The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued certificates of protection to developers of 15 new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include barley, bluegrass, bentgrass, bermudagrass, corn, fescue, muskmelon, potato and soybean.

The 15 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 15 certificates are:

• the Radiant variety of barley, developed by Washington State University Research Foundation, Pullman, Washington;
• the Valier* variety of barley, developed by Montana Agricultural Experiment Station, Bozeman, Montana;
• the Mariner* variety of creeping bentgrass, developed by Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, College Station, Texas;
• the Transcontinental, and Sunbird varieties of bermudagrass, developed by Pure Seed Testing Inc., Rolesville, North Carolina; 
• the Mohawk* variety of bermudagrass, developed by Seed West Inc., Roll, Arkansas;
• the Showcase variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Pure Seed Testing, Inc., Hubbard, Oregon;
• the A60059, W69079, and W23129 varieties of corn, developed by JC Robinson Seeds, Inc., Waterloo, Nebraska;
• the 5750 variety of corn, developed by Asgrow Seed Co. LLC., St. Louis, Moissouri;
• the Shenandoah II variety of tall fescue, developed by R.J. Peterson Enterprises Inc., Williamsburg, Virginia;
• the SLA-NS variety of muskmelon, developed by Abbott & Cobb Inc., Feasterville, Pennsylvania;
• the Russet Norkotah 296 variety of potato, developed by Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, College Station, Texas; and
• the LaMoure* variety of soybean, developed by NDSU Research Foundation, Fargo, North Dakota.

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.