I.S.T.I.S mission
The State Institute for Testing and Registration of Varieties (I.S.T.I.S.) is the national authority in the field of examination of new plant creations, in order to be registered in the Official Catalog of the varieties of crop plants in Romania. The registration of varieties of agricultural and horticultural species in the National Official Catalog allows their cultivation and commercialization in the territory of Romania and of the Member States of the European Union.
I.S.T.I.S. este înfiinţat în baza Legii nr. 75/1995 privind producerea, controlul calităţii, comercializarea şi folosirea seminţelor şi materialului săditor, precum şi înregistrarea soiurilor de plante agricole, cu modificările și completările ulterioare, prin reorganizarea Comisiei de Stat pentru Încercarea şi Omologarea Soiurilor (înfiinţată în baza HCM 3726/1953).
The Institute operates at its base on Law nr. 266/2002 republicată si a Legii nr. 255/1998, ca instituţie de interes public, finanţată din subvenţii de la bugetul de stat şi venituri proprii pentru cheltuieli de capital, materiale şi de personal şi, în acelaşi timp, realizează venituri bugetare prin valorificarea produselor obţinute.
The State Institute for Variety Testing and Registration is the only specialized body of the M.A.D.R. and is responsible for the technical examination of the Romanian and foreign varieties for which registration is required in the Register of varieties and in the official Catalog of varieties.
Registering a variety means decades of work done for the benefit of the community, studying all varieties of plants created by Romanian or foreign research, without which no hectare of land can be cultivated in Romania.
Soiurile înregistrate în Catalogul oficial român se transmit Comisiei Europene (DG SANCO) pentru înscriere în Cataloagele Comune ale Uniunii Europene, fapt care permite comercializarea lor pe întreg teritoriul UE. Aceste soiuri se transmit spre înscriere şi în Lista Soiurilor Eligibile pentru Certificarea Seminţelor, editată de Organizaţia de Cooperare şi Dezvoltare Economică (OCDE)..
Institutul elaborează metodologia şi testează noile soiuri în vederea înregistrării lor, efectuează verificarea anuală a purităţii varietale a soiurilor multiplicate, asigură conservarea probelor din colecţia de referinţă, completează şi este depozitarul Registrului soiurilor, redactează şi publică anual Catalogul oficial al soiurilor. De asemenea, I.S.T.I.S. previne înstrăinarea materialului biologic aflat în examinare şi asigură confidenţialitatea informaţiilor obţinute.
Variety registration is based on the results of official examinations, especially field tests, covering a large number of characteristics by which the variety is described. Field testing consists of two tests that establish the variety, uniformity and stability of the variety (DUS test) and, for field crop species, agronomic and utilization value (VAU test). The characterization of a variety is supplemented by quality analyzes performed in its own laboratories.
A variety subjected to testing for registration is studied for 2-3 years, depending on the species, in the 24 Centers for Testing the Varieties, which represent the entire diversity of climatic and soil conditions of Romania.
Over 3,560 varieties are studied annually, and each variety is observed, measured, analyzed in laboratories over 80 characteristics, which are analyzed in the IT Department of I.S.T.I.S. consistent with data from other similar institutions in the EU.
I.S.T.I.S. is the only liaison between the research institutes, where the new varieties of plants are created and the seed producers, respectively the Romanian cultivators.
In order to carry out the duties assigned to him, I.S.T.I.S. collaborates with research institutes and stations, with similar institutions in EU Member States, with foreign companies interested in testing varieties in Romania, with agricultural sciences universities and natural or legal persons in the country or abroad.
I.S.T.I.S., acreditat ISO 9001 în anul 2009, este recunoscut ca autoritate naţională în toate ţările membre ale UE, cât şi de OCDE şi face parte din Consiliul de Administraţie al Oficiului Comunitar pentru Soiurile de Plante (CPVO), şi din comitetele şi Consiliul Organizaţiei Internaţionale pentru Protecţia Soiurilor de Plante (UPOV). Are acorduri administrative de colaborare cu 5 state membre ale Uniunii Europene şi legături cu instituţiile similare din statele membre şi cu peste 30 de instituţii din întreaga lume.
Field examination is carried out in the Variety Testing Centers. The centers are located in the most representative pedoclimatic areas of our country, where optimal agricultural productions are made, the units being necessary to verify the agronomic value of the varieties.
I.S.T.I.S. is a public institution of national importance, with an activity single in Romania, and any seed producer cannot perform the multiplication of the varieties, without the respective varieties being tested first in I.S.T.I.S. and registered in the National Official Catalog, published annually by I.S.T.I.S., as it is done in all EU Member States.
I.S.T.I.S. has a tradition of over 56 years in the testing and registration of varieties of crop plants, similar to that of EU states, such as GEVES in France, NIAB in England, Naktuinbouw in Holland etc.
The activity of the institute is compulsory and is stipulated in the Directives of the European Community.
I.S.T.I.S., prin analiza soiurilor asigură securitatea alimentară a ţării, care aşa cum bine ştim, face parte din politica de securitate naţională a României şi asigură deci, constant, protecţia consumatorului. Totodată, I.S.T.I.S. asigură prin testele pe care le face, soiuri care vor da o producţie agricolă sporită şi de calitate.
Participation in the various international bodies, the multitude of specialized articles published by the experts I.S.T.I.S., the working procedures fully harmonized with those of the EU, make the institute to be noticed in recent years internally and internationally.
Through I.S.T.I.S., the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development confirms the research results for the creation of new varieties of plant species of economic interest, adapted to the agricultural conditions, specific to Romania, so useful to the Romanian agriculture.