There are three types of release (Provisional, Full, and Conditional) of propagative material from the CPCNW for material that is international (non-U.S.) in origin and is held under quarantine conditions as it moves through the diagnostic & virus elimination process. Material of domestic (U.S.) origin is only eligible for full release.
- Provisional Release
Provisional release is a limited release of propagative USDA-AHPIS-PPQ permit-controlled material that has tested free of any named virus or disease and is undergoing further biological indexing. The process is as follows:
- The Customer will be notified of the initial diagnostic results. At that time, they may request that the CPCNW apply for provisional release approval.
- The CPCNW will provide the diagnostic details to USDA-APHIS-PPQ, and will receive official approval.
- The CPCNW will communicate official approval to the Customer.
- The Customer will then apply for a Controlled Import Permit for provisional release of the approved, named accessions. These permits are valid for one year, renewable for up to three, and allow the propagation of the named accessions under specified conditions.
- Upon receipt of the permit, the Customer must provide it to the CPCNW before the CPCNW can process and ship any propagative material.
Accessions under provisional release are still ‘in progress’ and will continue through the clean plant process until they reach full release status. If a pathogen or disease is identified while a plant is under provisional release, the CPCNW will notify USDA-APHIS-PPQ, who in turn will contact the Customer with instructions for the disposal of the provisionally released material.
Please note that provisional release applies only to material of international origin held under USDA-APHIS-PPQ permit-controlled quarantine. Material that is domestic in origin is not eligible for the provisional release process.
2. Full Release
Full Release is the natural end of the clean plant process. An accession will be eligible for full release only if a full set of the appropriate diagnostic assays has been completed, after virus elimination has been completed, if applicable. The accession must be free of all named viruses and other virus-like organisms, and further, found to be free of diseases of unknown etiology. In the case of material of international origin, the CPCNW will provide the results to USDA-APHIS-PPQ for official approval of the release. Accessions that are domestic in origin are held to the same standard, with full release approval at the discretion of the CPCNW Director. In either case, should release be approved the Customer will be notified. Accessions that receive full release are eligible for entry into the CPCNW G1 retention collection.
3. Conditional Release
Conditional release is a variant of full release for accessions that are infected with named viruses that are not judged to be a significant risk by the recipient’s State Department of Agriculture. It must still be free of all other named viruses as well as diseases of unknown etiology. The process is as follows:
- At the Customer’s request, the CPCNW may apply for conditional release of an accession infected with a pathogen that is not judged to be a significant risk. The accession must have passed all other diagnostic assays any be free of all other named viruses as well as diseases of unknown etiology. This request will only proceed at the discretion of the CPCNW Director, who reserves the right to refuse a request for conditional release.
- The CPCNW will apply for conditional release as described in the full release process from USDA-APHIS-PPQ and the recipient’s State Department of Agriculture.
- If the conditional release status is approved, the CPCNW will notify the Customer.
- The Customer must obtain any required permits from their State Department of Agriculture to receive and propagate virus infected material, and provide these to the CPCNW before any propagative material shall be shipped.
Customers should be aware that conditional release is a type of full release and that the following conditions shall apply:
- Conditional release completes the clean plant process, and should the Customer desire that the virus present be eliminated, it will require resubmission of the plant as a new accession, subject to the complete clean plant process and associated fees.
- Accessions approved for conditional release are not eligible for the CPCNW G1 retention collection, and the Customer shall arrange for the retrieval of plants and/or propagative material at time or release. The CPCNW will destroy any remaining propagative material after that point.
- Accessions approved for conditional release are not eligible for a state certification scheme. The CPCNW will notify the appropriate State Department of Agriculture of its infection status, and will label any plants or propagative material before returning it to the Customer.
Please note that conditional release applies only to material of international origin held under USDA-APHIS-PPQ permit-controlled quarantine. Material that is domestic in origin is not eligible for the conditional release process at this time.