Seed Testing and Registration

The German Plant variety Protection Law is the applicable legal basis for granting plant variety protection rights. The registration of a newly developed variety, however, is subject to the provisions of the German Seed Marketing Law. In both cases, the competent body is the German Plant Variety Office. Only seeds from registered varieties may be marketed.

The registered varieties will also be tested in the German Federal States (regional recommendation testing; Landessortenversuche) for their particular properties in order to be able to give more detailed recommendations to the farmers.

Testing for distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS testing) is the examination that decides on whether or not plant variety protection rights are granted and the plant variety is to be listed in the Plant Variety Catalogue. The DUS testing procedure usually takes two years. Cultivation trials are being carried out to determine whether the new variety complies with the requirements for registration as laid down in the German Seed Marketing Law. Granting of plant variety protection rights and registration is only possible if a plant variety is new, distinct, uniform and stable. 

For Germany, plant variety protection is granted by the German Plant Variety protection Office (Bundessortenamt); for the whole of the European Union it is granted by the Community Plant Variety Office, seated in Angers (France). Community Plant Variety Protection is granted under Regulation (EC) No. 2100/94 of the Council of 27 July 1994 on Community Plant Variety Protection.

Before a new variety can be registered and may be placed on the market, it needs not only to pass DUS testing, but also additional merit tests, the so called value for cultivation and use testing (VCU testing). VCU testing usually takes two to three years. A new variety has a value for cultivation and use if the examination shows that it presents an advantage over already registered varieties in its main cultivation and processing characteristics. VCU testing is not necessary for registration of new vegetable, ornamental and turf grass varieties.

After a plant variety has passed the VCU testing, the respective bodies of the Federal States can include a variety into their regional testing programme. The results of these regional tests allow giving more in-depth guidance as to the suitability of a plant variety for the respective region and the concomitant cultivation measures, such as fertilizer and plant protection measures. The results of these tests are published and provide an orientation to the farmer for the selection of an appropriate variety and its cultivation.