Several Australian entities promote certified or high health grape vine propagation material....
Current protocols for Certified planting material include:
A Certified Source Block’s clonal identity can be established with an audit trail to the supplier of the Source Block planting marerial. Prior to 2002 the then existing “A” Class system is recognised as “certified” assuming that the source block meets all the other criteria.
A Certified Source Block is established with generation 1 or 2 vine material, to maintain genetic stability.
Certified cutting material is harvested from a generation 1 or 2 Certified Source Block.
Certified Source Block procedure is audited annually by independent auditors to maintain integrity and compliance with recognised QAS procedures.
Vinifera: Annually, random vines from Certified Source Blocks are sampled and ELISA tested, using industry recognised facilities such as the Waite Institute in South Australia (and others). The ELISA results must be negative for Leafroll Type 1 and 3 for the Source Block to maintain Certification status.
Rootstocks: Annually, random vines from Certified Source Blocks are sampled and PCR tested, using industry recognised facilities such as the Waite Institute in South Australia (and Others). The PCR results must be negative for Leafroll type 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, GVA, GVB, and GVD to maintain Certified status. Future technology should make it possible to exclude additional disease causing viruses from the certified stock including the casual agents of fleck and rupestris stem pitting.
Certified planting material is produced by an accredited nursery.
The Australian Grape and Wine Industry has for several years now expressed an interest in formulating an Australian Quality Standards Scheme (Vine Assurance). The proposal is intended to facilitate a transperant concensus process for an agreed vine Standars.
This proposal will likely absorb the current Certified Material and expand the Standard to include vine material tracability from import, through quarantine, labelling,chain of custody, repository, primary multiplication nuclear collection, field multiplication (source block) and nursery.
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