Seed Certification Branch is responsible for producing varietal descriptions and varietal keys both of which are used during crop inspections.
Varietal descriptions of all the major cereal varieties grown in Scotland can be viewed and printed from the Agricultural Crop Variety Databases (see links in the SASA Resources box). The descriptions cover the main taxonomic characteristics, which are used during crop inspections. These are updated on a yearly basis.
Varietal keys are used to distinguish different varieties and are mainly used for varietal identification and training of crop inspectors. These are updated on a yearly basis and can be found under "Resources" in the Scottish Cereal Variety Databases (for barley, wheat and oats only).
For further information please contact Susan McFarlane at seeds@sasa.gov.scot.
SASA