AMS No. 043-09

Jimmie Turner (202) 720-8998

jimmie.turner@usda.gov

Billy Cox (202) 720-8998

billy.cox@usda.gov

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2009 -- 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 bentgrass, lettuce and zinnia.

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 14 certificates are:

-- the Legendary variety of velvet bentgrass, developed by Lebanon Seaboard Corporation & Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Huntsville, Utah;

-- the Pacifica and Nani’s Best varieties of lettuce, developed by Orsetti Seed Company, Inc., Hollister, Calif;

-- the PS 06510126 variety of lettuce, developed by Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc., Oxnard, Calif;

-- the Magosa, Auburn, Windsor, Benito, Bixby, and Breen varieties of lettuce, developed by Enza Zaden Beheer B.V., Enkhuizen, The Netherlands;

-- the PAS553645 variety of zinnia, developed by Ball Horticultural Company, West Chicago, Ill.; and

-- the SAKZIN008, SAKZIN009, and SAKZIN010 varieties of zinnia, developed by Sakata Seed Corporation, Yokohama, Japan.

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 telephone (301) 504-5518, fax (301) 504-5291, or the Internet at www.ams.usda.gov/pvpo.