The full job specification can be found by clicking here.

We shall watch this closely to see who is appointed and will then speculate wildly to try and second guess what the appointment will mean for the future of the CPVO and European PVRs.

• The A272 is to be closed between Coopers Green and Hadlow Down (about one mile south of our office) for five weeks commencing 26 July. This will result in increased traffic on the local lanes around our offices and makes east-west travel difficult.
• The A26 will have serious delays during roadworks at Eridge Green (two miles south of Tunbridge Wells) for twelve weeks commencing 26 July. We estimate that this could add 15 to 20 minutes to north-south journey times at peak hours.
• Selsfield Road in East Hoathly is to be closed for five weeks from 26 July. This road is our most direct route to/from Crawley, Gatwick Airport and the M23 and often comes up on satnav systems and Google Maps. Please use the A264/A22 instead and allow an extra ten minutes.

If you require advice on travelling to our office, or would rather meet somewhere else, then please contact us.

One of the best features was the new plant competition. It was great to see more than 50 entries covering all types of garden plants. A few creases need to be ironed out (why were some Nemesia varieties classed as annuals whilst others were classed as perennials? Surely it would be better to have a “patio and bedding” class instead) but overall our impression was positive. We’ll be looking to support this further in coming years.

This year, five PFE-managed varieties were in the competition. It is a reflection of the quality of output from our breeders that four of these plants were given awards:

• Nemesia Framboise (bred by Martine Tellwright) – GOLD
• Leucanthemum Real Galaxy (Richard Read and Keith Lintott) – SILVER
• Geum Totally Tangerine (Tim Crowther) – BRONZE
• Nemesia Mirabelle (Martine Tellwright) – BRONZE

For details on any of these plants, please contact us.

Contact us if you wish to make an appointment to see him.

• Tuesday: Hendrik ido Ambacht
• Wednesday: Westland
• Wednesday afternoon: Hillegom
• Thursday morning: Honselersdijk
• Thursday afternoon: Aalsmeer
• Friday morning: Düsseldorf area
• Friday afternoon: Gensingen

If you would like to meet up with Graham, then contact us directly. His diary is very full, but there are a few gaps available for meeting growers and breeders.

The Flower Trials are one of the most most important events in the horticultural world now. Several varieties managed by PFE will be on display there, so be sure to take your camera and notebook!

• Hebe TULLYRASPB – Raspberry Ripple
• Hebe TULLYSTRAW – Strawberries and Cream
• Lavandula stoechas WITH LOVE
• Nemesia FLEURPDBLU – Provencal Dusky Blue
• Nemesia FLEURPDPNK – Provencal Dusky Pink
• Nemesia FLEURRAS – Raspberries and Cream
• Nemesia CONFETTI FROSTED PINK – also known as Jubilee
• Prunella BINSUMDAZ – Summer Daze
• Zantedeschia aethiopica SNOW WHITE

That’s a 100% record – we filed nine applications and all nine were granted, including one variegated plant (which are always more tricky).

If we can help you with your application for EU Plant Variety Rights, contact us today. We offer two services – either full representation service, acting as your agent for trials, licensing, policing, marketing and more or we can simply act as your procedural representative for PVR filing only. Ask us for details.

So, Plants For Europe is taking a short holiday to recharge and refresh before the Flower Trials in week 24 (let us know if you want to meet there – Graham will be there, traveling from Breda on Tuesday afternoon, through Westland on Wednesday, Aalsmeer on Thursday and Rheinland-Westfalen on Friday). The office will be closed from 24 May to 28 May inclusive, although we hope to continue to deal with urgent emails and mobile phone calls during that period (it is crazy May after all!).

Firstly, Marco van Noort and Blooms of Bressingham have come to agreement over a long running dispute concerning two very similar varieties of Geranium, Rozanne (Gerwat) and Jolly Bee. Horticulture Week covers the story here. As I have written in the comments at Horticulture Week, I think that this whole episode illustrates the need for more robust DUS testing during the PVR application process and, in particular, an increase in the “minimum distance” between a candidate variety and the comparator varieties. CIOPORA has a working group on DUS at the moment, so I’m hoping that the organisation will soon have a strong lobbying position to take to the CPVO and others. My impression from the recent CIOPORA conference in Seville was that breeders generally would prefer to see minimum distances increased, provided of course that we have an understanding of what the minimum distance required to pass the distinctiveness test should be.

Secondly, the long-running Schräder versus CPVO case seems finally to have reached a conclusion. IPKat reports on it here and the official record of the judgment of the European Court of Justice can be found here. This judgment will give the CPVO more confidence, I think, and reinforces its existing procedures. It also rather serves as a salutary warning for applicants that they really need to be sure of their facts! I honestly think that, if the applicant is invited to the DUS examination trial and cannot identify his own variety when growing alongside the comparator, trouble lies ahead!

You may have heard about social networking on the internet – you may even be a social networker yourself already. We take a dim view of jargon at PFE headquarters, but we do recognise the usefulness of a system that helps one to meet and exchange information and ideas with other like-minded people around the world. That is why we use LinkedIn which is really social networking for grown-ups, a genuine professional resource. You can see Graham’s profile here.

In particular, Graham is the owner of a “group” on LinkedIn for Plant Breeders and Agents. This group is open to any LinkedIn user who works with new plant introductions, both agricultural and horticultural. This includes plant breeders and biotechnologists, breeders’ agents (like us!), lawyers, growers of new plants, marketers and those working in support industries such as IT and specialist recruitment.

The Group now has over 300 members and has recently announced its first meeting, which will be held at IPM 2011 – thanks to generous support from the IPM organisers, Messe Essen. This will be a great opportunity for people working in our industry to meet and network, share ideas, meet old friends and make new ones.

If you are interested in joining our Group, you can find out more here.