  Threshold measurements of the associated strangeness production reactions pp
--> p K(+) Lambda and pp --> p K(+) Sigma(0) are presented. Although slight
differences in the shapes of the excitation functions are observed, the most
remarkable feature of the data is that at the same excess energy the total
cross section for the Sigma(0) production appears to be about a factor of 28
smaller than the one for the Lambda particle. It is concluded that strong
Sigma(0)-p final state interactions, and in particular the Sigma-N --> Lambda-p
conversion reaction, are the likely cause of the depletion for the yield in the
Sigma signal. This hypothesis is in line with other experimental evidence in
the literature.
