AAS Trial Grounds
Breeders Who Wish To Enter AAS Trials

Welcome to the area designed for breeders (entrants) who wish to enter any new, unsold variety in an AAS trial. There are fourteen frequently asked questions and answers (FAQ) that will guide you through the process of how to enter an AAS trial. We invite you to explore this area if you have never entered, or if you enter regularly. This fact based FAQ section offers considerable data about the AAS testing and introduction programs.

Click on the questions below to toggle the view of the answer:

1. What is All-America Selections?

   All-America Selections is the oldest, most established international, independent testing organization in North America for flowers and vegetables grown from seed.

    

2. Why should I enter the AAS trials?

   a) To receive a written objective evaluation on the performance of your entry by experienced horticulturalists, the AAS Judges. 

   b) To have an opportunity to test your new unsold cultivar at independent test sites across North America.

   c) To win the prestigious AAS Award. Winners of the AAS Awards are unique and recognized for their value both in North America and internationally as flower and vegetable varieties that are bound to consistently produce plants with outstanding vigor, quality and productivity under a wide range of environmental conditions.

   d) AAS launches an extensive publicity program as outlined below. By winning the prestigious AAS Winner award designation, your flower or vegetable variety is the beneficiary of a wide range of promotional activities. The first year is the most intense phase of promotion in order to successfully launch your new AAS Winner. Beyond the first year, there remains a consistent effort to keep AAS Winners top of mind. In fact, the promotions continue long after the five year assessment time frame because once an AAS Winner, always an AAS Winner. We often receive requests for photos and other information on winners that are ten, fifteen or even 30 years old!  

   AAS Winner Promotion Plan

   Promotion Tactics	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Year 5	Ongoing
   Press release	X
   E-news announcement	X
   AAS website posts	X	X	X	X	X	X
   AAS website seed source	X	X	X	X	X	X
   SlideShare presentation	X	X	X	X	X	X
   Facebook announcement	X
   Facebook mentions	X	X	X	X	X	X
   Facebook photo albums	X	X	X	X	X	X
   Twitter mentions	X	X	X	X	X	X
   NGB New Varieties program	X
   Display Garden displays	X	X	X	X	X
   Landscape Design Contest	X	X	X	X	X	X
   Preview Gardens	X
   OFA Short Course New Varieties	X
   GWA Quill & Trowel Announcement	X
   GWA Symposium	X
   AAS Winner brochure	X
   ASTA announcement January mtg.	X
   AAS Summer Summit displays	X	X	X	X	X
   Winner Assortments		X	X	X	X
   NGB Pinterest board(s)	X	X	X	X	X	X
   NGB Year of program (if applicable)	X	X	X	X	X	X

    

3. How do I enter?
   
   

   a) Complete official AAS entry form in detail.

   b) Send entry to arrive in AAS office by November 1 for Vegetable, Flower and Bedding Plant trials. Cool Season Bedding Plant entries to arrive in the AAS office by February 15.

   c) Use a separate entry form for each entry.

   d) One 300 DPI JPEG digital image must accompany each entry form. Do not label print.

   e) Do not send seed with entry form.

   f) For each entry, enclose $600.00 with entry form payable by check or bank draft in U.S. dollars, drawn on a U.S. Bank. The entry fee is waived for a non-profit institution.

   g) If entry is a vegetable, all brassicas, watermelon and melon must have phytosanitary assay tests. Send copy of the assay report to AAS office.

    

4. How do I locate and download entry forms?
   
   

   The entry application can be downloaded by clicking the links located in the right column of this page. Entrant must complete both pages of entry application.

