2015 New Hampshire Revised Statutes
Title XL - AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
Chapter 433 - SEEDS, PLANTS AND NURSERY STOCK
Section 433:1 - Definitions.

    433:1 Definitions. – In this subdivision:
    I. "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 subdivision.
    II. "Agricultural seed'' includes grass, forage, cereal, oil, fiber, and other kinds of crop seeds commonly recognized within this state as agricultural seeds, lawn seeds, and combinations of such seeds, and may include noxious weed seeds when the commissioner determines that such seed is being used as agricultural seed.
    III. "Blend'' means seed consisting of more than one variety of a kind, each in excess of 5 percent by weight of the whole.
    IV. "Brand'' means a word, name, symbol, number, or design used to identify seed of one person to distinguish it from seed of another person.
    V. "Certifying agency'' means an agency:
       (a) Authorized under the laws of a state, territory or possession to officially certify seed and which has standards and procedures approved by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to assure the genetic purity and identity of the seed certified; or
       (b) Of a foreign country determined by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to adhere to procedures and standards for seed certification comparable to those adhered to generally by seed certifying agencies under subparagraph (a).
    VI. "Commissioner'' means the commissioner of agriculture, markets, and food.
    VII. "Complete record'' means any and all information which relates to the origin, treatment, germination, purity, kind and variety of each lot of agricultural seed sold in this state, or which relates to the treatment, germination, kind and variety of each lot of vegetable seed sold in this state. Such information includes seed samples and records of declarations, labels, purchases, sales, conditioning, bulking, treatment, handling, storage, analyses, tests and examinations.
    VIII. "Conditioning'' means drying, cleaning, scarifying, and other operations which could change the purity of germination of the seed and require the seed lot to be retested to determine the label information.
    IX. "Dormant'' means viable seed, excluding hard seed, which fail to germinate when provided the specified germination conditions for the kind of seed in question.
    X. "Flower seeds'' includes seeds of herbaceous plants grown for their blooms, ornamental foliage, or other ornamental parts, and commonly known and sold under the name of flower seeds in this state.
    XI. "Genuine grower's declaration'' means a statement signed by the grower which gives for each lot of seed the lot number; kind; variety, if known; origin; weight; year of production; date of shipment; and to whom the shipment was made.
    XII. "Germination'' means the emergence and development from the seed embryo of those essential structures which, for the kind of seed in question, are indicative of the ability to produce a normal plant under favorable conditions.
    XIII. "Hard seeds'' means seeds which remain hard at the end of the prescribed test period because they have not absorbed water due to an impermeable seed coat.
    XIV. "Hybrid'' means the first generation seed of a cross produced by controlling the pollination and by combining (a) 2 or more inbred lines; (b) one inbred or a single cross with an open pollinated variety; or (c) 2 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.
    XV. "Inert matter'' means all matter not seed, which includes broken seeds, sterile florets, chaff, fungus bodies and stones as determined by methods defined by rules adopted by the commissioner.
    XV-a. "Introduced wildflower'' means kinds, type, and varieties derived from those kinds that are not indigenous to North America.
    XVI. "Kind'' means one or more related species or subspecies which singly or collectively are known by one common name, including, but not limited to, corn, oats, alfalfa, and timothy.
    XVII. "Labeling'' means a tag or other device attached to or written, stamped, or printed on any container or accompanying any lot of bulk seeds purporting to set forth the information required on the seed label by this subdivision. Labeling may include any other information relating to the labeled seed.
    XVIII. "Lot'' means a definite quantity of seed identified by a lot number or other mark, every portion or bag of which is uniform within recognized tolerances for the factors which appear in the labeling.
    XIX. "Mixture,'' "mix,'' or "mixed'' means seed consisting of more than one kind, each in excess of 5 percent by weight of the whole.
    XIX-a. "Mulch'' means a protective covering of any suitable substance placed with seed which acts to retain sufficient moisture to support seed germination and sustain early seedling growth and aid in the prevention of the evaporation of soil moisture, the control of weeds, and the prevention of erosion.
