The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued certificates of protection to developers of 14 new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include barley, bentgrass, bluegrass, corn, fescue, oat, soybean, and wheat.

The 14 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 14 certificates are:

• the Tradition* variety of barley, developed by Busch Agricultural Resources, Inc., FT. Collins, CO;

• the SR 1119 variety of creeping bentgrass, developed by Seed Research of Oregon, Inc., Corvallis, OR;

• the Hallmark and Wellington varieties of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Novel AG, Inc., Saint Paul, OR;

• the PH81C variety of field corn (F1), developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Johnston, IA;

• the Teton variety of tall fescue, developed by Cascade International, Seed Company, Aumsville, OR;

• the Masterpiece variety of tall fescue, developed by Lebanon Seaboard Corporation, Huntsville, UT;

• the Secretariat LA495 variety of oat, developed by Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, Baton Rouge, LA;

• the Barnes* variety of soybean, developed by NDSU Research Foundation, Fargo, ND;

• the 95M80 variety of soybean, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Johnston, IA;

• the DP 7220 RR variety of soybean, developed by D&PL Technology Holding Company, LLC., Scott, MS;

• the 26R31 variety of common wheat, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Windfall, IN;

• the Nela* variety of common wheat, developed by Cebeco Seeds B.V., Vlijmen, Holland; and

• the Alzada variety of durum wheat, developed by WeatBred, LLC., Bozeman, MT.

* 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