DUS Guidance

The purpose of document TG/1/3 “General Introduction to the Examination of Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability and the Development of Harmonized Descriptions of New Varieties of Plants” (General Introduction), and the associated series of documents specifying Test Guidelines’ Procedures (TGP documents), is to set out the principles which are used in the examination of DUS. The only binding obligations for members of the Union are those contained in the UPOV Convention itself. However, on the basis of practical experience, the General Introduction and the TGP documents seek to provide general guidance for the examination of all species in accordance with the UPOV Convention. In addition, UPOV has developed “Guidelines for the Conduct of Tests for Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability” (Test Guidelines), for many individual species or other variety groupings. The purpose of those Test Guidelines is to elaborate certain of the principles contained in the General Introduction and the associated TGP documents, into detailed practical guidance for the harmonized examination of DUS and, in particular, to identify appropriate characteristics for the examination of DUS and production of harmonized variety descriptions.

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