Article 22Soil requirements
1.Certified mother plants may only be grown in soil that is free from any pests which are listed in Annex III, for the genus or species concerned, and which host viruses affecting that genus or species. Freedom of such pests hosting viruses shall be established by sampling and testing.
That sampling shall be carried out by the responsible official body and, where appropriate, the supplier.
That sampling and testing shall be carried out before the certified mother plant concerned is planted, and it shall be repeated during growth where there is suspicion concerning the presence of the pests referred to in subparagraph 1.
That sampling and testing shall be carried out taking into account the climatic conditions and the biology of the pests listed in Annex III, and where those pests are relevant for the certified mother plants or the certified material concerned.
2.Sampling and testing shall not be carried out where plants which are hosts for the pests listed in Annex III, for the genus or species concerned, have not been grown in the soil of production for a period of at least five years and where there is no doubt concerning the absence of the relevant pests in that soil.
Sampling and testing shall not be carried out when the responsible official body concludes on the basis of an official inspection that the soil is free from any pests which are listed in Annex III, for the genus or species concerned, and which host viruses affecting that genus or species.
Sampling and testing shall not be carried out in the case of certified fruit plants.
3.In the case of sampling and testing as referred to in paragraph 1, Member States shall apply protocols of EPPO, or other protocols which are internationally recognised. Where such protocols do not exist, Member States shall apply the relevant protocols established at national level. In that case, Member States shall, on request, make available those protocols to the other Member States and to the Commission.