The Netherlands
June 29, 2023

The TWO of the UPOV took place from 12 to 16 June. It was an online meeting in which more than 100 people participated. Katie Berbee and Marco Hoffman were present from Naktuinbouw. In this meeting, new guidelines for crops and general matters relating to Plant Breeders' Rights and DUS research are developed, discussed and harmonised.
 

Some general discussion points

• There is a proposal to increase the effectiveness of the technical working groups. Whereby, among other things, crop guidelines can be established more quickly and there will be more room for discussions in the field.
• A proposal was made to use as much as possible the existing (vegetable or agricultural) guideline in the case of ornamental varieties for known agricultural or vegetable crops (e.g. Sweet Potato, Sunflower and Paprika).
• There was a good discussion on the degree of protection of molecular information (DNA). The breeders argue for broad protection; the research stations want more freedom in sharing the information with other stations and inspection authorities because it takes them an inordinate amount of time to have to ask permission each time for each variety.
• It is disturbing that UPOV members are not always aligned in the use of the botanical name. Displaying synonyms and introducing a so-called alert system when changing a botanical name have been proposed and discussed.

New crop guidelines

• The following crop guidelines are ready and submitted to the TC of UPOV: Amaryllis. Lavender, Oxypetalum and Weigela. After approval by the TC (end of 2023) they will be published. Naktuinbouw was the leader of the Amaryllis guideline.
• The following crop guidelines are still under development: Ginkgo, Lotus, Magnolia, Leucanthemum and Poinsettia.
• The following guidelines are new or proposed for revision: Zantedeschia, Rhododendron and potazalea, Dianthus and Aloe (the last two are partial, i.e. only with some very minor changes or additions).
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Website: http://www.naktuinbouw.nl

Published: July 3, 2023