2016 AOSA Rules Change Proposals
The following 17 proposals for changes and/or additions to the AOSA Rules for Testing Seeds have been reviewed and approved by the Rules Committee for further consideration by the AOSA and SCST membership at the 2016 AOSA/SCST Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. Please note that “approved” does not mean that the Rules Committee or its members endorse these proposals.
You will find the proposals and supporting evidence in the accompanying PDF documents. Hard copies may be printed from these files.
Proposals are published in February for distribution to any interested parties within both public and private sectors prior to the 2016 annual meeting. These proposals are posted online at the Rules Committee webpage.
Names and addresses of proposal authors are included to contact them directly for additional information concerning a particular proposal. Written comments from AOSA/SCST members, and other interested parties may be submitted to the Rules Committee Chair any time prior to the annual meeting. These comments will be made available at the Open Rules Discussion.
Please note: Time will be available during the Open Rules Committee Meeting to discuss each proposal. All proposal amendments will be completed during the Open Rules Discussion. No amendments will be allowed from the floor during the joint voting session. Check the agenda for meeting dates and times. Please bring your own hard copy of the 2016 proposals with you to the annual meeting, as additional copies of the proposals will not be provided.
Proposal 1: To eliminate the use of the Multiple Unit Procedure in fine fescues (Festuca spp.) as described in the AOSA Rules, Vol. 1.
Download PDF | Supporting Evidence | Support Letter | Support Letters
Proposal 2: To eliminate rounding the estimated working weight of a seed mixture to the nearest one-fourth gram and to standardize how to round the minimum working sample weight for a seed mixture and for kinds not listed in Table 2A (Vol. 1).
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Proposal 3: To clarify the process of dividing the submitted sample to obtain the working sample. (Vol. 1)
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Proposal 4: To add Virginia wildrye (Elymus virginicus) AOSA Rules, Vol. 1, Table 2A and to assign a pure seed unit definition for this species.
Download PDF | Supporting Evidence
Proposal 5: To add two new Elymus species (PSU, Purity and Noxious-weed seed exam minimum weights, and approximate number of seeds per gram and ounce) to the AOSA Rules Vol. 1, Table 2A.
Download PDF | Supporting Evidence
Proposal 6: To add germination standards for two new Elymus species to the AOSA Rules Vol. 1, Table 6A.
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Proposal 7: To harmonize the list of sensitive species used for phytotoxicity testing in the AOSA Rules, Volumes 1 and 4.
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Proposal 8: To require that the minimum official sample size for vegetable and flower seed (as categorized by the AOSA Rules Vol. 3) shall consist of at least 800 seeds when seed is in containers greater than 5 pounds. (Vol. 1 Section 1.4)
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Proposal 9: To address the issue of evaluating decay at the point of attachment of the cotyledons and terminal bud decay for all applicable species. (Vol. 4)
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Proposal 10: To expand the definition for the symbol “P” in Table 6A to allow for clear containers other than petri dishes to be utilized, and to simply require that the media used must provide adequate moisture during the test period. (Vol. 1)
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Proposal 11: To modify the text under ‘Moisture and aeration’, stressing the importance of adequate seed-to-media contact to allow for adequate and timely seed imbibition. (Vol. 1)
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Proposal 12: To define and add Agar (plant culturing media) as a substratum (Vol.1)
Download PDF | Supporting Evidence | Supporting Evidence | Supporting Evidence
Proposal 13: To permit prepared Agar (plant culturing media) to be used as a primary germination test media for tomato, Solanum lycopersicum var. lycopersicum (Vol. 1)
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Proposal 14: To clarify and modify the seedling evaluation criteria for Asteraceae I, lettuce, in the AOSA Rules Vol. 4.
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Proposal 15: To clarify use of Tables 14I and 14J for all germination test components (Vol. 1)
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Proposal 16: To clarify the rounding procedure for germination test results. (Vol. 1)
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Proposal 17: To replace the current AOSA formula to determine the proportions of annual and perennial ryegrass in the pure (ryegrass) seed component from the purity analysis based on the fluorescence test (AOSA Rules, Vol. 1).