Plants > Biotechnology / PNTs > Confined Release > Field Trials 

ADDENDUM II: TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR
CONFINED RESEARCH FIELD TRIALS OF
SPRUCE
(Picea spp.)

Terms and Conditions 2005

1. The applicant must ensure that the trial seed and/or plant material are transported in clearly identified, secure containers and are kept separate from other seed and/or plant material.

2. Surplus transgenic trees from the trial must be clearly labelled and kept in a secure greenhouse facility or must be destroyed by mechanical means, autoclaving or burning. Composting of this material is not an acceptable destruction method.

3. The trial term will be limited to six (6) years from the date of commencement.

4. Seeding, transplanting and site maintenance machinery and equipment must be cleaned at the trial site to prevent dispersal of plant material.

5. In the case of accidental release, recoverable seeds or seedlings must be collected and destroyed, the site must be marked and monitored, and the PBO notified immediately. Plants from unrecoverable seed or seedlings must be mechanically or chemically destroyed.

6. Two guard rows must be composed of non-modified spruce which is not prone to layering (i.e., neither white or black).

7. The trial material (including the guard rows) will be separated by a distance of at least 10 meters from other trees of the same related species. The trial site and isolation distance must be monitored, at a minimum, twice a week during the period of cone formation and, at a minimum, monthly during the growing season of the trail period to ensure that all suckers, cones and trees of same or related species that are not part of the trial are removed and destroyed.

8. During the trial period, all seed or pollen cones (if any) will be removed each year before anthesis to prevent pollen and seed dissemination. Records will be kept of the date and number of seed and pollen cones removed for each genetic line.

9. Measurements from permanent surrounding landmarks must be provided for precise location of the site. Markers must also be placed at all corners of the trial site to identify the confined field trial boundaries. The markers must be obvious, identifiable and in place for the growing seasons of both the trial and the post-harvest restriction period.

10. Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates must be taken precisely at all corners of each trial site. The GPS coordinates of each confined research field trial site location must be submitted to the PBO within 7 days after planting.

11. If a chemical treatment is used on the trial site that requires a time until safe entry, a sign must be posted at the access to the trial indicating the date and time of spraying as well as the time until safe entry. This condition is intended to protect the health and safety of the CFIA inspection staff.

12. No plant material from these trials may enter the human food or livestock feed chain unless approved by Health Canada or the Feeds Section, CFIA, respectively.

13. Harvesting machinery and equipment will be cleaned of all residual plant material at the trial site prior to being moved to other locations. Plant material harvested, that is not to be retained, must be destroyed by burning, autoclaving, or burial to a depth of one metre. Composting of this material is not an acceptable destruction method.

14. Harvested seed and/or propagable plant material from the confined research field trial may only be retained if requested in the application and authorized by the PBO. Any harvested seed and/or plant material must be clearly labelled, securely transported, and stored separately from other seed and/or plant material.

15. Applicants must provide the PBO in writing within 15 working days after harvest with information on:

    • quantity of seed and/or plant material harvested at the trial sites
    • date(s) of harvest
    • quantity of seed and/or plant material disposed of
    • location, method and date of disposal
    • quantity of seed and/or plant material retained and stored
    • storage location and method

    Disposal of plant material (propagable and/or non-propagable) includes harvested plant material as well as residual plant material on the trial site.

    If a trial is destroyed prior to harvest applicants must provide the PBO in writing within 15 working days after destruction with information on the trial’s growth stage at the time of destruction, as well as the date and method of destruction.

16. A detailed trial log book must be kept. Records of the confined research field trial, including current season and post-harvest site monitoring, activities related to the trial site compliance, cleaning of machinery, transportation, disposition and storage of all harvested seed and plant material, must be maintained by the applicant and made available to the CFIA upon request. A report summarizing the completed trial and experimental data, including any amendments to the original protocol, must also be made available to the CFIA upon request. Detailed records requirements can be found in section 3.8 of Regulatory Directive 2000-07.

17. The trees (including guard rows) must be cut down at the end of the trial period. Plant matter remaining at the end of the trial must be destroyed. Stumps and root systems must either be mechanically destroyed on site or removed and destroyed. The trial site must be tilled and any developing suckers after tillage must be destroyed.

18. The trial site must not be used to grow spruce trees from the date of termination of the trial until no suckers are observed for two (2) consecutive years. The site must be monitored, at a minimum, monthly during the post-harvest growing seasons to ensure that all volunteer plants, suckers and related species are removed and destroyed.

19. Applicants must notify the PBO in writing of crop species planted on trial sites for each year the sites are subject to post-harvest restriction. This notification must be received every year by June 15.