In this practice guideline
Variety testing in New Zealand (1987 Act)
The content below relates to applications filed before 24 January 2023. If you filed your plant variety rights application after 24 January 2023, please refer to our Technical Guidance section for current guidance.
Variety testing
The Plant Variety Rights Act 1987 Section 10 (d) requires that a variety is eligible for a grant of Rights if that variety is sufficiently distinct, uniform and stable (DUS). In all instances the determination of DUS is carried out in a growing trial which includes plants of the candidate variety and plants of any other varieties as necessary.
The plants in the growing trial also provide all the data and recordings for the drafting of the official variety description for the variety under application. The organisation of, arrangement and type of growing trial will vary for different plant species, and different procedures will apply.
The following DUS testing arrangements are used:
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Central testing by the authority |
e.g. for most agricultural species |
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Centralised testing by research or industry organisation |
e.g. for most fruit species |
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Testing on a property organised by the owner or agent with trial inspection and evaluation by the authority |
e.g. for most ornamental species |
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Breeder testing |
e.g. for most vegetable species |
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Foreign test report |
Potentially for any species |
More detailed information is available in Arrangements for growing trials for the testing of distinctness, uniformity and stability.
Use of plant material
All testing arrangements may require access to plant material for one or more of the following official purposes:
a. For a growing trial to determine distinctness, uniformity and stability
b. For a verification growing trial
c. For supply to a reference collection
d. For a growing trial as a similar or reference variety
Further detail is available in Availability and supply of plant material.
For a foreign bred variety with no plant material present in New Zealand at the time of application, the general assumption should be that plant material of the variety will most likely be requested to be supplied or made available during the application.