USDA Seed and Grain Branch Records

The USDA Seed and Grain Branch Records include correspondence from plant breeders, seedsmen, and others, mainly addressed to Clyde R. Edwards, Seed and Grain Branch Division, for clearance of plant variety names in accordance with the Federal Seed Act. The files of vegetable crops and turf grasses are organized in alphabetical order by name of plant. Information within the letters indicates that trademark applications for seeds and U.S. Plant Variety Protection Certificates were sent to the correspondents by this government office. There are also reprints of articles and clippings.

The collection also includes a filing cabinet containing index cards of plant variety names in alphabetical order. The cards form the Variety Name List, which is a list of names that have been used as variety names for agricultural and vegetable seeds. The purpose of the list is to prevent violations of the Federal Seed Act by providing to the plant breeders and others who are naming varieties a list of names that have already been used. The information gathered on the cards was collected from sources such as variety release notices, official journals, seed catalogs, and seed trade publications. In the early 2000s, information on the cards was entered into a database. The Variety Name List database can be accessed on the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Seed Testing and Clearance website at https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/seed-testing/variety-name-list