Wheat harvest in Mississippi is near completion and with harvest each year come questions about saving wheat seed for planting purposes.

The following information can help avoid any confusion about saving seed:

Many private and public wheat varieties are protected from unauthorized replanting by the Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) and/or United States patent.

Seed produced from a patented variety cannot be planted for any purpose, including nontraditional uses.

PVPA-protected seed cannot be sold, advertised, offered, delivered, consigned, exchanged, or exposed for sale without permission from the proprietary seed owner.

In addition, no one can try to buy, transfer, or possess the variety in any way.

It is illegal to clean or condition such seed to sell for planting purposes.

Retail dealers, seed cleaners, and consumers all are legally responsible for violations.

An exemption to the 1994 amended PVPA allows growers to collect and save seed produced from any legally purchased PVPA-protected variety. They can use this seed for their own future planting, but they cannot sell, trade, or transfer it to others for planting purposes.

No one can replant a wheat variety that is patented for any reason.

For further information please refer to these websites:

• MSU Extension Service Information Sheet 1763

• Plant Variety Protection Act

• Plant Variety Protection Office PVP Database

• United States Patent Database

Richard S. Taylor is with the Mississippi Seedsmen’s Association. He can be contacted at (662) 686-4621 or [email protected].