Publication of an application in accordance with Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs

2011/C 310/12

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 510/2006 (1). Statements of objection must reach the Commission within six months of the date of this publication.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 510/2006

‘SZŐREGI RÓZSATŐ’

EC No: HU-PGI-0005-0389-21.10.2004

PDO ( ) PGI ( X )

This summary sets out the main elements of the product specification for information purposes.

1.   Responsible department in the Member State:

2.   Group:

3.   Type of product:

4.   Specification:

(summary of requirements under Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006)

4.1.   Name:

‘Szőregi rózsatő’

4.2.   Description:

The improved bare-root rose that is marketed consists of rootstock and an improved cultivar grafted onto it. The following varieties are used as rootstock: Laxa, Polmeriana, Schmid’s Ideal, Inermis, Multiflora and Superbe. The rootstock must have the following characteristics: the ability to endure temperatures as low as – 30 °C without sustaining damage; be disease-resistant (primarily against rust, star-rust and mildew); be resistant to dryness and humidity; exhibit good growing vigour (develop strongly, healthily and fast); be lime-tolerant (with the exception of Multiflora); be easy to propagate (fast germination of seeds without lying is essential).

Garden and flowerbed, tea-hybrid, polyantha, floribunda, rambling, miniature and ground-cover rose cultivar groups are used in the production of ‘Szőregi rózsatő’. Scions from these groups can also be grafted onto their own trunk (with the exception of floribunda). The graft height may range from 40 cm to 140 cm.

The properties of the protected geographical indications ‘Szőregi rózsatő’ are grouped into either category A or B:

4.3.   Geographical area:

The improved bare-root rose with the protected geographical indication ‘Szőregi rózsatő’ is produced within the administrative boundaries of the following localities in Csongrád County: Szeged-Szőreg, Szeged-Mihálytelek, Szeged-Gyálarét, Algyő, Deszk, Újszentiván, Kübekháza and Tiszasziget.

4.4.   Proof of origin:

The producer maintains a register inspected and certified by the competent authorities and kept in accordance with official rules. The register contains the following information: the topographic number of the area, the number of rootstocks planted, their variety and origin; a map of the planting; the grafting schedule and its implementation; the amount grafted per variety; the amount and quality distribution of the final product and the amount sold by variety, the recipient (or buyer), the number of the contract concluded with the buyer, the producer number and the plant code. When marketing the improved bare-root rose under the ‘Szőregi rózsatő’ label, the Szõregi Virág-Dísznövény Áfész operates a uniform computerised registration system which guarantees consistency of quality. Following acquisition (delivery) from the growers the improved rose cultivars are placed on the market under a common label, picture and variety name.

4.5.   Method of production:

The procedure starts with obtaining and producing the rootstock. If the growers choose to produce the rootstocks, the seeds have to be sown in either autumn or spring, depending on whether cold treatment takes place artificially or naturally. The seedlings are dug up in late autumn. After the seedlings are taken out, they have to be selected and bundled according to root collar thickness. Seedlings can be purchased at this phase of the procedure (for growers who do not produce their own rootstocks). The bundles, whether the growers have produced them themselves or bought them, have to be pitted in trenches at an angle and carefully covered with soil so that the canes are evenly and everywhere three-quarters covered.

The next phase of the procedure entails preparing the soil for planting. The soil of the Tisza-Maros is excellent for growing roses. Nevertheless, attention has to be paid to placing the rootstocks in nutrient-rich and weed-free soil. Crop rotation is obligatory in rose growing. Cereals and hay must be produced as preceding crops. After the preceding crops have been harvested, plant protection and deep ploughing (30-40 cm) have to be carried out in the autumn by disking or rotary cultivator.

Planting must be done in mid-February and the beginning of March. The rootstocks are planted in order of size, starting with the thickest and moving to the thinnest. The rootstocks must be prepared for planting: the roots are cut back to 17 cm, and the canes are pruned to 10 cm. Manual planting is typical, but planting can also be done by machine. The rows are 80-90 cm apart, and the distance between the roses is 12-14 cm. After planting, the ridges are prepared. The depth of planting is very important: the neck of the seedling should be 2-3 cm above the ground so that grafting will be able to take place easily.

