Seed E-News

June 10, 2005

In Memoriam
It is with deep regret that the American Seed Trade Association must announce that on May 31, 2005, Jim Carnes, of J.L. Carnes & Associates, passed away. Jim's long association with the seed industry began in 1948 in the Pacific Northwest where he started International Seeds, Inc. in Halsey, OR. ASTA President in 1987, Jim was also President of the Oregon Seed Trade Association, Western Seed Trade Association and Herbage Seed Section and, most recently, Executive Director of the Perennial Ryegrass Bargaining Association. Jim will be sorely missed by his many friends in the seed industry and particularly in ASTA. We send our condolences to his family.

ASTA Annual Convention 2005
Pre-registration for ASTA's 122nd Annual Convention, being held June 18-22, 2005 at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers, has closed. However, you can still register on-site. Featuring a top-notch line up of general session speakers and a busy program of Division and Committee meetings, this year promises to continue the high standards of recent conventions. There are also a variety of special events, fun sporting events, and a host of exciting optional tours.

ASTA Membership Renewals 2006
Membership renewal notices for fiscal year 2006 which commences July 1, 2005 have been mailed to ASTA Representatives. If you have not received a renewal notice, you should contact Peter Patterson at the ASTA offices in Alexandria, VA on 1-888-890-7333 or at ppatterson@amseed.org.

ASTA Committee Assignments 2006
Committee assignments for 2006 were due by Friday, May 13, 2005. However, it is not too late make your committee assignments for the coming fiscal year. All ASTA Representatives should have received a company profile listing current committee assignments along with details of ASTA committees and a sign-up form. If you have not received yours, please contact Peter Patterson at ppatterson@amseed.org.

USDA Grants Protection to Fifteen New Plant Varieties
WASHINGTON, June 2, 2005 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued certificates of protection to developers of fifteen new varieties of seed-reproduced and tuber-propagated plants. They include bermuda grass, lettuce, rice, and soybean. The eight 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 fifteen certificates are:

• the Yukon* and Riviera* varieties of bermudagrass, developed by Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, Stillwater, OK;
• the Badger, Brave Heart, Javelina, and Coyote varieties of lettuce, developed by Seminis Vegetable Seeds, Inc., Oxnard, CA;
• the Medark variety of rice, developed by Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Fayetteville, AZ;
• the L-Star variety of soybean, developed by National Agricultural Research Organization, Ibaraki, Japan;
• the Mohawk, Conquistador, Grizzly, Sniper, Wolverine, and PS 6545691 variety of lettuce, developed by Seminis Vegetable Seeds Inc., Oxnard, CA; and
• the Beyond variety of Kentucky bluegrass, developed by Jacklin Seed by Simplot, Post Falls, ID.

* 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.

USDA Announces Equivalency for Accredited Seed Lab Program
WASHINGTON, June 10, 2005 — The U.S. Department of Agricultureās Agricultural Marketing Service today announced that its U.S. Accredited Seed Laboratory (ASL) Program is equivalent to the Canadian Seed Laboratory Accreditation and Audit Protocol, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) Plant Production Division.

The recognition of equivalency will allow seed testing laboratories accredited by AMS in the ASL Program to be recognized by the CFIA, and seed test results from these laboratories may be used by accredited graders to grade and label seed with a Canadian pedigreed grade name.

To acquire official recognition, laboratories must apply to the CFIA, and the labās manager or supervising analyst will then need to be evaluated on the specifics and procedures required under the Canadian Methods and Procedures for Testing Seed.

More information on the ASL is at http://www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/arc/asl.htm or by contacting Richard C. Payne, Chief, AMS Seed Regulatory and Testing Branch by phone at 704-810-8870, or by writing to 801 Summit Crossing Place, Suite C, Gastonia, NC 28054-2193.

Soybean Rust Web Sites
The following links will be maintained through October 2005. Those interested, should bookmark them. USDA's interactive soybean rust web site Soybean Rust Information Site provides timely information on the extent and severity of soybean rust outbreaks in the United States, Caribbean basin and Central America. It will give users up-to-date forecasts on where soybean rust is likely to appear in the United States, reports where the disease exists by county, refers growers to county extension agents nationwide, lists the National Plant Diagnostic Networks laboratories and links to other web sites to give producers effective disease management options. North Carolina State University's Soybean Rust Forecast Center will be updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week. On April 21, ASTA member Syngenta Crop Protection launched its Syntinel(TM) RustTracker system, www.soybeanrust.com, an early-warning Web-based system that provides growers with tools to obtain information regarding outbreaks of Asian soybean rust and assess their potential for risk associated with the disease. Purdue Agriculture Soybean Rust Page.

US Grains Council Global Update
The weekly global update is provided at the request of the Corn & Sorghum Division. Follow the link for the update for week ending June 3, 2005 and June 10, 2005.

