Standards for Hybrid Rice Seed Production

Adherence to the general seed certification requirements applicable to all crops as set by the National Seed Quality Control Service.
These general requirements serve as the baseline for specific conditions outlined for hybrid rice seeds.

Soil must be fertile and suitable for parental rice lines.
Adequate irrigation and an efficient drainage system are mandatory.
Area must be free from shading and should not have had serious pest or disease incidents previously.

At least four inspections conducted by trained official seed inspectors at these stages:
a) Transplanting to verify planting distances, row orientation, and seedling number.
b) Maximum tillering before heading to detect and remove off-types and other varieties.
c) Flowering to rogue all contamination sources and count off-types as basis for rejection if unremoved.
d) Harvest time to ensure male parent lines (R) are harvested prior to seed parent lines (A).

Inspection reports must be submitted within one week after each inspection to the National Seed Quality Control Services overseeing the area.

Proper cleaning and bagging processes to maintain cleanliness and prevent mechanical mixing of varieties.

Random sampling of seed lots before bag sealing:
a) For 1-10 bags per lot, sample all bags.
b) Parental seeds: sample at least 10 bags per 50-bag lot (15 kg/bag).
c) F1 production: sample at least 20 bags per 100-bag lot (20 kg/bag).

Minimum production area of five hectares of compact land.
Strict isolation to ensure genetic purity through three methods:
i) Distance isolation: 100 meters separation with no other rice varieties except pollen parent within range.
ii) Time isolation: stagger planting times to separate flowering by at least 3 weeks within 100 meters.
iii) Barrier isolation: use natural or artificial barriers at least 2.5 meters tall or crop barriers 2.2 meters tall and 3–4 meters wide.
Roguing throughout plant development stages to remove undesirable plants.
Control of weeds, pests, and diseases is mandatory.
Compliance with field inspection guidelines for varietal purity for seed certification eligibility.

Seed lots harvested and inspected must undergo seed testing and meet specified seed quality standards (reference to Attachment II, not included).

Public hybrids: Field inspection and lab analysis limited to AxB (Foundation and Registered Seed) and AxR production.
Proprietary hybrids: Seed quality control scheme for AxB production, AxR production follows the same procedures as public hybrids.

Non-compliance results in denial of seed certification.
This order supersedes Memorandum Order No. 27, Series of 2001 and takes effect immediately.