AMS No. 183-08

Jimmie Turner (202) 720-6179

jimmie.turner@usda.gov

Billy Cox (202) 720-8998

billy.cox@usda.gov

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2008 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued certificates of protection to developers of 25 varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include bean, bluegrass, fescue, lettuce, orchardgrass, soybean and wheat.

The 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 25 certificates are:

-- the Shania variety of field bean, developed by Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, Decatur, Ill.;

-- the RAM100 and Winterlinks varieties of rough bluegrass, developed by Pure Seed Testing, Inc., Hubbard, Ore.;

-- the Somona variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Lebanon Seaboard Corporation, Huntsville, Utah;

-- the Diva variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, N.J.;

-- the Royce variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Pure Seed Testing, Inc., Hubbard, OR, and Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, N.J.;

-- the Six Point and Falcon IV varieties of tall fescue, developed by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, N.J.;

-- the Turbo variety of tall fescue, developed by Cascade International Seed Company, Aumsville, Ore.;

-- the King Royale variety of lettuce, developed by Central Valley Seeds, Inc., Salinas, Calif.;

-- the Potomac II* and Paiute II* varieties of orchardgrass, developed by Ag Biotech of Oregon, Inc., Corvallis, Ore.;

-- the 95Y41, 94Y70, 90Y41, and 91Y20 varieties of soybean, developed by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Johnston, Iowa;

-- the NIDERA A 4209RG, NIDERA A 5485RG, NIDERA A 5543RG, and NIDERA A 4613RG varieties of soybean, developed by Nidera S.A., Santa Fe, Argentina;

-- the AP700 CL* and Salute* varieties of soft white winter wheat, developed by Syngenta Seeds, Inc., Junction City, Kan.;

-- the Doans* variety of hard red winter wheat, developed by Syngenta Seeds, Inc., Vernon, Texas; and

--the Coker 9804* and Culpeper* varieties of soft red winter wheat, developed by Syngenta Seeds, Inc., Junction City, Kan.

* In the United States, seed of this variety shall be sold by variety name only as a class of certified seed, and 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 more information, contact the Plant Variety Protection Office at (301) 504-5518, fax (301) 504-5291 or the Internet at www.ams.usda.gov/pvpo.