The Florida Senate

578.011  Definitions; Florida Seed Law.--When used in this chapter, the term:

(1)  "Advertisement" means all representations, other than those on the label, disseminated in any manner or by any means, relating to seed within the scope of this law.

(2)  "Agricultural seed" includes the seed of grass, forage, cereal and fiber crops, and chufas and any other seed commonly recognized within the state as agricultural or field seed and mixtures of such seed.

(3)  "Breeder seed" means seed that are released directly from the breeder or experiment station that develops the seed. These seed are one class above foundation seed.

(4)  "Certified seed," "registered seed," and "foundation seed" mean seed that have been produced and labeled in accordance with the procedures and in compliance with the rules and regulations of any agency authorized by the laws of this state or the laws of another state.

(5)  "Date of test" means the month and year the percentage of germination appearing on the label was obtained by laboratory test.

(6)  "Dealer" means any person who sells or offers for sale any agricultural, vegetable, flower, or forest tree seed for seeding purposes, and includes farmers who sell cleaned, processed, packaged, and labeled seed.

(7)  "Department" means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services or its authorized representative.

(8)  "Dormant seed" refers to seed, other than hard seed, which neither germinate nor decay during the prescribed test period and under the prescribed test conditions.

(9)  "Flower seed" includes seed of herbaceous plants grown for blooms, ornamental foliage, or other ornamental parts, and commonly known and sold under the name of flower seed in this state.

(10)  "Forest tree seed" includes seed of woody plants commonly known and sold as forest tree seed.

(11)  "Germination" means the percentage of seed capable of producing normal seedlings under ordinarily favorable conditions. Broken seedlings and weak, malformed and obviously abnormal seedlings shall not be considered to have germinated.

(12)  "Hard seed" means the percentage of seed which because of hardness or impermeability did not absorb moisture or germinate under prescribed tests but remain hard during the period prescribed for germination of the kind of seed concerned.

(13)  "Hybrid" means the first generation seed of a cross produced by controlling the pollination and by combining:

(a)  Two or more inbred lines;

(b)  One inbred or a single cross with an open-pollinated variety; or

(c)  Two varieties or species, except open-pollinated varieties of corn (Zea mays).

The second generation or subsequent generations from such crosses shall not be regarded as hybrids. Hybrid designations shall be treated as variety names.

(14)  "Inert matter" includes broken seed when one-half in size or less; seed of legumes or crucifers with the seed coats removed; undeveloped and badly injured weed seed such as sterile dodder which, upon visual examination, are clearly incapable of growth; empty glumes of grasses; attached sterile glumes of grasses (which must be removed from the fertile glumes except in Rhodes grass); dirt, stone, chaff, nematode, fungus bodies, and any matter other than seed.

(15)  "Kind" means one or more related species or subspecies which singly or collectively is known by one common name; e.g., corn, beans, lespedeza.

(16)  "Labeling" includes all labels and other written, printed, or graphic representations, in any form, accompanying and pertaining to any seed, whether in bulk or in containers, and includes invoices and other bills of shipment when sold in bulk.

(17)  "Lot of seed" means a definite quantity of seed identified by a lot number or other identification, every portion or bag of which is uniform, for the factors which appear in the labeling, within permitted tolerances.

(18)  "Mixed" or "mixture" means seed consisting of more than one kind or variety, each present in excess of 5 percent of the whole.

(19)  "Origin" means the state, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or possession of the United States, or the foreign country where the seed were grown, except for forest tree seed, with respect to which the term "origin" means the county or state forest service seed collection zone and the state where the seed were grown.

(20)  "Other crop seed" includes all seed of plants grown in this state as crops, other than the kind or kind and variety included in the pure seed, when not more than 5 percent of the whole of a single kind or variety is present, unless designated as weed seed.

(21)  "Processing" means conditioning, cleaning, scarifying, or blending to obtain uniform quality and other operations which would change the purity or germination of the seed and, therefore, require retesting to determine the quality of the seed.

(22)  "Prohibited noxious weed seed" means the seed and bulblets of perennial weeds such as not only reproduce by seed or bulblets, but also spread by underground roots or stems and which, when established, are highly destructive and difficult to control in this state by ordinary good cultural practice.

(23)  "Pure seed" includes all seed of the kind or kind and variety or strain under consideration, whether shriveled, cracked, or otherwise injured, and pieces of broken seed larger than one-half the original size.

(24)  "Record" includes the symbol identifying the seed as to origin, amount, processing, testing, labeling and distribution, file sample of the seed, and any other document or instrument pertaining to the purchase, sale, or handling of agricultural, vegetable, flower, or forest tree seed.

(25)  "Restricted noxious weed seed" means the seed of such weeds as are very objectionable in fields, lawns, or gardens of this state, but can be controlled by good cultural practice. Seed of poisonous plants may be included.

(26)  "Stop-sale" means any written or printed notice or order issued by the department to the owner or custodian of any lot of agricultural, vegetable, flower, or forest tree seed in the state, directing the owner or custodian not to sell or offer for sale seed designated by the order within the state until the requirements of this law are complied with and a written release has been issued; except that the seed may be released to be sold for feed.

(27)  "Treated" means that the seed has been given an application of a material or subjected to a process designed to control or repel disease organisms, insects, or other pests attacking seed or seedlings grown therefrom to improve its planting value or to serve any other purpose.

(28)  "Type" means a group of varieties so nearly similar that the individual varieties cannot be clearly differentiated except under special conditions.

(29)  "Variety" means a subdivision of a kind characterized by growth, plant fruit, seed, or other characteristics by which it can be differentiated from other sorts of the same kind; e.g., Whatley's Prolific corn, Bountiful beans, Kobe lespedeza.

(30)  "Vegetable seed" means the seed of those crops which are grown in gardens or on truck farms, and are generally known and sold under the name of vegetable seed in this state.

(31)  "Weed seed" includes the seed of all plants generally recognized as weeds within this state, and includes prohibited and restricted noxious weed seed, bulblets, and tubers.

History.--s. 2, ch. 22694, 1945; s. 1, ch. 57-199; s. 1, ch. 61-436; s. 1, ch. 63-116; ss. 14, 35, ch. 69-106; ss. 1, 2, 3, ch. 69-144; s. 241, ch. 71-377; s. 1, ch. 87-386; s. 22, ch. 92-143.