ANAHEIM, CA, March 4, 2010 – More than 6,000 on-farm trials in corn, soybeans, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, peanuts and citrus have been conducted in the United States that demonstrate the impact of Headline® fungicide on disease control and Plant Health, and resulting  improved yield potential.

BASF Technical Market Manager Nick Fassler and Regional Technical Service Manager Gary Schmitz, Ph.D spoke to the cumulative results of BASF research at Commodity Classic 2010, an event designed to educate growers, retailers and others in the agricultural industry on how to get the most out of every acre.  

“The research data is truly striking,” Fassler said. “It indicates that Headline fungicide can improve Plant Health through superb, broad-spectrum control of fungal disease, improved tolerance to stress and increased efficiency of plant processes. Combined, these features enable plants to better withstand disease and environmental stresses for improved crop harvestability, quality and yield.”

Headline fungicide provides disease control and Plant Health benefits for multiple crops, including wheat, corn, soybeans, sugar beets and barley. In studies on corn, Headline fungicide was shown to improve stalk strength and reduce plant stress caused by factors such as hail damage, frost and drought.

“Research shows that minimizing disease pressure, increasing stress tolerance and improving growth efficiency can improve stalk strength, seed quality and the overall Plant Health of crops,” Schmitz said. “This increases yield potential and gives growers the kind of return on investment they’re looking for.”

The fungicide portfolio from BASF includes Headline fungicide for more than 90 crops including corn, soybeans and wheat; Headline AMP™ fungicide for corn; and TwinLine™ fungicide and Caramba™ fungicide for cereals.

About the Crop Protection division

With sales of € 3.4 billion in 2008, BASF’s Crop Protection division is a leader in crop protection and a strong partner to the farming industry providing well-established and innovative fungicides, insecticides and herbicides. Farmers use these products and services to improve crop yields and crop quality. Other uses include public health, structural/urban pest control, turf and ornamental plants, vegetation management, and forestry. BASF aims to turn knowledge rapidly into market success. The vision of BASF’s Crop Protection division is to be the world’s leading innovator, optimizing agricultural production, improving nutrition, and thus enhancing the quality of life for a growing world population. Further information can be found on the Web at http://agproducts.basf.us.

BASF - The Chemical Company.

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has approximately 16,000 employees in North America, and had sales of $13 billion in 2009. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, or to sign up to receive news releases by e-mail, visit www.basf.com/usa.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals and oil and gas. As a reliable partner, BASF creates chemistry to help its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges, such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of more than €50 billion in 2009 and had approximately 105,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

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Headline is a registered trademark of BASF.  Caramba, Headline AMP and Twinline are trademarks of BASF.
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