   To save the files locally:
   1. Right Click on the download link
   2. Choose 'Save Target As' ('Save Link as' in FireFox) from list
   3. Choose a location in which to save the file
   4. Click 'SAVE'

    

5. There are four AAS Trial categories - Which one should I enter?

    

   For a breeding company, the decision on which trial to place your entry should not be taken lightly as it can dramatically impact whether your entry becomes an AAS Winner, or not.

   a) Vegetable - Evaluates edible entries for flavor, quality, yield, earliness to harvest, appearance, ease of harvest, plant habit, texture, disease and pest resistance, production and space efficiency, nutrition and novelty value.

   b) Flower - Evaluates entries for color, novel flower form, disease and pest tolerance or resistance, insect and weather stress, length of flowering season, uniformity, uniqueness, fragrance, and overall ornamental qualities. Evaluation of plants takes place entirely in the trial ground so for direct sown crops such as sunflowers, morning glories, etc. this would be the trial to enter.

   c) Bedding Plant - These flower entries are judged in both greenhouse and garden. Plants are evaluated in the greenhouse for qualities such as earliness, uniformity of flowering, flower quality and size. Plants are evaluated again outdoors for overall garden performance. Entries must score high in both greenhouse and garden to be considered a winner. For a traditional, direct-sow crop that has merits for the commercial bedding plant market,  choose the Bedding Plant Trial in order to get that greenhouse score in addition to the garden score. The AAS office will make sure that greenhouse performance and scores for Winners are highlighted in communications with commercial growers so they see the value of purchasing this new genetic material. For traditional bedding plants, especially those with a claim of earliness, no PGRs needed, benefits for greenhouse growers, more branching, etc., those entries are for the Bedding Plant trial as well.

   d) Cool Season Bedding Plant - The Cool Season Bedding Plant trial evaluates frost-tolerant annuals. Evaluations take place over the fall, winter and spring. For traditional cool season crops like pansies, violas, ornamental cabbage and kale, etc. you should choose the Cool Season Bedding Plant Trial. Keep in mind that this category also gets two scores, one for the greenhouse and one for garden performance. Although an entry does NOT have to overwinter, we do consider cold hardiness in the overall score. Conversely, say you have a breakthrough in breeding and have a pansy that is heat tolerant and can last from spring, through summer and into fall, then that might be an entry into the regular Bedding Plant Trial, instead of the Cool Season Bedding Plant Trial. For more details, see question #6.

    

6. What is the Cool Season Bedding Plant trial and what is its timetable?
   
   

   The Cool Season Bedding Plant trial was designed to accommodate cool season annuals such as pansies, dianthus, snapdragons and others. This trial is conducted in the fall, winter and spring.

   Two scores will be given to each entry, which is the same as the summer Bedding Plant trial. Entries must perform in both the greenhouse and garden in order to receive high scores for an AAS award. Fall evaluations will be conducted in the greenhouse based on qualities such as earliness, uniformity of flowering, flower quantity and size. Plants are evaluated again outdoors for overall garden performance, including home garden merit, usefulness, appeal within specific geography and overall performance when compared to similar varieties.

   The timetable is much different than other AAS trials. Entry forms and fees are due into the AAS office by February 15; entry seed is due by April 1. Entry seed, comparison seed and growing instructions are delivered to Judges during the month of April.

   Between May and August, seed will be sown and greenhouse evaluations will occur. Depending on the trial ground location geography, the entries will be transplanted into trial ground between August and November. Garden evaluations will be conducted throughout the fall, winter and spring, from September through May. The Judges final score sheets are due in AAS office by May 15.

    

7. Where are the entries tested?
   
   

   For a list of all the Judges' trialing locations go to All-America Selections Trial Ground Locations page.

    

8. What should I be doing during the trial year?

    

   a) Please remember that your entry must remain confidential. It is very important that you do not discuss your entry or entries with anyone outside of your company for the entire period that the trials are being conducted.

   b) Your final description form will be sent to you in January or February. The official AAS code given to your entry will appear on the form along with the list of comparisons chosen. You can visit any AAS Trial Ground and locate your entry by the AAS code.

   c) Conduct extensive seed production tests or begin full seed production during the AAS trial.

   d) Take high quality professional photography in the event that your variety scores enough points to win an award.

    

9. When and how will I be notified if my entry is being considered for an award?
   
   

   The winner is based on the average score given to an entry by all Judges. For the Vegetable, Flower and Bedding Plant trials, you will be notified by the Executive Director mid-October. For the Cool Season Bedding Plant trial you will be notified by the Executive Director during the first week of June.

