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 peanut, rice, triticale, and wheat.

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 Wilson* variety of peanut, developed by Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc., Blacksburg, Va.;
• the CL131* and Trenasse* varieties of rice, developed by Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Rayne, La.;
• the Forerunner variety of triticale, developed by Weaver Seed of Oregon Inc. & Oregon Trail Seeds, Inc., Crabtree, Ore.;  
• the 96, 346, 1029S, and 314 varieties of triticale, developed by Resource Seeds,  Inc., Gilroy, Calif.; 
• the Louise variety of common wheat, developed by Washington State University Research Foundation, Pullman, Wash.; 
• the Alkabo* and Divide* varieties of durum wheat, developed by NDSU Research Foundation, Fargo, N.D.; 
• the OK Bullet*and Deliver* varieties of common wheat, developed by Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station (OAES), Stillwater, Okla.; 
• the Hatcher*and Bond CL* varieties of common wheat, developed by Colorado Wheat Research Foundation, Centennial, Colo.; 
• the Panola*, and Branson* variety of common wheat, developed by Monsanto Company, Creve Coeur, Mo.; and  
• the Waxy-Pen* variety of common wheat, developed by U. S. Government, as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, DC. 

* 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 via internet at: www.ams.usda.gov/science/PVPO/pvpindex.htm.