Miss. Code Ann. § 69-3-1 (2026)

Wherever the following terms or similar terms are used in this article, they shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

• (a) "Advertisement" means all representations made by the labeler, other than those on the label, disseminated in any manner or by any means, relating to seed within the scope of this article.

• (b) "Agricultural seeds" means the seed of grass, forage, cereal and fiber crops, lawn seed, and any other kinds of seed, including transgenic seeds, recognized within this state as agricultural or field seeds, and mixtures of such seeds.

• (c) "Bulk" or "in bulk" means seed when loose either in vehicles of transportation, bins, cribs or tanks, and not seed in bags, boxes, cartons, bulk/super bags or other containers.

• (d) "Certified seed," "registered seed" and "foundation seed" mean seed that has been produced and labeled in accordance with the procedures and in compliance with the rules and regulations of an official certifying agency authorized by the laws of this state or the laws of another state or country.

• (e) "Commercial grower" means a person, firm or corporation engaged primarily in the production of seed for planting purposes for sale or trade.

• (f) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce of the State of Mississippi.

• (g) "Commission merchant" or "agent" means a person, firm or corporation engaged in the selling of packet seed of less than four (4) ounces to consumers.

• (h) "Consumer" means any person who purchases or otherwise obtains seed for sowing but not for resale.

• (i) "Council" means the seed arbitration council created under Section 63-3-20.

• (j) "Date of test" means the month and year the percentage of germination appearing on the label was obtained by laboratory test.

• (k) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.

• (l) "Federal Seed Act" means the laws codified at 7 USCS 1551 et seq., and all regulations promulgated thereunder.

• (m) "Firm ungerminated seed" means live seed, other than hard seed, which neither germinate nor decay during the period and under the conditions prescribed for germination of such seed by the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to provisions of this article.

• (n) "Flower seed" means the seeds of herbaceous plants grown for their blooms, ornamental foliage or other ornamental parts, including transgenic seeds, and commonly known and sold under the name of flower seeds in this state.

• (o) "Hybrid" means the first generation seed of a cross produced by controlling the pollination and combining:
  • (i) two (2) or more inbred lines; or
  • (ii) one (1) inbred line or a single cross with an open-pollinated variety; or
  • (iii) two (2) varieties or species, except open-pollinated varieties of corn. The second generation and subsequent generations of such crosses shall not be regarded as hybrids.

• (p) "Kind" means one or more related species or subspecies which singly or collectively is known by one (1) common name; for example: soybeans, crimson clover, striate lespedeza, tall fescue.

• (q) "Label" means the display or displays of written, printed or graphic matter upon or attached to the container of seed pertaining to the contents of the container.

• (r) "Labeler" means the person, firm, corporation or the registered code number whose name appears on the label or container of seed.

• (s) "Labeling" includes all labels and other written, printed or graphic representations made by the labeler accompanying and pertaining to the seed product whether in bulk or in containers, and any product use guides for the technology of the seed, that may be distributed in any manner including representations on invoices except for current official publications of the United States Department of Agriculture, state extension services, state experiment stations, state agricultural colleges and other similar federal or state institutions or agencies authorized by law to conduct research.

• (t) "Lot of seed" means a definite quantity of seed identified by a lot number or other identification mark, every portion or bag of which is uniform for the factors which appear on the label, within permitted tolerances.

• (u) "Mixed" or "mixture" means seeds consisting of more than one (1) kind, or kind and variety, or strain, each present in excess of five percent (5%) of the whole.

• (v) "Official certifying agency" means an agency authorized or recognized and designated as a certifying agency by the laws of a state, the United States, a province of Canada, or the government of a foreign country.

• (w) "Origin" means the state, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or possessions of the United States, or the foreign country where the seeds were grown.

• (x) "Processing" means cleaning, scarifying, blending or treating to obtain uniform quality and other operations which would change the purity or germination of the seed and therefore require retesting to determine the quality of the seed.

