Washington, DC, USA
March 1, 2011

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued certificates of protection to developers of 29 new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include bluegrass, fescue, mustard, onion, ryegrass, sorghum and watermelon.

The Plant Variety Protection Act provides legal protection in the form of intellectual property rights to developers of new varieties of plants.

“A certificate of protection is awarded to an owner of a crop variety after an examination shows that it is new, distinct from other varieties, and genetically uniform and stable through successive generations,” said Administrator Rayne Pegg, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). “The public benefits as the recipient of lower prices from increased productivity, and from quality food, feed, fiber and other products, that result directly from improved plant varieties.”

The term of protection is 20 years for most crops, and 25 years for trees, shrubs and vines. The owner of a protected variety has exclusive rights to multiply and market the seed of that variety.

The 62 certificates are:

• the Sudden Impact variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by J.R. Simplot Company, Post Falls, Idaho;
• the Katie and Rhythm varieties of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by DLF International Seeds, Halsey, Ore.;
• the Blue-Rriffic variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Pure-Seed Testing, Inc., Hubbard, Ore.;
• the PENN RK4, Cochise IV, 3rd Millennium, Traverse and Rhambler varieties of tall fescue, developed by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, N.J.;
• the Gazelle II and Dynamic II varieties of tall fescue, developed by Pure-Seed Testing, Inc., Hubbard, Ore.;
• the Shenandoah Sport variety of tall fescue, developed by NexGen Turf Research, LLC, Albany, Ore.;
• the Pacific Gold* variety of india mustard, developed by Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station, Moscow, Idaho;
• the NuMex Serenade* variety of onion, developed by New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station, Las Cruces, N.M.;
• the Catalina II, Quicksilver, Manhattan 4 and Silver Dollar varieties of perennial ryegrass, developed by Pure-Seed Testing, Inc., Hubbard, Ore.;
• the Charismatic variety of perennial ryegrass, developed by Lebanon Seaboard Corporation, Huntsville, UT & Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, N.J.;
• the PHBNS1BLIT, PHKUKZQKE, PHBKKCBVIE, PHKUWMVKE, PHBKCKBVIT and PHOUOVXKT varieties of sorghum, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred, International, Inc., Plainview, Texas;
• the R07007 variety of sorghum, developed by Texas AgriLife Research, College Station, Texas; and
• the 4XCS34, 4XASSS4 and 4XMSAS varieties of watermelon, developed by Syngenta Seeds, Inc., Nampa, Idaho.
• the Hockett* variety of barley, developed by Montana Agricultural Experiment Station, Bozeman, Mont.;
• the Innovation variety of barley, developed by Busch Agricultural Resources, LLC, Ft. Collins, Colo.;
• the BG 46e and BG 006 varieties of barley, developed by Monsanto Technology, LLC, St. Louis;
• the Rasmusson* variety of barley, developed by Regents of the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn.;
• the Kimberly*, Shoshone*, Sawtooth* and Hungerford* varieties of field bean, developed by University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho;
• the 0863 PER variety of field bean, developed by Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc., Oxnard, Calif.;
• the Sweethaven and Summertime varieties of cowpea, developed by Thaddeus Hillery Busbice, Cary, N.C.;
• the California Blackeye No. 50* variety of cowpea, developed by The Regents of the University of California, Oakland, Calif.;
• the Monument* variety of guar, developed by Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, and Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., Duncan, Okla.;
• the Horizon 201 variety of oat, developed by Florida Foundation Seed Producers, Inc., and The Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and A&M College, Gainesville, Fla.;
• the TAMO 406* variety of oat, developed by Texas AgriLife Research, College Station, Texas;
• the Rockford variety of oat, developed by NSDU Research Foundation, Fargo, N.D.;
• the Spider* variety of field pea, developed by Nickerson International Research SNC, Chappes, France;
• the 718 variety of triticale, developed by Resource Seeds Inc., Gilroy, Calif.;
• the Everest* variety of common wheat, developed by Kansas State University Research Foundation, Manhattan, Kan.;
• the Pete* variety of common wheat, developed by Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station (OAES), Stillwater, Okla.;
• the ND901CL Plus* variety of common wheat, developed by NSDU Research Foundation, Fargo, N.D.;
• the Greer*, SY Goliad* and SY 9978* varieties of common wheat, developed by Syngenta Seeds, Inc., Vernon, Texas;
• the CJ* variety of common wheat, developed by Syngenta Seeds, Inc., Junction City, Kan.;
• the WB-Paloma and WB-Rockland varieties of common wheat, developed by Monsanto Technology, LLC, St. Louis;
• the TV8861, W290408F and 075705 varieties of common wheat, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Johnston, Iowa;
• the Sabin* variety of common wheat, developed by Regents of the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn.; and
• the NC-Cape Fear* variety of common wheat, developed by North Carolina Agricultural Research Service, Raleigh, NC.

AMS administers the Plant Variety Protection Act, which provides time-limited marketing protection to developers of new and distinct seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants ranging from farm crops to flowers.

For more information, contact the Plant Variety Protection Office at (301) 504-5518, fax (301) 504-5291, or the Internet at www.ams.usda.gov/pvpo.

Website: http://www.ams.usda.gov/pvpo

Published: March 2, 2011