Washington, DC, USA
September 22, 2009 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued certificates of protection to developers of 13 new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include bean, bentgrass, bluegrass, lettuce, fescue, soybean and wheat.

The certificates are being issued under the Plant Variety Protection Act. The certificates require that the varieties be new, distinct, uniform and stable. The owners will have the exclusive right to reproduce, sell, import and export their products in the United States for the duration of protection.

The 13 certificates are:

• the Pierroton variety of bean, developed by Syngenta Seeds, Inc., Nampa, Idaho;
• the Kingpin variety of creeping bentgrass, developed by Rutgers, the State of University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, N.J.;
• the MacKenzie variety of creeping bentgrass, developed by Seed Research of Oregon, Corvallis, OR and Rutgers, the State of University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, N.J.;
• the Cheetah variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by DLF International Seeds, Halsey, Ore.;
• the Sabre III variety of roughstalk bluegrass, developed by DLF International Seeds, Halsey, Ore.;
• the Everest and Freedom III varieties of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by J.R. Simplot Company, Post Falls, Idaho;
• the Talledega variety of lettuce, developed by Progeny Advanced Genetics, Inc., Salinas, Calif.;
• the SR 5250 variety of red fescue, developed by Seed Research of Oregon, Corvallis, OR and Rutgers, The State of Univ. of New Jersey, New Brunswick, N.J.;
• the 93Y10 variety of soybean, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Johnston, Iowa;
• the LA95135 and AGS 2060 varieties of common wheat, developed by Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and A&M College, Baton, Rouge, La.; and
• the USG 3555* variety of common wheat, developed by Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc., Blacksburg, Va.

* In the United States, seed of this variety shall be sold by variety name only as a class of certified seed, and shall conform to the number of generations specified by the owner of the rights (84 STAT. 1542, as amended, 7 U.S.C. 2321 ET SEQ).

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service 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: September 22, 2009