• (y) "Product use guide" means any written information prepared by the labeler and distributed to the consumer, containing specific information concerning a seed product or a technology.

• (z) "Prohibited noxious weed seed" means the seeds of weeds that reproduce by seed, and/or spread by underground roots or stems, and which, when established, are highly destructive and difficult to control in this state by ordinary good cultural practice, or constitute a peculiar hazard to the agriculture of this state.

• (aa) "Pure seed," "germination," "other crop seed," "inert matter" and other seed labeling and testing terms in common usage not defined herein are defined as in the Federal Seed Act and the rules and regulations promulgated under that act.

• (bb) "Recognized professional" means a person who is a licensed consultant, a certified crop advisor or any other person recognized by the arbitration council to be qualified to provide expert advise and opinion on seed performances.

• (cc) "Restricted noxious weed seed" means the seeds of weeds that are particularly objectionable in fields, lawns or gardens of this state, but which can ordinarily be controlled by good cultural practice.

• (dd) "Seed record" means information which relates to the origin, treatment, germination and purity of each lot of agricultural seed sold, offered or exposed for sale in this state, or which relates to the treatment, germination and variety of each lot of vegetable, flower, or tree and shrub seed sold, offered or exposed for sale in this state. Such information includes seed samples and records of declarations, labels, purchases, sales, cleaning, bulking, handling, storage, analyses, tests and examinations.

• (ee) "Seedsman" means a person, firm or corporation engaged in the buying, selling or exchanging, offering or exposing for sale agricultural seeds or mixtures thereof, vegetable, flower, tree and shrub seeds as defined in this article.

• (ff) "Stop sale order" means any written or printed notice or order given or issued by the commissioner or his authorized agents to the owner or custodian of any lot of agricultural, vegetable, flower, or tree and shrub seeds in this state, directing such owner or custodian not to sell, offer or expose such seeds for sale for planting purposes within this state until requirements of this article shall have been complied with and a written release has been issued.

• (gg) "Strain" means the subdivision of a variety; for example: Clemson nonshattering soybeans, Strain 4.

• (hh) "Treated" means that the seed has been given an application of a substance or subjected to a process designed to control or repel certain disease organisms, insects or other pests attacking such seeds or seedlings grown therefrom to improve its planting value or to serve any other purpose.

• (ii) "Tree and shrub seeds" means the seeds of woody plants, including transgenic seeds, commonly known and sold as tree and shrub seeds in this state.

• (jj) "Tolerance" means the allowance for sampling variation specified under rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the provisions of this article.

• (kk) "Transgenic seed" means seed from a plant whose genetic composition has been altered by methods other than those used in conventional plant breeding to produce seed that contains selected genes from other plants or species that will produce results such as herbicide tolerance, or resistance, insect tolerance, or resistance, or other traits derived from biotechnology.

• (ll) "Variety" means a subdivision of a kind which is characterized by growth, plant, fruit, seed or other characteristics by which it can be differentiated in successive generations from other sorts of the same kind; for example: Lee soybeans, Frontier crimson clover, Kobe striate lespedeza, Kentucky 31 tall fescue.

• (mm) "Vegetable seeds" means the seeds of those crops which are grown in gardens or on truck farms, including transgenic seeds, and are generally known and sold under the name of vegetable seeds in this state.

• (nn) "Weed seed" means the seeds, bulblets or tubers of all plants generally recognized as weeds within the state and includes noxious weed seeds.

• (oo) "Wholesale distributor" means a person, firm or corporation engaged in the selling of seed to a seedsman holding a permit as required by subsection (1)(c) of Section 69-3-3.

Codes, 1942, § 4397-01; Laws, 1964, ch. 204, § 1; Laws, 1968, ch. 249, § 1; Laws, 1989, ch. 489, § 1; reenacted and amended, Laws, 1991, ch. 541, § 1; reenacted without change, Laws, 1996, ch. 314, § 1; Laws, 1998, ch. 473, § 1; Laws, 2000, ch. 623, § 1, eff. 7/1/2000.