The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued certificates of protection to developers of nine new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include Bermuda grass, bluegrass, rice, soybean, and wheat.

The nine certificates, which are issued under the Plant Variety Protection Act, require 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 nine certificates are:

• the Southern Star variety of Bermuda grass, developed by J.R. Simplot Company, Post Falls, Idaho;
• the Reveille* variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, College Station, Texas;
• the Serene variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Pure Seed Testing, Inc., Hubbard, Ore;
• the Wells variety of rice, developed by University of Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Fayetteville, Ark.;
• the Pathum Thani 1 variety of rice, developed by Thailand Department of Agriculture, Bangkok, Thailand;
• the Hayate variety of rice, developed by Nakajima Yoshio Syouten, Shiga, Japan;
• the 94M30 variety of soybean, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Johnston, Iowa; and
• the Idaho 587* and Jerome* variety of common wheat, developed by Idaho Research Foundation, Inc., (representing the interests of the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station and the University of Idaho), Moscow, 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