The plants must be cared for and protected throughout the entire production cycle. Soil cultivation destroys weeds and pests. As nutrient supply improves the roses’ hardiness, artificial fertiliser and possibly organic cattle manure should be used. Crop rotation helps to prevent the proliferation of specific pests. Weeds have to be removed from the rootstocks regularly, and this is done with mechanical rotivators or by ploughing and manual hoeing. This also ensures the proper aeration of the soil. This has to be done 4-6 times a year. Plants have to be regularly sprayed against fungal diseases and pests. Irrigation is also important; however, it depends on the weather.

The grafting that follows planting lasts from the second half of July until the beginning of September. Dormant grafting must be used for roses. The grafting work has three separate phases: opening the rootstocks, grafting and wrapping. The buds have to be taken from improved, moderately florescent rose cultivars engrafted in the previous year.

The first task after grafting is to scatter combined fertiliser on the rootstocks in the winter. The spring tasks on the roses start in the second year, by cutting them back. Then the rootstock is cut off above the bud with sharp shears. The sucker between the shoots has to be removed. The scions have to be pinched out after 5-10 cm of growth, to allow the rose to become bushy. Regular mechanical weed removal, manual hoeing and spraying also belong to the spring and summer tasks of the improved rose. During the summer, the budsticks necessary for grafting the rootstocks have to be collected from the roses that have been created in this way.

The roses are dug up in the autumn. October is the best time for picking roses. The roses have to be cut back at a height of 40 cm before they are dug up. When they are being picked, the roses that have been ploughed and turned with a shaking tractor have to be defoliated, have the suckers removed and be classified, bundled and labelled. After sorting and bundling, the roses have to be transported to a cool place as quickly as possible and protected against drying out. Coolers that maintain a temperature of between 0 oC and 2 °C in both winter and summer are most suitable for storage.

The basic packaging material is a mix of peat and wood shavings in the proper ratio (50:50), which is kept together by polyester or paper. The latter may be planted together with the paper roll, which disintegrates in the soil. The purpose of the packaging is to prevent the roots of the roses from drying out and being damaged by machines. Roses of the same grade are bundled in groups of 10, and then a label is attached to the bundle. The bundles of 10 prepared in this way are again bundled together in groups of 5.

4.6.   Link:

The special quality of the ‘Szőregi rózsatő’ is due partly to more than a hundred years of tradition and partly to the area’s excellent climate and geographical conditions.

Historical connection: In the Szeged-Szőreg region, cultivating roses and selling the grafted rootstocks and cut flowers started in Új-Szeged near the end of the 19th century. The history of rose cultivation in Szőreg is linked to the traditions of production in Szeged and Új-Szeged and to the development of gardens. The young grafting masters graduating from the Szeged nurseries settled in Szőreg, and did gardening for themselves, too, on their small parcels of 400-800 négyszögöl (1 440-2 880 m2). They established a nursery and most of the time sold the grafted rootstocks together with orders from the Szeged nursery, which employed them. At the beginning of the 1900s, a new economic sector sprang up in Szőreg, the pioneers being without exception poor, landless tenant peasant farmers and day-labourers. Since they were also practical experts, the small gardeners of Szőreg perfected their work, and after completing their own grafting work at home, went to faraway places to graft, thereby making Szőreg famous through their work. This small group taught the current group of gardeners. The golden age of Szőreg’s rose culture was in 1927.

The small nursery owners were interdependent. As they had particular problems selling their roses, they established their first cooperative in 1936. In 1938 the total area of the Szeged-Szőreg tree nurseries was 350 kh (2), and they prepared 1 250 000 grafts. The area of the rest of the nurseries in the country was 850 Hungarian acres, which produced 2 040 000 grafts. The Szeged-Szőreg nurseries had already begun to export roses in the first years of the 20th century. The Szeged-Szőreg nurseries accounted for an average of 63,6 % of the country’s total nursery exports (i.e. 587 000 grafts) between 1929 and 1931, which demonstrates that these small nurseries grew excellent grafts.

