DUS testing lists for agricultural, vegetable and ornamental plants
Who does DUS (distinctiveness, uniformity and stability) testing in the UK, what they test for and how to contact them.
Documents
Details
These lists contain the agricultural, vegetable and ornamental plant varieties that the UK tests for distinctiveness, uniformity and stability (DUS).
You need to get your plant variety DUS tested if you want to:
- add a new plant variety to the UK national list - so you can market it in the UK
- get plant breeders’ rights for your new variety - so you have intellectual property rights for it in the UK
Agricultural and vegetable list
There are 3 test centres for DUS testing of agricultural and vegetable varieties in the UK:
- the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI)
- the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB)
- Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA)
The agricultural and vegetable list includes the:
- agricultural or vegetable variety that can be tested
- organisation responsible for testing it
- organisation contact information and address to send samples to
Ornamental list
NIAB does all DUS testing in the UK for ornamentals.
The ornamental list includes the:
- botanical variety name
- UPOV PRISMA code
This is not an exhaustive list. Contact pvs.helpdesk@apha.gov.uk to ask for more information if the variety you want to enter is not listed.
Contact DUStesting@niab.com to confirm number of years of testing and whether the variety is tested outdoors or in glasshouse.
You should put the crop name or species in the subject line of your email.
Updates to this page
Last updated 11 March 2024 + show all updates
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Updated the contact details for NIAB.
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Contact details updated for DUS test centres.
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Update to ornamentals contact details for NIAB.
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Updated the Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) DUS testing capability.
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Updated the email address for getting more information about ornamental varieties.
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The agricultural and vegetable list has been updated - you need to contact Graham Hall instead of Andrew Walker if you have questions about certain crops under the SASA DUS testing capability.
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First published.