4:8-17.16. Unlawful sale or transportation

No person shall sell, offer for sale, or transport for sale any agricultural, vegetable, flower, tree or shrub seed within this State:

(a) Unless the test to determine the percentage of germination required by section 3 shall have been completed within a nine-month period, exclusive of the calendar month in which the test was completed, immediately prior to sale, exposure for sale, or offering for sale or transportation.

Notwithstanding the prohibition contained in this subsection, agricultural or vegetable seeds packaged in hermetically-sealed containers under the conditions specified in rules and regulations promulgated under the New Jersey State Seed Law (Revision of 1963), P.L.1963, c. 29 (C. 4:8-17.13 et seq.), may be sold, exposed for sale, offered for sale or transported for sale for a period of 36 months after the last day of the month that the seeds were tested for germination prior to packaging. Agricultural or vegetable seeds in hermetically-sealed containers may be sold, exposed for sale, offered for sale or transported for sale more than 36 months after the last day of the month in which they were tested for germination prior to packaging, if they are retested within a nine-month period, exclusive of the calendar month in which the retesting is completed, immediately prior to sale, exposure for sale, offering for sale or transportation.

This subsection does not apply to tree and shrub seeds.

(b) Not labeled in accordance with the provisions of this act.

(c) Pertaining to which there has been false or misleading advertisement.

(d) Consisting of or containing prohibited noxious weed seeds, subject to the tolerances established in the rules and regulations promulgated under this act.

(e) Consisting of or containing restricted noxious weed seeds in excess of the number prescribed by rules and regulations promulgated under this act, or in excess of the number declared on the label attached to the container of the seed or associated with the seed.

(f) Containing more than 1% by weight of all weed seeds.

(g) If any labeling, advertising, or other representation subject to this act represents the seed to be certified or registered seed, unless it has been determined by a seed certifying agency that such seed was produced, processed and packaged, and conforms to standards of purity as to kind or variety, in compliance with rules and regulations of such agency pertaining to such seed, and the seed bears an official label issued for such seed by a seed certifying agency, stating that the seed is of a specified class and a specified kind, species and subspecies, if appropriate, or variety.

(h) Represented to be hybrid, unless such seed conforms to the definition of hybrid in section 1(q) of this act; provided that this prohibition shall not apply to variety names in common trade usage at the time this act becomes effective.

(i) Labeled with a variety name, but not certified by a certifying agency, and the variety of seed has a certificate of plant variety protection issued by the Plant Variety Protection Office in the United States Department of Agriculture, under the "Plant Variety Protection Act," Pub.L. 91-577 (7 U.S.C. s. 2321 et seq.), which certificate specifies sale only as a class of certified seed, provided that seed from a certified lot may be labeled as to variety name when used in a mixture by, or with the approval of, the owner of the variety.

L.1963, c. 29, s. 4. Amended by L.1984, c. 201, s. 7, eff. Nov. 28, 1984, operative Jan. 1, 1985.