The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued certificates of protection to developers of 20 new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include cotton, fescue, pea, rice, safflower, tobacco and wheat.

The 20 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 20 certificates are:

• the Acala Ultima* variety of cotton, developed by California Planting Cotton Seed Distributors, Shafter, California;

• the DP 4025, DP 4049, and DP 388 varieties of cotton, developed by D&PL Technology Holding Corporation, Scott, Mississippi;

• the PSC413 variety of cotton, developed by Phytogen Seed Company, LLC, San Diego, California;

• the Sure-Grow 585B and Sure-Grow 125R varieties cotton, developed by Sure-Grow Seed, Inc., Centre, Alabama;

• the Coronado Gold and Wolfpack varieties of tall fescue, developed by Pure Seed Testing, Inc., Hubbard, Oregon;

• the Ashton variety of pea, developed by Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc., Oxnard, California;

• the WRS-4431 and WRM-3538 varieties of rice, developed by Western Rice Research Busch Agricultural Resources, Inc., Pleasant Grove, California;

• the AB1542 and AB2975 varieties of rice, developed by Busch Agricultural Resources, Inc., Jonesboro, Arkansa;

• the Calhikari-201* variety of rice, developed by California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation, Inc., Biggs, California;

• the CW 2889 variety of safflower, developed by Cal/West Seeds, Woodland, California;

• the RGH4* variety of tobacco (F1), developed by F.W. Rickard Seeds, Inc., Winchester, Kentucky;

• the Benton* and Douglas* varieties of common wheat, developed by Monsanto Company, St. Louis, Missouri; and

• the Goodstreak* variety of common wheat, developed by Board of Regents, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska.

* 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