Purpose


The purpose of the proposed action is to amend Rules 5E-4.003 and 5E-4.0041, F.A.C., to reclassify Nutgrass, cyperus rotundus, and Tropical Soda Apple, solanum viarum, from the status of prohibited noxious weed seed to restricted noxious weed seed. The proposed modifications will allow Florida grown seed lots, predominately bahiagrass and aeschymomene, found by laboratory analysis to contain a maximum of one Tropical Soda Apple seed per pound to be relabeled to explicit standards and sold only in Florida. The rule modification will also permit the sale of peanut seed lots found to be contaminated with nutgrass at a rate of one seed per pound. These modifications will provide the Florida seedsmen an option other than destruction thereby reducing the economic hardship to Florida’s seed industry.