Industry and People

Cotton Cool Germination Test Study
Group completes Study Mid-West Seed Services, Inc. (MWSS) recently took part in a cool cotton germination test study group. Results are being released from the 14-laboratory study recently concluded. The six month study was conducted in order to compare within and among laboratory variation of cotton cool and warm germination results. Participants in the study included laboratories routinely conducting or planning to conduct the cotton cool and warm germination tests. Companies taking part included the Arkansas State Plant Board Seed Laboratory, Bayer Crop Science, Delta and Pine Land Company (three locations), Emergent Genetics, Gustafson Seed Technology Center, J.G.Boswell Company, Mid-West Seed Services, Inc., Mississippi State Seed Testing Laboratory, Mycogen Seeds and various locations of the Texas Department of Agriculture. The study identified three points for further standardization including measurement units, specific seedling measurement points, and chilling of media prior to seed placement. Study participants hope to further identify and improve the uniformity of cotton cool tests. Complete findings of the study are printed in the May issue of the AOSA/SCST Newsletter. For a copy or to participate in the next study group please contact Kari Fiedler at Mid-West Seed Services, Inc.605-692-7611.

If your company or organization has any personnel changes or other developments that you would like to see included in the ASTA E-News, please send details to ppatterson@amseed.org.

ASTA Conferences and Activities

June 18-22, 2005
122nd ASTA Annual Convention
Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Tower
Seattle, WA
Registration

November 5-8, 2005
ASTA Farm & Lawn Seed Meeting
Westin Crown Center
Kansas City, MO
(held in conjunction with the Western Seed Association)

December 7-9, 2005
60th Corn & Sorghum and
35th Soybean Research Conferences
Seed Expo (Dec. 7-8, 2005)
Hyatt Regency
Chicago, IL

January 28-31, 2006
Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference
Amelia Island Plantation
Amelia Island, FL

Other Upcoming Events

July 2005
Colorado State University Seed Analyst Workshops
Two five-day Seed Analyst Workshops will again be held at Colorado State University (CSU), in Fort Collins, Colorado, July 11-22, 2005. Each will be restricted to 10-20 students. The July 11-15 workshop, "Seed Identification and Purity Analysis," provides an extensive hands-on experience with seeds of legumes, cereals, grasses, revegetation species, vegetables and flowers. The emphasis will be on grass species identification and the use of blowing points and multiple unit factors for determining pure seed. Noxious weeds common to these groups are also emphasized. Participants in this workshop will have the opportunity to collect seeds of many different grasses and legumes. The July 18-22 workshop, "Seed Viability," offers lectures and practical experience in viability testing, including germination dormancy, vigor and tetrazolium. The emphasis will be on the use of tetrazolium when testing seed viability of native species. An educational tour of regional seed labs and a visit to the Denver Botanical Gardens are included with this workshop.

The workshops are an excellent preparation for taking the qualifying exams to become a Registered Seed Technologist (RST) or a Certified Seed Analyst. The workshops provide a review of fundamentals of seed anatomy, identification, purity, physiology, and viability testing. The fee for each workshop, including materials, is $200 ($350 if both workshops are taken). Reasonable accommodations are available at nearby motels. The workshops are offered in conjunction with the Seed Analyst Training Program offered by CSU through its Division of Educational Outreach. This program introduced in early 1998, is comprised of the following courses, some of which may be prerequisites for the workshops, depending on the studentās training and experience:

These courses may be taken throughout the year, anywhere in the world. To date, over 350 students have enrolled representing 24 states and 7 countries. The courses are recommended by AOSA/SCST for beginning and experienced seed analysts. Credits apply towards points needed to take the RST accreditation examination. To register for the courses and workshops, contact:

Colorado State University
Division of Continuing Education
1040 Campus Delivery, Spruce Hall
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1040
Phone: 1-877-491-4336 OR 1-970-491-5288
E-Mail: info@learn.colostate.edu
Website: www.learn.colostate.edu

For information or questions on the courses and workshops, contact Carissa Schow (970-491-6295) or Jim Bruce (970-495-3246).

September 2005
New England Invasive Plant Summit
The New England Invasive Plant Summit will be held September 16-17, 2005 at Sheraton Framingham Hotel, Framingham, MA. Gather with scientists, land managers, policy-makers, educators, horticulturists, industry leaders and volunteers who are seeking and sharing information about how to work together to find solutions to the invasive plant problem in the region.

The preliminary agenda and registration information are now available online. Also available are instructions for submitting an abstract for a presentation or poster. The deadline for submitting an abstract has been extended to June 8, 2005. A limited number of Student Scholarships are available. For more information, go to www.ipane.org and follow the link to "2005 Invasive Plant Summit" in red at the foot of the home page. Information is also available from:

Cynthia Boettner, Coordinator
New England Invasive Plant Group
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge
52 Avenue A
Turners Falls, MA 01376
Phone: (413) 863-0209 ext. 6
Fax: (413)-863-3070
Email: Cynthia_Boettner@fws.gov

November 2005
Soybean Rust Workshop
The American Phyto-Pathological Society has scheduled a workshop in conjunction with USDA and the American Soybean Board for November 15-16, 2005 to discuss soybean rust. The symposium will be held at the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville, TN. Check out the APS web site http://www.apsnet.org/online/sbr/ for more information about the symposium and to subscribe to the mailing list for periodic updates.