The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued certificates of protection to developers of 18 new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include aster, corn, cotton and watermelon.

The 18 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 18 certificates are:

• the Serenade Blue-Tipped White, Serenade Carmine, Serenade Light Blue, Serenade Rose-Tipped White, Serenade Rose and Serenade Scarlet varieties of china aster, developed by Sakata Seed Corporation, Yokohama, Japan;

• the NP2167, NP2174 and NP2213 varieties of field corn, developed by Syngenta Seeds, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn.; the PH5W4, PH726 and PH6JM varieties of field corn, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Johnston, Iowa;

• the PM 1218 BG/RR variety of cotton, developed by Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, Baton Rouge, La.;

• the DP 655 B/RR, PM 2280 BG/RR, PM 2320 RR and PM 2192 BG varieties of cotton, developed by D&PL Technology Holding Corporation, Scott, Miss.; and

• the SP-1 variety of watermelon, developed by Syngenta Seeds, Inc., Boise, 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/pvp.htm .