Washington, DC, USA
February 2, 2010

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued certificates of protection to developers of eleven new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include bluegrass, onion, pepper, tobacco and wheat.

The eleven 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 eleven certificates are:

• the Full Moon variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Pure-Seed Testing, Inc., Hubbard, Ore.;
• the EX 07716000 variety of onion, developed by Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc., Oxnard, Calif.;
• the SBY991201, SBY281223, SBY991266 and SBR991216 varieties of pepper, developed by Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc., Oxnard, Calif.;
• the AOB 174 variety of tobacco, developed by Alliance One International, Inc., Morrisville, N.C.;
• the Kelse variety of common wheat, developed by Washington State University Research Foundation, Pullman, Wash.;
• the 25R32 and 26R20 variety of common wheat, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Windfall, Ind.; and
• the AGS 2035 variety of common wheat, developed by University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc., Athens, Ga.

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

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

Published: February 2, 2010