Acta Horticulturae

The International Organisation of Vine
and Wine
The approval by the French Parliament of
the Agreement of 3 April 2001 establishing
“The International Organisation of Vine and
Wine” constitutes the 31st instrument for the
coming into force of this International
Agreement on 1st January 2004.
Georges DUTRUC-ROSSET, Director General
of the OIV personally declared that he was
very satisfied to see this Agreement coming
into force at the moment he was terminating
his mandate to the Office of Director General
of the OIV on 31 December 2003. He recalled
that “his seven-year mandate at the head of
the International Office of Vine and Wine was
largely dedicated to the management of the
Office’s revision, to holding diplomatic negotiations
enabling to conclude the International
Agreement, to motivating Member States for
a quick ratification and for getting the new
Internal Rules of Procedure of the new organisation
under way”. He also mentioned “that
obtaining 31 ratifications of an International
Agreement in just two years was certainly a
record that reveals the interest of the producing
and consuming countries for the rapid
implementation of an intergovernmental institution
in a sector where international trade has
greatly expanded in the last few years.”
The new Agreement was signed on 3 April
2001, after more than five years of work with
the aim of modernising missions and human
and materiel means of the current International
Office of Vine and Wine established on 29
November 1924.
At the time of its creation the International
Office of Vine and Wine had eight producing
member countries. Today there are forty seven
members. Their vision and interests concerning
the sector are sometimes divergent. Therefore,
it is essential that the O.I.V. be able to take into
account these new stakes in a balanced
approach between all these members.
The missions of the New Organisation are
modernised and adapted in order to enable it
to pursue its objectives and perform its duties
as an intergovernmental body of a scientific
and technical nature, of recognised competency
in the sector of vine, wine, wine-based beverages,
table grapes, raisins and other vinebased
products.
Consensus will be the normal decision-making
process of the General Assembly of the new
Organisation for the adoption of proposals of
resolutions of a general, scientific, technical,
economic and legal scope, as well as the creation
or termination of commissions and subcommissions.
The Agreement creates new dynamics in the
world vitivinicultural sector by the setting up of
a modern, specific, intergovernmental Organisation,
whose functioning methods make it
an international forum for exchanging views
and reconciling points of view. This results in
the adoption of resolutions and scientific and
technical recommendations in the sector of
vine, wine, wine-based beverages, table
grapes, raisins and other vine-based products,
and pursues the international harmonisation of
practices and regulations essential to the development
of international trade in the interest of
producers, distributors and consumers.
Info: http://www.oiv.int/fr/oiv/accord.html
The California Seed Growers Isolation
Pin Map System
Cross-pollinated vegetable and field crops
require isolation to assure no undesired crossfertilization
between different varieties of the
same species, and between different crops in
different species.
Crop isolation can be achieved either by spatial
(distance) or temporal (time) factors. This
Internet isolation or “pinning” map is designed
to allow seed growers to identify the location
and the planting date of seed crops produced
in California. Seed production personnel can
electronically mark or “pin” fields from their
offices to allow “real time” tracking of seed
production activities.
This map is available for all seed companies
and/or growers to use in order to help coordinate
seed production efforts. It was developed
as a result of the financial support and advice
of numerous vegetable and field seed companies.
The map is not intended to be used to
enforce field isolations, but rather to be used
as a tool to help companies and growers work
cooperatively to place and plant seed fields to
assure high genetic purity. Users only have the
ability to enter and change data on their own
fields by use of confidential login ID’s and
passwords.
For an extensive overview of the map developed
by the California Crop Improvement
Assn. and the Seed Biotechnology Center,
visit: SeedQuest http://seedquest.com/spotlight/i/isolationpinmap/default.htm
or visit
the map site http://ccia.ucdavis.edu Info: Sue
Webster, Seed Biotechnology Center, (530)
754-7333, scwebster@ucdavis.edu.
Society of American Florists (SAF)
Terril A. Nell, Ph.D., AAF, a University of
Florida professor has taken the helm of the
Society of American Florists (SAF), an influential
group of floral-industry business owners.
Dr. Nell became the first academic to assume
the presidency of SAF last September, during
its 119th Annual Convention in Boca Raton,
Florida. SAF is a national association of more
than 15,000 members who represent all segments
of the US floral industry. Nell, a horticulturist,
will lead the group’s public relations
and governmental affairs efforts through 2005.
CHRONICA HORTICULTURAE •VOL 44 • NUMBER 1 • 2004 • 31