The ISTA (International Seed Testing Association) Annual Ordinary General Meeting was held in Sapporo, Japan, from 11-15 June 2018. Thirty-nine countries and distinct economies, were represented by 178 participants. In the framework of the mission of National Reference Laboratory (NRL), GEVES is deeply involved in the work of the ISTA 18 technical committees, contributing to setting up and validation of new seed testing methods, for trade and regulations.
The ISTA annual general ordinary meeting has been structured by three events:
During the annual general ordinary meeting, several important items for the future of ISTA have been discussed. The development and implementation of new technologies in existing classical tests has been strongly supported by a motion submitted by members from Germany. The technologies involved were image analysis as well as multispectral and X-Ray technics. The membership has approved the executive committee proposal to prioritise the development of new technologies for the classical seed testing tests. The ISTA accreditation department is currently implementing a new accreditation structure to better fit the needs of the laboratories. The ISTA membership structure and the related fees are under revision in order to effectively attract new member laboratories from developing countries.
By actively participating in most of the above-mentioned topics, France and GEVES have demonstrated a strong interest and willingness to actively contribute to the development of ISTA, and aiming at harmonising the seed testing methods and facilitating the trade.
For information, France and GEVES chair several ISTA technical committees such as Germination (S. Ducournau, GEVES), Seed Health (V. Grimault, GEVES, Proficiency Tests (D. Demilly, GEVES), Statistics (J.L. Laffont, DowDupont- Pioneer), and contribute to the governance as member of the executive Committee (J. Léchappé, GEVES, Immediate Past President of ISTA).
Posted 06/27/2018 | Last modification 06/27/2018