When you use your own seeds in organic production

This is stinkblight on wheat kernels. Note the many brown spores in the grain ends.

Naked barley fire

Barley blight (Ustilago nuda) can occur in barley. When attacked, clusters of fungal spores form instead of small spikes (see photo). During grain flowering, naked fire spreads to other ears where it infects the next grains. Open flowering favours infestation and therefore there may be varietal differences in susceptibility. If fire has been observed in the harvested crop, it should not be used for sowing.

Barley streak disease in barley

Barley streak disease (Drechslera graminea ), like fire, has the potential to cause significant yield loss. As the name describes, stripe blight appears as stripes on the leaves. Spores form on the leaves when they sprout and spread with the wind to the axes, where the kernels become infected.

Pea blight, broad bean leaf spot and anthracnose in lupin

Pulses are not immune to seed-borne diseases. Pea blight and broad bean leaf spot belong to the same fungal genus and can be quite damaging, which is why you should always analyse for these diseases if you produce your own seeds. The disease appears as brown spots on leaves, pods and stems - there will also be discolouration on the roots. Anthracnose(Colletotricum) in lupins is also loss-causing and causes twisted and split stems - narrow-leaved lupins are relatively tolerant to the disease.

Submitting a sample for analysis

Take a representative sample mixed from different sub-samples and send the sample to a laboratory - check with the laboratory how large a sample they need - 1kg will be sufficient for most analyses. You may also want to ask how long the analysis will take, some can take up to 14 days to complete.

The following laboratories analyse for seed-borne diseases:

• Eurofins Agro Testing
• OK Laboratory for Agriculture
• Ekoplan ApS
• Danish Technological Institute, Plant Pathology Laboratory
• Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Section for Plant Diagnostics

The laboratories have different offers and you can choose different packages with germination, diseases and thousand grain weight. Find more information on LandbrugsInfo.

Remember to pay the variety licence - also for your own seed

If you use your own seed, you still have to pay a licence to the variety owner, just as you do when you buy certified seed from a retailer. You must report the use of your own seed on the Danish Variety Owners' website. The amount depends on the variety. Danish Variety Owners is an association of Danish breeders and they are responsible for collecting these fees, which are used by breeders to finance the development of new varieties. You can see which species and varieties are subject to licence fees on the website www.sortsejere.dk

Rules to be aware of

Please note that it is not permitted to use hybrid and synthetic varieties for your own seed. If in doubt, you can find the type of variety at www.sortInfo.dk. You are only allowed to sow your own seeds of selected species of fodder plants, cereals, potatoes and oil plants, so check before you start if you are in doubt. You are also not allowed to sell or buy your own seeds from your neighbour.

If you want to use non-organic seed for your own propagation, you must apply for this or enter a confirmation in OrganicXseeds depending on which dispensation options apply in OrganicXseeds for the species in question. On the application form in OrganicXseeds, you use field "e" where you use the text field to state how much you expect to harvest in the current year and how much you expect to sow the following year. Authorisation must be obtained before using non-organic seed. You must be able to present documentation at inspection visits. You must be able to document the purchase of approved material: species, variety, quantity, field number, area size, harvested quantity, culling and planned seed quantity of the home-produced material - as part of your planting logbook.

In addition, be aware of the organic status of home-grown seed if it is harvested from fields that are being converted to organic production. You cannot use home-grown seed from first-year conversion fields, as the field must have been under conversion for 12 months for the seed to have conversion status. You can use your own seed with conversion status, even if organic seed of the variety in question is available in OrganicXseeds.

New and updated knowledge for organic farmers

This article has been updated as part of the project Professional development through knowledge to strengthen organic production.