Vickie, no one has given a reason why registration is preferred.
What does registration provide that a simple record keeping does not?
Registration does not always have all the information since the person registering does not always provide it or does not know it. For example, parentage, might be unknowing.
Therefore, the question still is "What does registration guarantee?
The answer is simple. It guarantees that the name is not already in use by another cultivar.
