Development of seed potato certification system in Iran and Potato virus Y as the most important factor in disruption of certification system

Potato is one of the most important agricultural product in Iran which due to vegetative propagation, incremental deterioration of tubers caused by diseases are evident after each generation. Therefore, development seed control and certification systems for sustainable production and maximizing yields to be noticed by many countries produce potatoes including Iran. For this purpose, seed tubers produced in three classes of pre-basic, through the establishment of healthy seedlings in fully controlled conditions in vitro and in vivo andproduction of healthy mini-tubers, basic and certified tubers through production on the farm under the full supervision of technical inspectors. Seed tubers monitored based on national standards that most of the emphasis is on the health of the tubers and in case of acquisition the required standards are certified. Monitoring of the health, identity and genetic purity of seed tubers in the country during the last decade showed that the most important limiting factor and disruption of this process is infection with PVY virus which is transmitted by non-persistent and due to the wide host range and distribution, control has been very difficult. Although, a decreasing trend of infection rates over time due to the use of healthy seeds in the country but still remains at the forefront of the important factors of the system. The present review article pays attention to introduce the control system and quality of potato seed and the PVY virus as an important problem in seed propagation farms.