With the Regulation on the Certification and Marketing of Fruit Saplings and Propagation Materials (“Regulation”), published in the Official Gazette dated 28 April 2026 and numbered 33237, the procedures and principles regarding the production and marketing of fruit saplings and propagation materials within the certification system have been defined.
The Regulation sets out the procedures and principles regarding the production and marketing of fruit saplings and propagation materials within the scope of the certification system, with the aim of ensuring that such materials are produced and marketed in a true-to-type, high-quality, and healthy manner; whereas scientific research, activities aimed at the preservation of genetic diversity, and productions intended solely to meet the producer’s own needs are excluded from its scope.
In this context, the certification process has been structured in a tiered manner based on mother stock units; pre-basic propagation materials and pre-basic saplings are produced in first-level mother stock units, basic propagation materials and basic saplings in second-level units, and certified propagation materials and certified saplings in third-level units, with the final stage providing for the use of such materials in orchards.
Within the scope of the Regulation, producers operating within the certification system are required to obtain a nursery producer certificate and/or a tissue culture and seedling producer certificate, and it is stipulated that imported propagation materials can be used in the establishment of mother stock units. In addition, obligations have been introduced regarding plant passport registration, harmful organism controls, isolation distances, and the recording of chemical applications carried out during production processes.
Furthermore, it is mandated that declarations be submitted, parcel inspections be conducted, parcel inspection reports be prepared, and certification procedures be carried out within the certification process; it is also stipulated that certificates will be revoked where the declared information is found to be inaccurate.
With respect to labeling and certification, it has been made mandatory for propagation materials and saplings to be labeled in different colors according to their certification class and to include QR codes on the labels; the validity periods of certificates and labels, as well as the mechanism for their extension through a Plant Inspection Report, have also been regulated.
With regard to marketing, it is stipulated that saplings and propagation materials produced within the certification system can only be marketed through producers and seedling dealers authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, that unlabeled sales are prohibited, and that, in order to be marketed as organic, such materials must be certified in accordance with the relevant legislation.
The Regulation also sets out provisions concerning inspection, objection, sanctions, and fee structures, and provides that actions contrary to its provisions will be subject to measures under Law No. 5553.
Finally, the previous Regulation published in the Official Gazette dated 3 July 2009 and numbered 27277 has been repealed, and the new Regulation aims to establish a more comprehensive, traceable, and auditable certification system.
You can access the full text of the Regulation through this link (Only available in Turkish).
