2 CAR § 34-103 – Requirements for becoming a state-licensed plant breeder

(a) Any person wishing to secure a license as a plant breeder shall first apply to the State Plant Board for a Qualification Data Sheet, which must be filled out in complete detail and returned to the Director of the State Plant Board, who shall place on file said data sheet and keep it available for reference at all times.
(b) Only such persons bearing a reputation for honesty, competency, and fair dealing will be favorably considered as applicants.
(c) In order to obtain a certificate as a state-licensed plant breeder, all persons applying to the board for seed registration will be required to appear before the director at a designated time and place, and stand a written examination on the scientific principles and economic phases of plant breeding, the questions to be made out and graded by the Agronomy Department, College of Agriculture and Home Economics, University of Arkansas.
(d)
1. (1) In case any person applied to the board for a certificate who, operating a well-established seed-breeding unit regularly, has in his or her employment under contract (a copy of which must be furnished to the director) one (1) or more technically trained plant breeders, only the employed plant breeder shall take the examination.
2. (2) The certificate, if granted, shall be issued in the name of the applicant, but the name of the plant breeder passing the required examination must appear thereon.
(e) A grade of seventy-five (75) will be considered a passing grade, and any person making such a mark or above shall, when he or she has complied with all other requirements and produced a commercial quantity of foundation or registered seed, be issued a certificate as a licensed plant breeder, and be entitled to purchase a sufficient number of foundation or registered seed tags to cover the production of seed from the acreage that has passed all requirements.
(f)
1. (1) Provided, that in addition to passing the written examination the applicant shall maintain a breeding program which shall be under the observation of the director for a period of three (3) years, and if at the end of that time the methods used and the results obtained are scientific and worthy, then the certificate shall be issued.
2. (2) Or provided that the applicant shall employ one (1) or more qualified plant breeders who shall have a master’s or doctoral degree in plant breeding, and only the employed plant breeder shall take the examination, and as soon as a breeding program is started the certificate shall be issued.
3. (3) In addition to the name of the applicant, the name of the breeder shall appear on the certificate.
4. (4) And provided that, if for any reason the applicant's breeding program in any crop shall be discontinued, then the certificate covering that crop shall be revoked.
5. (5) Also, any person having a doctorate degree in plant breeding and three (3) years’ experience would not be required to take the examination.
(g) Any person passing the written examination or the field observations will not be required to pass an additional examination, unless the certificate should be revoked, or his or her crop should fail for a period to pass the necessary field inspection.
(h) Foundation seeds shall be produced only by a person holding a certificate from the board, entitling said person to be officially designated as a licensed breeder (name of crop to be inserted in blank as said person may qualify).
(i)
1. (1) Any person seeking a certificate as a producer of foundation or registered seed must own or control land necessary in the breeding and production of seed of high purity and excellence.
2. (2) If the said person does not own his or her land, it will be necessary to furnish the director with copies of all contracts or their equivalent, showing actual possession of the land.
(j)
1. (1)
  1. (A) All seed eligible for foundation class and which is registered in the name of any person shall be his or her own or his or her employed plant breeder's selection, except that a licensed plant breeder may obtain breeder seed of the crop for which he or she is licensed from another licensed plant breeder, the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, or the United States Department of Agriculture, and produce foundation seed from this material, provided he or she has written approval from the organization releasing the variety concerned.
  2. (B) In emergency cases where there is no source of foundation seed of a variety still in demand, any licensed plant breeder may be permitted to take the variety for purification, if necessary, and subsequently produce foundation seed.
2. (2) Approval of new varieties.
  1. (A) Those varieties (and hybrids) approved by the State Plant Board in cooperation with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Arkansas will be eligible for certification.
  2. (B) Approval shall be based on:
(i)
(a) (a) The variety must possess superior germplasm.
(b) (b) That is, the performance of the variety or hybrids in the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station or other suitable tests (minimum of three (3) years) is such that it will compare favorably with the varieties of the crop group now recommended by the University of Arkansas for commercial production in the state;
1. (ii) Blends, varietal mixtures, and mass crosses are not acceptable;
  1. (iii) Varieties produced under a recognized name outside of the state are not eligible for certification in the state under another name (same germplasm used);
    1. (iv) In addition to the above, the following conditions must be met:
(a) (a) If the variety is a pure line selection, the variety or material from which the selection was made must be indicated;
(b)
1. (1) (b)(1) If the variety resulted from hybridization, the application must state who made the cross.
2. (2) (2) If the line originated from a source other than the applicant's breeding nursery, a copy of written approval for use of the material from which the line was derived must accompany the application;
  1. (c) (c) The name must be satisfactory;
    1. (d) (d) The variety must be phenotypically different or possess some characteristics such as plant height, grain color, or disease resistance, etc., which will identify it from known varieties; and
(e) (e) The variety must be uniform in simply inherited plant and seed characters.
(k) Any licensed plant breeder may have produced for him or her, under contract and under his or her direct supervision, his or her registered seed, provided that each unit under contract must comply with rules specified hereafter under specific rules of the various crops.
1. (l) No person who has been granted a certificate as a licensed plant breeder shall be allowed to advertise the fact without designating in all such advertising material the crop or crops that certificate is granted for.