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 bluegrass, corn, onion, rice, ryegrass, safflower, soybean and vinca.

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 Award, BlueChip, GPA and Odyssey varieties of kentucky bluegrass, developed by J.R. Simplot Company, Post Falls, Idaho;

•    the I181664, I026458, I015011, I014738 and GF6151 varieties of field corn, developed by DEKALB Genetics Corporation, DeKalb, Ill.;

•    the 3327 variety of field corn, developed by Asgrow Seed Company LLC, St. Louis, Mo.;

•    the NuMex Camino* variety of onion, developed by New Mexico State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Las Cruces, N.M.;

•    the L-205 and M-402* varieties of rice, developed by California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation, Inc., Biggs, Calif.;

•    the Secretariat variety of perennial ryegrass, developed by Grassland West Company, Clarkston, Wash.;

•    the S-719* variety of safflower, developed by California Oils Corporation, Woodland, Calif.;

•    the Moon Cake and Tara varieties of soybean, developed by U.S. Government, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture, Beltsville, Md.; and

•    the Victory Apricot and Victory Cranberry varieties of vinca, developed by Sakata Seed Corporation, Yokohama, Japan.

* 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.