In response to the growing domestic and international demand for non-pest production systems and the traceability of healthy planting materials, the Taiwan Seed Improvement and Propagation Station (TSIPS), in collaboration with industry partners, is promoting a non-pest production system centered on upstream risk management. By integrating parent material control, nursery management, and third-party verification, TSIPS is establishing a “Start Clean, Stay Clean” healthy seed and seedling supply chain, thereby strengthening the foundation of Taiwan’s agricultural production and enhancing international alignment.

Managing Risks at the Source to Reduce Pathogen Transmission

TSIPS emphasizes that the core of a non-pest production system lies in upstream risk management. For parent materials and seed production, TSIPS assists industry stakeholders in implementing systematic pathogen testing and disease-resistance screening, ensuring that source materials are traceable and verifiable in terms of quality. Supported by standardized procedures and scientific data, this approach effectively reduces the risk of pathogens entering the production chain through propagation materials.

Open Lab as a Public Resource: Making Technology Truly Applicable

To enhance industry self-reliance, TSIPS promotes an Open Lab service model, combining training with hands-on practice. This approach helps operators understand the principles, applicability, and operational key points of diagnostic technologies, while making effective use of public laboratory resources to conduct testing. As a result, quality management is no longer limited to interpreting test results, but becomes a practical tool that can be understood and applied by industry.

Establishing a Field Inspector System to Extend Quality Management

At the seed and seedling production stage, TSIPS continues to support the establishment of a field inspector system, accompanied by training in sampling and inspection. This ensures that field management and laboratory diagnostics share a common quality language. TSIPS also serves as Taiwan’s focal point for healthy seedling certification, assisting the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency (APHIA) in promoting a healthy seedling production and verification system. This institutional design enables quality management to be implemented from the production process onward, rather than relying solely on final product testing.

Third-Party Verification Laboratories Supporting Industry Needs

In its role as a third-party verification body, TSIPS provides services in seed quality testing, GMO detection, and the diagnosis of key plant pathogens. The laboratory undergoes continuous domestic and international audits and proficiency assessments, ensuring service quality and capacity, and providing concrete support for seed exports and high-end market requirements.

Promoting Nursery Environmental Certification to Replace One-Time Testing

At the nursery level, TSIPS and industry partners jointly promote a “Five-Ring Management System”, integrating the management of facilities, personnel, materials, water sources, and operational processes. By emphasizing process-based governance instead of end-point product inspection, this system ensures that the quality of healthy seedlings can be continuously monitored and controlled.

TSIPS notes that a non-pest production system is not a single diagnostic technology, but rather a production system centered on upstream risk management. Only by controlling risks from the very beginning can agricultural products maintain a healthy status throughout the entire production process.

TSIPS’s Seed Testing Laboratory is Taiwan’s only ISTA-accredited laboratory, authorized since 2001 to issue ISTA International Seed Analysis Certificates. In 2025, it successfully completed the ISTA on-site audit and accreditation renewal. TSIPS is also accredited under TAF ISO/IEC 17025, providing GMO monitoring, export seed pathogen testing, and healthy seedling certification services. It will continue to expand services and industry collaboration as a national technical platform supporting Taiwan’s healthy seed and non-pest production systems.

▲Figure 1. The complete operational framework of Taiwan’s vegetable seed industry, from seed importation to domestic production, processing and packaging, and ultimately the export of seeds (seedlings) and agricultural products.

▲Figure 2. Through third-party-verified diagnostic methods for watermelon bacterial fruit blotch, Taiwan has established a comprehensive validation chain encompassing testing methodologies, laboratory capacity, and quality management systems, serving as a critical foundation for promoting healthy seeds, non-pest production systems, and strengthening international market confidence.