any contaminating pollen source is an important factor in cross pollination, and therefore must be noted on the Seed Crop Inspection Report for consideration in determining certification status. There shall not be any Cannabis sativa L. plants within 100 m of the crop and not more than 10 plants/ha beyond 100 m within the isolation requirement.
2.   The required isolation must be present prior to flowering and crop inspection.

Table 1 –
Minimum Isolation Distances Required Between Inspected Industrial Hemp and Other Crops
        

C.    Impurity Standards

• Impurities should be removed prior to crop inspection.
• Any combination of impurities may be reason for declining certified status. 
• Table 2 indicates the maximum number of impurities permitted by AOSCA in approximately 10,000 plants of the inspected crop. The inspector makes at least 6 counts (10,000 plants each) or the equivalent to determine the number of impurities. The resulting average of these counts must not exceed the maximum impurity standards in Table 2

            Table 2 - Maximum Impurity Standards

IV.       SEED STANDARDS
Industrial Hemp Seed Standards
Standards for Each Class

Factor                                                                      Foundation              Registered               Certified
Pure seed (minimum)                                              98.00%                    98.00%                    98.00%
Inert matter (maximum)*                                         2.00%                      2.00%                      2.00%
Weed seeds (maximum)                                          0.10%                      0.10%                      0.10%
Total other crop seeds (maximum)                          0.01%                      0.03%                      0.08%
Other varieties (maximum)                                      0.005%                    0.01%                      0.05%
Other kinds (maximum)**                                      0.01%                      0.03%                      0.07%
Germination (minimum)                                          80.00%                    80.00%                    80.00%
*Inert matter shall not include more than 0.5 per cent of material other than seed fragments of the variety under consideration.
**Other kinds shall not exceed 2 per lb. (454 grams) for Foundation; 6 for Registered; 10 for Certified.
Guidelines for the Production of Certified Industrial Hemp Seed 

• Definitions
• Industrial Hemp (Cannabis sativa L. supsp.sativa.) includes varieties of these kinds:
• Dioecious type: with male and female flowers on separate plants.
• Monoecious type: with male and female flowers on the same plant.
• (Unisexual Female) Hybrids: with sterile male and fertile female flowers on the same plant.
• “Approved Cultivar” means any variety designated as eligible for production by federal or local regulatory authorities

“THC” means delta-nine (D9) tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the component of Industrial Hemp regulated by federal or local regulatory authorities.

• Although traditionally a crop with a Dioecious plant type, many Monoecious varieties of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L. supsp.sativa) have been developed. Industrial hemp is sexually polymorphic and often produces many different ratios of intersexual plant types that can increase roguing requirements. Variety descriptions normally define these ratios.
• Foundation Seed Production

Any means of processing or conditioning of seed from a Foundation production area which may contaminate the varietal purity of the seed is prohibited.
Area of Foundation Fields
When unforeseen circumstances do not permit proper maintenance of the entire field, it is recommended that the area be reduced by destroying part of the field or by isolating a part to meet the requirements of a lower status of certified seed. The remainder of the field must meet the requirements for Foundation field production.
The area of a Foundation field includes the “walkways” provided within the field to facilitate effective roguing.

• Recommended Production Procedures

Field Planting

•   Fields should be planted to facilitate inspection, roguing and harvesting.
•   Fields should be planted in areas easily accessible for frequent maintenance and to provide the maximum protection from outside sources of contamination, such as roadways and building sites.
•   Regulations for land requirements are minimum standards and caution is necessary in choosing land, as volunteer growth from previous crops may vary according to local conditions.
•   The regulations for isolation are minimum standards. It is always to the grower’s advantage to provide more isolation than required. When planting Foundation fields, specific requirements may influence the location and size of the field. It is a safeguard if adjacent crops are the same variety as the field and are inspected for certified status.

Roguing

•   The field must be thoroughly and intensively rogued many times throughout the crop season.
•   Off-type male flowers must be removed before the receptive stage of female flowers in the inspected crop.
•   The numbers and kinds of plants removed should be recorded and described on the appropriate forms.
•   All male flowers rogued from the crop must be removed from the production area and burial is recommended.
•   Regrowth of rogued flowers or plants must be prevented.

Harvesting, Cleaning and Storing

•   A seed grower should have access to the necessary equipment for harvesting and cleaning the seed from the field in such a manner as to ensure that the varietal purity of the seed is maintained.
•   The seed should be stored, in compliance with federal or local regulations, in a clean, cool, dry area.
•   The seed containers should be labelled for identification. 

It is recommended that not more than one variety of Industrial Hemp be grown under the management of one grower.