General terms and conditions for confined research field trials

These terms and conditions will be imposed on all confined research field trials.

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Transportation

Seed and plant material that is to be planted, any excess from transplantation, and that from harvesting must be transported in clearly labelled and secure containers that are to be kept separate from other seed and plant material. These requirements also apply to all non-modified plant material from the field site.

Reproductive isolation

Plants at the field site must be reproductively isolated from related plants and/or of the same species and/or weedy relatives.

Equipment check and cleaning

Machinery and equipment used for seeding, transplanting, site maintenance and harvesting must be free of plants with novel traits materials prior to being moved to other locations to prevent dispersal of novel plant material. This includes a visual inspection of workers' clothing and footwear, and removing any identified plant material prior to exiting the site. Any necessary machinery cleaning must take place on the field site.

Trial boundary marking

Markers should be placed at all corners of the field site to identify the confined field trial boundaries. The markers (for example, flags, corner posts, etc.) should be obvious, identifiable and in place for the growing season(s) and the post-harvest restriction period.

Distance measurements from permanent surrounding landmarks must be provided for precise location of the field site. GPS coordinates must be taken precisely at all corners of each field site in the latitude longitude decimal degree format (for example, "50.12345, −110.12345"). The GPS coordinates of each confined research field site location must be submitted to the Plant Biosafety Office within 7 days after planting.

Monitoring

During the trial growing season, the field site and the isolation distance must be monitored to ensure that all related species are removed before seed set. Any plants with seed have reached "seed set" no matter if the seeds are still immature.

During post-harvest growing seasons, the field site and the 10 metre zone (50 metre if a commercial-scale combine was used during harvest), is subject to monitoring. Ensure the field site is reproductively isolated. See the section Reproductive isolation for more information.

Site monitoring must occur to ensure that all volunteer plants and related species are removed before flowering. Plants with flowers are considered as "flowering", regardless of whether the flowers have opened.

Harvesting and seed set

If seed set occurs, all seed and other propagable plant material from the field site must be harvested unless otherwise approved by the Plant Biosafety Office. See the section Information to be provided to the Plant Biosafety Office for more information.

It is strongly encouraged that plants be harvested before full maturity to minimize shattering and seed dispersal.

Disposal

The following plant material that is not to be retained must be disposed of by crushing, burning to ash, autoclaving or burial at a depth of one metre:

  • surplus seed or seedlings,
  • plant material remaining after planting or transplantation, and
  • propagable plant material harvested from the field site.

When crushing is used to dispose of the seed, the crushed seed must be soil incorporated within 48 hours after harvest and the mechanical rollers must be thoroughly cleaned at the field site. Regardless of destruction method, all seed must be devitalized. Composting of this material is not an acceptable destruction method. These requirements apply to all modified and non-modified plant material on the field site.

All non-propagable plant material remaining on the field site must be either soil-incorporated or destroyed by incineration as soon as possible after harvest. Applicants are encouraged to destroy all non-propagable plant material in a manner whereby the material is not easily distributed by wind or local fauna, yet does not promote seed dormancy. If the applicant decides to burn the plant material, the material must be burned to ash.

If a trial is terminated prior to harvest, all plant material must be disposed of as described earlier in this section.

Information to be provided to the Plant Biosafety Office

15 days after harvest

Provide the following information to the Plant Biosafety Office in writing within 15 days of field site harvest:

  • Final date of harvest
  • Information about any trial entries terminated early (see below)
  • Confirmation and quantityFootnote 1, presented as a single weighted measurement, of seed and plant material harvested from the field sites
  • Confirmation and quantity, presented as a single weighted measurement, of seed and plant material disposedFootnote 2 of:
    • location, method and date of disposal of harvested plant material
    • location, method and date of disposal of residual plant material
    • if any disposal occurs at a location other than the field site, a detailed and complete map of the disposal site location(s) and detailed directions to the site(s)
  • Confirmation and quantity, presented as a single weighted measurement, of seed and plant material retained and stored
    • Storage location and method

15 days after termination (when all trial entries are terminated prior to harvest)

If all trial entries at a field site are terminated prior to harvest, applicants must provide information on the trial's growth stage at the time of destruction, as well as the date and method of destruction, to the Plant Biosafety Office in writing within 15 working days.

During final harvest (when only certain trial entries are terminated)

If only certain trial entries are terminated, the information about terminations should be provided to the Plant Biosafety Office along with the final harvest notification for the field site.

Annual list of planted crop species planted by June 1st

Notify the Plant Biosafety Office in writing of the crop species planted on field sites for each year the sites are subject to post-harvest land use restrictions. This notification must be received every year by June 1st.

Storage

All seed and plant material including excess from planting and harvested seed and plant material, that is retained must be stored appropriately in clearly labelled and secure containers and kept separate from other seed and plant material. These requirements also apply to non-modified seed and plant material harvested from field sites. A secure container must be designed to minimize the potential for a spill or dissemination. Each container must be labelled "PNT material – Do not mix". In the event of any accidental spill or dissemination of material, the Plant Biosafety Office must be immediately notified.

Accidental release

In the case of accidental release of propagable material in the environment, recoverable seeds or seedlings must be collected and destroyed, the site must be marked and monitored, and the Plant Biosafety Office notified immediately. Plants from unrecoverable seed must be immediately destroyed, including mechanical or chemical means.

Records

Detailed trial records must be kept. Records of the confined research field trial, including current season and post-harvest site monitoring, cleaning of machinery, transportation, disposal and storage of all surplus seed and 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, including any amendments to the original protocol, must also be made available to the CFIA upon request.

Consult the requirements for records and reporting of confined research field trials (section 3.7 of Directive 2000-07) for more information.

Other

It is not permitted to allow livestock access to sites under post-harvest restrictions.

No plant material from these trials may enter the human food or livestock feed chain unless approved by Health Canada's Food Directorate or the CFIA's Animal Feed Program, respectively.

If a chemical treatment is used on the field site that requires a temporary prohibition on entry into the site, 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 CFIA inspection staff.

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