NAKTUINBOUW (NETHERLANDS INSPECTION SERVICE FOR HORTICULTURE)

Naktuinbouw is a new organisation that was founded January 1, 2000, following a merger between NAKB (Inspection Service for Floriculture and Arboriculture) and NAKG (Inspection Service for Vegetable and Flower Seeds).
Naktuinbouw implements the Dutch Seeds and Planting Materials Act and the European legislation relating to propagating material in arboricultural, floricultural and vegetable sectors.
The activities of Naktuinbouw cover the entire Dutch horticultural sector. The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries has charged Naktuinbouw with the duty of inspecting propagating material and supervising nurseries and companies that produce and/or trade in propagating material. As required under Dutch law, Naktuinbouw has organisationally and financially separated its public tasks (the statutory inspections) from its private tasks (services).
The specialised test laboratories of Naktuinbouw support the public and private tasks of the organisation. About 1.000.000 samples a year of ornamental crops and tree-nursery plants are tested for a wide range of viruses (c. 75) using ELISA. If necessary indicator plants are used and PCR and other molecular-biological methods are available for detecting viruses on the basis of their nucleic acid characteristics. E.g. PCR is used to detect incomplete strains of TRV and bi-directional electrophoresis for detecting viroids.
Tests for bacteria, fungi and phytoplasmas vary from growing on (selective) media, microscopical examination, immunofluorescence (IF), immunofluorescence colony-staining (IFC) electrophoresis, and pathogenicity tests, to PCR. The latter is often applied to confirm the identity of isolated bacteria. agrobacterium tumefaciens can be detected in various crops with a bio-PCR within a week. For Verticillium dahliae the presence of sclerotia in soil can be tested.
Meristem culture is applied on a small scale to obtain disease-free material of certain crops, e.g. alstroemeria, cymbidium, hydrangea, kalanchoë, etc. On request, the obtained disease-free plantlets can be stored in vitro (e.g. chrysanthemum varieties). Tests for resistance not only cover resistance to virus and fungal diseases, but also resistance to insect damage (trips, whitefly, aphids).
In recent years Naktuinbouw has widened its market to other European countries, as well.