    XIX-b. "Native wildflower'' means kinds or the types and varieties derived from those kinds that are indigenous to North America.
    XX. "Off-type'' means any seed or plant not a part of the variety in that it deviates in one or more characteristics from the variety as described and may include: a seed or plant of another variety, a seed or plant not necessarily any variety, a seed or plant resulting from cross-pollination by another kind or variety, a seed or plant resulting from uncontrolled self-pollination during production of hybrid seed, or segregates from any of the above.
    XXI. "Other crop seed'' means seed of plants grown as crops, other than the kind or variety included in the pure seed.
    XXII. "Origin,'' for an indigenous stand of trees, is the area on which the trees are growing; for a non-indigenous stand, it is the place from which the seeds or plants were originally introduced.
    XXIII. "Person'' means an individual, partnership, corporation, company, association, receiver, trustee or agent.
    XXIV. "Prohibited noxious weed seeds'' means those weed seeds which are prohibited from being present in agricultural, vegetable, flower, tree, or shrub seed. They are the seeds of weeds which are highly destructive and difficult to control by good cultural practices and the use of herbicides.
    XXV. "Pure live seed'' means the product of the percent of germination plus hard or dormant seed multiplied by the percent of pure seed divided by 100. The result is expressed as a whole number.
    XXVI. "Pure seed'' means seed exclusive of inert matter and all other seeds not of the seed being considered, as determined by methods defined by rules adopted by the commissioner.
    XXVII. "Restricted noxious weed seeds'' means those weed seeds which are objectionable in agricultural crops, lawns, and gardens of this state and which can be controlled by good cultural practices or the use of herbicides.
    XXVIII. "Seizure'' means a legal process carried out by court order against a definite amount of seed.
    XXIX. "Stop sale order'' means an administrative order provided by law, restraining the sale, use, disposition, and movement of a definite amount of seed.
    XXX. "Treated'' means that the seed has received an application of a substance, or that it has been subjected to a process for which a claim is made.
    XXXI. "Tree and shrub seeds'' includes seeds of woody plants commonly known and sold as tree and shrub seeds in this state.
    XXXII. "Tree seed collector's declaration'' means a statement signed by a grower or person having knowledge of the place of collection giving, for a lot of seed, the lot number; common or scientific name of the species; subspecies, if appropriate; origin; elevation; and quantity of tree and shrub seed.
    XXXIII. "Type'' means a group of varieties so nearly similar that the individual varieties cannot be clearly differentiated except under special conditions.
    XXXIII-a. "Undesirable grass seeds'' (UGS) means seeds of grass species declared to be "restricted noxious weed'' seed when found in lawn and turf seed.
    XXXIV. "Variant'' means any seed or plant which:
       (a) Is distinct within the variety but occurs naturally in the variety;
       (b) Is stable and predictable with a degree of reliability comparable to other varieties of the same kind, within recognized tolerances, when the variety is reproduced or reconstituted; and
       (c) Was originally a part of the variety as released.
A variant is not an off-type.
    XXXV. "Variety'' means a subdivision of a kind which is distinct, uniform, and stable; "distinct'' in the sense that the variety can be differentiated by one or more identifiable morphological, physiological or other characteristics from all other varieties of public knowledge; "uniform'' in the sense that variations in essential and distinctive characteristics are describable, and "stable'' in the sense that the variety will remain unchanged in its essential and distinctive characteristics and in its uniformity when reproduced or reconstituted as required by the different categories of varieties.
    XXXVI. "Vegetable seeds'' includes the seeds of those crops which are grown in gardens and on truck farms and are generally known and sold under the name of vegetable or herb seeds in this state.
    XXXVII. "Weed seed'' means the seeds of all plants generally recognized as weeds within this state, and includes prohibited and restricted noxious weed seeds.

Source. 1990, 126:2. 1995, 130:5, eff. July 23, 1995. 2003, 106:1-3, eff. Jan. 1, 2004.