You can count on Technico early generation seed - no matter where it is produced - to come from a limited field multiplication of FG-2 or FG-3 early generation seed.

Traditional seed production programs aim at producing affordable seed potatoes anywhere from four to eight field generations, starting initially from the stage of a microtuber or an indexed tuber and passing through different stages; from Breeder/Basic Seed to Foundation Seed I and II, Certified Seed I and going down to the level of Certified Seed II. The seed potato, grown by the traditional methods, traverses through a minimum of 6 field generations (each field generation taking one year) in order to achieve the market volume and pricing economics. Each field multiplication reduces the unit cost of the seed tubers produced, however the accumulation of pathogenic disease increases with the passing of each field generation, thereby impacting the yield capacity of the resultant seed.

The TECHNITUBER® technology is a scientifically advanced process of producing large volumes of miniature seed potatoes from virus and pathogen free nuclear materials. By utilising this mass production capacity year round in protected production environments, Technico is able to produce the required seed numbers to transfer to its field seed production programs or to its customers to deliver commercial seed in 2-3 field generations. Our technology allows us to produce commercially affordable seed 3-4 field generations earlier than traditional seed methods - a quantum step by any standards.

Put simply, we start our system with a clean product, we keep it clean in protected environments and we produce TECHNITUBER® seed at least 15 times the productivity of conventional minituber production practices. This is one of the keys allowing us to produce competitively priced seed at field generation two/three when others spend many more years in the field to achieve the same production economics.

The following table provides a clear picture of Technico's point of differentiation.

	Years Produced in the Field
Country/Region	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Traditional Seed Systems
									GG
Australia	G 1	G 2	G 3	G 4	G 5
Canada	PE	E 1	E 2	E 3	E 4	F	C
North America	N	G 1	G 2	G 3	G 4	G 5
India	B	B	B	F 1	F 2	C	C	C	C
South Africa	G 1	G 2	G 3	G 4	G 5	G 6	G 7	G 8
Europe	Clones	S	S	SE	E	A	B
TECHNICO GLOBAL CLASSIFICATION	FG 1	FG 2	FG 3

This table represents the number of field generations that are allowable under various country/region seed potato certification systems and still the seed can be "Certified". The longer the seed is in the field the more exposure to disease it has.