(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(i) "Agronomic performance" means distinguishable agronomic qualitative and quantitative characteristics of any cotton seed variety considered for evaluation of performance as claimed by the producer ;
(ii) "Controller" means the Cotton Seed Controller appointed by the Government under section 3 ;
(iii) "cotton seed" means cotton seed of any variety and includes transgenic and genetically modified cotton seed varieties used for sowing ;
(iv) "farmer" means any person who raises cotton crops either by cultivating the land by himself or through any other person but shall not include a person engaged in the commercial procurement and sale of cotton seeds ;
(v) "Government" means the Government of Maharashtra ;
(vi) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act ;
(vii) "producer" means a person, group of persons, firm or company or organisation who grows or organizes the production of cotton seed ;
(viii) "spurious seed", in relation to the cotton seed, means that seed which is not genuine or true to its type ;
(ix) "Referral Seed Testing Laboratory" means a laboratory established or declared as notified by the Government of India ;
(x) "substandard seed" means cotton seed which does not meet the prescribed seed standards for the cotton seed ;
(xi) "transgenic variety" means seed or planting material synthesized or developed by modifying or altering the genetic composition by means of genetic engineering ;
(xii) "variety" means a plant grouping except micro-organism within a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, which can be-
(a) defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting from a given genotype of that plant grouping ;
(b) distinguished from any other plant grouping by expression of at least one of the said characteristics ; and
(c) considered as a unit with regard to its suitability for being propagated, which remains unchanged after such propagation, and includes propagating material of such variety, extant variety, transgenic variety, farmers variety and essentially derived variety.
(2) Words and expressions used but not defined herein shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Seeds Act, 1966 (54 of 1966), the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (10 of 1955), the Seeds (Control) Order, 1983 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986).