Invitation and proceedings of LIVESEED, ECO-PB, CPVO workshop on Heterogeneous Material and Organic Varieties

Summary

The European Project LIVESEED on boosting organic seed and plant breeding across Europe (www.liveseed.eu) and the European Consortium of Organic Plant Breeding (ECO-PB, www.eco-pb.org) aim to discuss opportunities and hallenges of registration of heterogeneous material and organic varieties with the CPVO, the national examination offices (EO) and the observers (DG Sante, ESA, Plantum, EPO,POV, CIOPORA, BLW, Food Safety Authority). We will present the scientific concept of heterogeneous material, first results and experiences of the running “temporary experiment providing for certain derogations for the marketing of populations” and discuss possible tools to identify, describe and trace such material. Further, we would like to discuss consequences of the new organic regulation 848/2018 with respect to (i) the notification of “organic heterogenous material” and (ii) the foreseen “temporary experiment on organic varieties suitable for organic production in order to establish the criteria for the description of the characteristics of that material and to determine the production and marketing conditions”.
Program
1. Introduction, LIVESEED project and organic breeding
2. Challenges of commercialisation of
heterogeneous material
3. Participation by Italy to the Commission Implementing Decision (2014/150/EU) temporary experiment for the marketing of populations of the plant species wheat, barley, (oats and maize)
4. A toolbox for description and identification of heterogeneous material
5. Interviews: Organic variety trials and official registration trials
6. ECO-PB adjusted DUS for organically bred varieties.