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Kentucky · Snapshot 09/05/2026

KRS 250.021: Definitions for KRS 250.021 to 250.111.

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  1. KRS Chapter 250

As used in KRS 250.021 to 250.111, unless the context requires otherwise:

(1) "Advertised" means all representations, other than those on the label, disseminated

by the public press, circular, catalog, or other media, relating to agricultural,

vegetable, o r flower seed, or combination seed, mulch, and fertilizer products

within the scope of KRS 250.021 to 250.111;

(2) "Agricultural seed" includes grass, forage, cereal, oil, fiber, tobacco, and other kinds

of crop seed commonly recognized within Kentucky as agricultural seed, lawn seed,

and combinations of these seed. Regardless of the name used to describe seed, the

product shall be seed if its intended use is for plant production;

(3) "Blend" means seed consisting of more than one (1) variety of a kind, eac h in

excess of five percent (5%) by weight of the whole;

(4) "Brand" means a word, name, symbol, number, or design used to identify seed of

one (1) person to distinguish it from seed of another person;

(5) "Certified seed" means seed for which a certificate or any other instrument has been

issued by an agency authorized under the laws of a state, territory, or possession to

officially certify seed and which has standards and procedures approved by the

United States Secretary of Agriculture to assure the gen etic purity and identity of

the seed certified;

(6) "Certified custom seed conditioner" means a person who has been approved by the

Kentucky Seed Improvement Association (KSIA) to condition seed for distribution

as certified seed;

(7) "Certified seed growe r" means a person who has been approved by the Kentucky

Seed Improvement Association to produce seed to be sold as Kentucky certified

seed;

(8) "Certifying agency" means:

(a) An agency authorized under the laws of a state, territory, or possession to

officially certify seed and which has standards and procedures approved by the

United States Secretary of Agriculture to assure the genetic purity and identity

of the seed certified; or

(b) An agency of a foreign country determined by the United States Secretar y of

Agriculture to adhere to procedures and standards for seed certification

comparable to those adhered to generally by seed certifying agencies under

paragraph (a) of this subsection;

(9) "Conditioning" means drying, cleaning, applying seed treatment, s carifying, and

other operations which could change the purity or germination of the seed;

(10) "Crop seed" means seed of crop plants other than the kind or variety included in the

pure seed;

(11) "Distribute" means to consign, offer for sale, sell, adverti se for sale, barter, or

otherwise supply agricultural seed;

(12) "Distributor" means any person who distributes agricultural seed;

(13) "Dormant" means seed, excluding hard seed, which fail to germinate, even though

viable, when provided the specified germination conditions for the kind of seed in

question;

(14) "Flower seed" includes seed of herbaceous plants grown for their blooms,

ornamental foliage, or other ornamental parts, and commonly known and sold under

the name of flower seed or wildflower seed, except for seed which have been placed

on the Kentucky noxious weed seed list;

(15) "Germination" means the emergence and development fr om the seed embryo of

those essential structures which, for the kind of seed in question, indicate the ability

to produce a normal plant under favorable conditions;

(16) "Hard seed" means seed which remain hard at the end of the prescribed test period

because they have not absorbed water due to an impermeable seed coat;

(17) "Hybrid" means the first generation seed of a cross produced by controlling the

pollination and by combining:

(a) Two (2) or more inbred lines;

(b) One (1) inbred or a single cross with an open-pollinated variety; or

(c) Two (2) varieties or species, excluding open-pollinated varieties of corn;

and excludes the second generation or subsequent generations from those crosses;

(18) "Inert matter" means all matter not seed, including broken seed, sterile florets, chaff,

fungus bodies, and stones;

(19) "Innoculant" means a formulation containing nitrogen -fixing bacteria which is

applied as a treatment to legume seed to increase the nitrogen -fixing capabilities of

the plants produced from the seed;

(20) "Inspection fee" means a fee, based on volume or value of product distributed,

collected by the director from permit holders in Kentucky;

(21) "Kind" means one (1) or more related species or subspecies which singly or

collectively is known by one (1) common name, for example, corn, oats, alfalfa, and

timothy;

(22) "Label" includes a tag or other device attached to or written, stamped, or printed on

any container of seed or accompanying any lot of bulk seed purporting to set forth

the information required on the seed label by KRS 250.021 to 250.111, and it may

include other information relating to the labeled seed;

(23) "Lot" means a definite quantity of seed identified by a number or other mark, every

portion or bag of which is uniform within reco gnized tolerances for the factors

which appear in the labeling;

(24) "Mixture" means seed consisting of more than one (1) kind, each in excess of five

percent (5%) by weight of the whole;

(25) "Mulch" means a protective covering of any suitable substance p laced with seed

which acts to retain moisture to support seed germination and sustain early seedling

growth and aid in the prevention of the evaporation of soil water, the control of

weeds, and the prevention of erosion;

(26) "Noncertified custom seed cond itioner" means a person other than a certified seed

conditioner who conditions agricultural seed which is to be distributed;

(27) "Noxious weed seed" means one (1) of two (2) classes:

(a) "Prohibited noxious weed seed" means those weed seed which are prohi bited

from being present in agricultural, vegetable, or flower seed, and are seed of

weeds which are highly destructive and difficult to control; or

(b) "Restricted noxious weed seed" means those weed seed which are

objectionable in agricultural crops, law ns, or gardens of Kentucky, but which

can be controlled using conventional methods;

(28) "Pelleted seed" means seed coated with a layer of inert materials that may obscure

the original shape and size of the seed resulting in a substantial weight increase a nd

improved plantability. The addition of polymers, biologicals, pesticides, identifying

colorants or dyes, or other ingredients may be included in the pelleting material;

(29) "Permit holder" means a person who has obtained a permit from the director to label

agricultural, vegetable, or flower seed; or combination mulch, seed, and fertilizer

products distributed in Kentucky and whose name and address is required to appear

on labels of those products distributed in Kentucky as a condition for obtaining the

permit;

(30) "Person" means an individual, partnership, company, corporation, or other type of

business establishment;

(31) "Pure seed" means seed exclusive of inert matter and all other seed not of the kind

or variety being considered;

(32) "Informal hearing" means a discussion of facts between the person involved in an

apparent law violation and the director;

(33) "Record" means information which relates to the origin, treatment, germination,

purity, kind, and variety of each lot of seed sold. The informa tion shall include seed

samples and documents showing declarations, labels, purchases, sales, conditioning,

bulking, treatment, handling, storage, analyses, tests, or examinations;

(34) "Retail agricultural seed dealer" means a person who engages in the business of

distributing agricultural seed in containers or bulk units of forty (40) pounds or

more;

(35) "Seizure" means a legal process carried out by court order against a specified see d

lot;

(36) "Stop sale" means an administrative order provided by law, which restrains the

distribution of a specified seed lot;

(37) "Treated seed" means seed which has received an application of a substance or has

been subjected to a process for which a claim is made;

(38) "Variety" means a subdivision of a species which is distinct, uniform, and stable;

distinct in the sense that the variety can be differentiated by one (1) or more

identifiable morphological, physiological, or other characteristics from all other

publicly known varieties; uniform in the sense that the variations in essential and

distinctive characteristics are describable; and stable in the sense that the variety

will remain unchanged in its essential and distinctive characteristics and i ts

uniformity when reproduced or reconstituted as required by the different categories

of varieties; and

(39) "Vegetable seed" means the seed of those crops which are grown in gardens and on

truck farms and are generally known and sold under the name of ve getable or herb

seed in Kentucky.

Collected 2026-09-05T20:53:02Z. Source file · JSON

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