98 % of the roses produced in Hungary are grown in Szőreg and its vicinity, the only major rose-growing region in Hungary. ‘Szőregi rózsatő’ also enjoys a good reputation and high acclaim abroad, demonstrated by the fact that the vast majority (more than three quarters) of the 4-5 million improved bare-root roses produced each year are exported.

Natural factors: In addition to the traditions of cultivation, excellent environmental conditions also bind the rose to Szőreg. Three environmental conditions are necessary for producing good-quality, hardy and strong roses: good-quality and nutrient-rich soil, adequate water supply and enough sunshine.

The region where ‘Szőregi rózsatő’ is produced is on a former floodplain at the confluence of the Tisza and Maros rivers. The medium-compact loam which has developed here, with its high humus content and good drainage capacity, and the silty alluvial soil result in a densely ramifying rootstock containing more root-hairs than is the case for improved bare-root roses grown in other types of soil. Because of the good drainage capacity, water does not stagnate in the soil, and because of the soil’s loose and airy structure the oxygen necessary for good root development is available. The densely ramifying rootstock ensures better nutrient intake and the improved part grows better, develops strongly and yields more canes, shoots and flowers than plants grown in soil with other characteristics. The improved bare-root rose intended for marketing is therefore far more disease- and winter frost-resistant, and can also be relied on to retain its quality in other types of soil. The vicinity of the Tisza and Maros rivers also ensures optimal relative humidity for rose cultivation and the possibility of irrigation.

Among the most important environmental conditions for rose cultivation is light, given that it provides the energy necessary for photosynthesis. Beside the number of hours of sunshine, the length of the day, the light strength and energy also greatly influence the quality of ‘Szőregi rózsatő’. The Szőreg rose-growing region has the hottest summers and most sunlight of any region in the country. The average annual temperature is 11,5 °C, whereas during the growing season it is 18 °C. The region experiences more than 2 100 hours of sunlight, which exceeds the average for regions further north. The growing season starts earlier in the spring and lasts longer into the autumn and the vegetative period is extended, so the plants receive a greater total amount of sunlight and heat than more northerly areas. This results in robust growth. The improved bare-root roses withstand autumn well, producing a thick, suitably lignified mass of canes with well-developed, healthy buds. Rich nutrient reserves in the hardy canes allow the autumn-gathered rose cultivars to be subjected to long-term storage and facilitate rooting after planting in the following years. Resistance to frosts is increased by the fact that in the Szőreg area it is not uncommon for hot summers to be followed by harsh winters, during which the plants harden sufficiently for the remainder of their lives. Rooting by the ‘Szőregi rózsatő’ following planting is assured.

Human factors, expertise: The production of the ‘Szőregi rózsatő’ dates back more than a century and possesses traditions that are unique in the country. The exceedingly labour- and skill-intensive cultivation of the improved bare-root rose is typically undertaken on family farms made up of many generations. The knowledge and skills developed in the region are passed on from generation to generation. These include passing on traditions of cultivation, hand-grafting techniques and dexterity.

In summary, it could be said that the Tisza-Maros region, with its continental climate, nutrient-rich, loosely structured and ideally irrigated loamy and alluvial soil and exposure to sunlight, is congenial to the cultivation of ‘Szőregi rózsatő’. As a result of the exceptional natural conditions and specialist knowledge and experience transmitted from father to son, the specific properties of ‘Szőregi rózsatő’ are preserved under any climatic condition.

4.7.   Inspection body:

4.8.   Labelling:

The wording on the label is: ‘Szőregi rózsatő’, with the following illustration:

Following entry in the Community register, the ‘protected geographical indication’ label and related Community symbol must also be displayed.

(1)  OJ L 93, 31.3.2006, p. 12.

(2)  A cadastral acre is an archaic term of measurement equal to 1 600négyszögöl, i.e. 0,5755 hectares or 5 755 m2.