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

The seven 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 seven certificates are:

• the Savannah variety of Bermuda grass, developed by Pure Seed Testing Inc., Rolesville, N.C.;

• the Brilliant variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Pure Seed Testing Inc., Hubbard, Ore.;

• the Dutchess variety of celery, developed by Pybas Vegetable Seed Co. Inc., Santa Maria, Calif.;

• the Stonehenge variety of hard fescue, developed by Advanta USA Inc., Albany, Ore.;

• the Absolut* variety of white mustard, developed by P.H. Petersen Saatzucht Lundsgaard GmbH & Co. KG, Grundhof, Germany;

• the ORCF-101* variety of common wheat, developed by State of Oregon, by and through the State Board of Higher Education on behalf of Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore.; and

• the Overley* variety of common wheat, developed by Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Manhattan, Kan.

* 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