    

10. What are the criteria for introduction?

     

    AAS requires that the following criteria be submitted to the AAS office by January 1 for a late January announcement, June 1 for a July announcement or November 1 for a November announcement.

    a) Full, complete marketing name (including all trademarks, patents, etc).

    b) A minimum of one (1) image of the cultivar:  One digital cross platform (for PC and MAC) format 300 DPI RGB JPEG of a size to print at least a 5 x 7” high quality image. These images will be used extensively by AAS and by the garden media. Please send your highest quality images. PREFERABLE: Up to five (5) images of the cultivar in various settings such as: 1) Close-up, 2) Container, 3) Landscape, 4) “Glamour” shot (your choice, can be a culinary shot for vegetables) and 5) In a combination or mix.

    c) Estimated total quantity of seed that will be sold to the home garden seed industry (includes mail order seed sales, packets sales and bedding plant sales) in North America (U.S. and Canada) the first 12 months from introduction date, stated in both weight AND seed count.

    d) Current inventory - Seed inventory should be equal to or greater than the quantity of seed needed for the first year of sale, stated in weight AND seed count. To be considered by the AAS Board, the entrant must have 100% of seed for first year sales in inventory.

    e) Breeder must verify that the AAS Winner seed is in inventory and available for immediate shipment to distributors in North America. Winner seed must pass all plant health requirements for the U.S. and Canada.

    f) Laboratory germination test on blotter, certificate signed by a registered seed technologist.

    g) Laboratory germination test on soil, certificate signed by a registered seed technologist.

    h) The quantity of seed that will be sold the first year depends upon the price. The AAS Board would like a general indication of pricing such as, " the same as F1 Hybrid petunia," or "higher than normal F1 Hybrid petunia pricing."

    i) The AAS Board would like an indication of the seed enhancement, if any, (pelleted, encrusted, primed, treated) or will the seed be sold untreated? If the seed is to be enhanced, are those processes complete and the seed ready to sell? AAS Winners must be available as untreated seed.

    j) Completion of a data form, available from the AAS office, with complete variety details for the AAS website. This in-depth variety information will remain on the AAS website for the full assessment time period.

    k) CRITERIA FOR SPECIFIC VEGETABLE CLASSES: All watermelon, melon and brassica vegetable holdovers must provide proof of seed health testing prior to introduction.

    This information is submitted to the AAS Board of Directors for the introduction decision. AAS Holdovers are considered for introduction three times a year, January, July or November.

     

11. When is a variety introduced as an AAS Winner?

     

    The breeder or entrant decides when the variety is ready to be submitted to the AAS Board for introduction consideration based on fulfilling the criteria for introduction. For more information on criteria, see FAQ #10. 

    November Immediate Introduction The AAS Board reviews the submitted criteria and decides on the introduction. If approved, the variety can be introduced immediately in mid-November. An email announcement is sent to all audiences and seed sales can commence.

    January/February Introduction If a November introduction is not feasible, completed criteria can be submitted to the AAS Executive Director by January 1 for introduction at the next AAS Open Meeting. An email announcement is sent to all audiences immediately after that meeting and seed sales can commence.

    Summer Introduction In order to qualify for a Summer Introduction, all criteria must be submitted to the AAS Executive Director by June 1. The Winners will be announced in early July. An email announcement is sent to all audiences and seed sales can commence.

    
    

12. What is an AAS Holdover?

     

    A holdover is a variety that has been tested, received a sufficiently high average score to be considered for an award, but has not met the criteria for introduction.

     

13. How much am I required to pay AAS for an AAS Winner?
    
    

    An assessment is to be paid to AAS by the entrant of an AAS Winner. The minimum is $2,000 per year. Maximum assessment is 10% of seed sales not to exceed $20,000 per year. A winner is assessed for ten half-year periods with the first period commencing on the seed sales commencement date. The assessment is based on seed sales to the home garden seed industry (including bedding plant industry) in North America.

14. Does AAS offer protection to my variety if it wins an award?

     

    No. The only protection for a new variety is to apply for Plant Variety Protection available from USDA.

    Click here for additional information on Plant Variety Protection.