BASF and Nunhems Enter into Agreement for New Onion Seed Treatment


RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC, August 27, 2009 - BASF announced today an exclusive seed treatment collaboration with Nunhems, the vegetable seed business of Bayer CropScience. Under this agreement, Nunhems will have exclusive use of BASF's Coronet® fungicide seed treatment on onion seeds in the United States. Financial details were not disclosed.

The launch of Coronet introduced a new class of chemistry to the seed treatment market with the introduction of Boscalid, from the carboxamide family of chemistry, Coronet also contains Pyraclostrobin, the same active ingredient found in BASF's top-selling Plant Health fungicide, Headline®.

"Expanding the seed treatment footprint is part of BASF's ongoing growth strategy," said Mark Shillingford, Regional Marketing/Global Key Account Manager, Seed Solutions, BASF. "Today marks an exciting time of firsts for Coronet seed treatment. This is the first time we are using the carboxamide class of chemistry on a seed treatment product as well as BASF's first entry into the vegetable seed treatment industry. There is no other seed treatment with this class of chemistry available and we're proud to collaborate with Nunhems to deliver this new tool to growers."

The new BASF and Nunhems contract took effect on August 26.

"This opportunity reinforces Nunhems commitment to offering growers sound technical products along with superior genetics," commented Bob Yaklich, Nunhems Business Development Manager, Seed Technology.

About Coronet fungicide seed treatment

Coronet fungicide seed treatment, part of BASF's SeedSolutions pipeline, offers broad-spectrum preventive seed and seedling protection.

Coronet provides protection against seed-borne fungi causing seed decay, seedling damping off and the soil-borne pathogens Rhizoctonia solani, Botrytis spp., Aspergillus and Penicillium spp. Over the course of 6 years of research, Coronet has shown unsurpassed efficacy against Botrytis infection in onion seed. Applied to the seed prior to planting, Coronet offers enhanced disease control and grower convenience.

"Nunhems is a clear leader in the vegetable seed market, and we are proud to be the exclusive collaborator with them for the onion seed market," said Shillingford.

For more information contact:

Pat Morrow

BASF Corporation

Tel: (919) 547-2631

E-mail: pat.morrow@basf.com

About Nunhems

Nunhems, a subsidiary of Bayer CropScience, is the global specialist in vegetable genetics and services. As a globally integrated group of teams Nunhems builds unique customer relationships and shares products, concepts and expertise with the professional horticultural production industry and supply chain. Its portfolio includes leading varieties and brands in crops such as leek, onion, carrot, melon, cucumber, tomato, watermelon, lettuce, pepper and chicory witloof. With annual sales of EUR 221 million in 2008, Nunhems is among the world's leading vegetable seed companies with an extensive range of 28 species and some 2,500 varieties. With more than 1,400 people Nunhems is present in all major vegetable production areas in the world.

About the BASF 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 www.agro.basf.com.

BASF-The Chemical Company. We don't make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better.®

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 15,000 employees in North America and had sales of approximately $17.5 billion in 2008. 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, as well as oil and gas. As a reliable partner, BASF helps 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 has approximately 97,000 employees and posted sales of more than 62 billion in 2008. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

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