The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued certificates of protection to developers of 16 new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants.  They include bean, corn, fescue, muskmelon, pea, and wheat.

The 16 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 16 certificates are:

• the Chianti, Windbreaker, and Pink Panther variety of field bean, developed by Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc., Oxnard, California; 

• the Excalibur and Slenderpack varieties of garden bean, developed by Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc., Oxnard, California; 

• the Orion variety of field bean, developed by Kelley Bean Co. Inc., Scottsbluff, Nebraska;

• the PH9HV variety of corn developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Johnston, Iowa;

• the Navigator and Cindy Lou varieties of red fescue, developed by DLF International Seeds and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Halsey, Oregon; 

• the S3-1520-XLT and S3-3200-XLT varieties of muskmelon (F1), developed by Abbott and Cobb, Inc., Feasterville, Pennsylvania; 

• the K2, SW Carousel, and SW Marquee* varieties of field pea, developed by Svalöf Weibull AB, Svalöv, Sweden;

• the Nitouche* variety of field pea, developed by DLF-Trifolium A/S, Store Heddinge, Denmark; and

• the Declo* variety of common wheat, developed by Sunderman Breeding, Inc., Twin Falls, Idaho.

* In the United States, seed of this variety (1) shall be sold by variety name only as a class of certified seed and (2) 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 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/science/PVPO/pvpindex.htm.