FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information contact:

Joy Watson 1-800-669-1770 Ext. 2185

Revolutionary New Management Tool Registered for Use in Apples

Research Triangle Park, NC (April 27, 2000)- Apple growers across the nation have a new tool in their production management toolbox that will revolutionize how they manage vegetative growth in their orchards and how they control fire blight of shoots.

The U.S. EPA granted federal registration for Apogee® plant growth regulator on April 27, 2000. Apogee, the latest product in the BASF product portfolio, is a unique production management tool for apple orchards that reduces vegetative growth, allowing a balance between canopy development and fruit production. Benefits of this control include a reduced need to prune, improved light penetration and improved color of red varieties. Apogee is the only product that can provide early season growth control without directly affecting fruit quality.

"Growers now have to rely on manual pruning of orchards to control vegetative growth, which is costly," says Jerry Minore, Market Manager for BASF. "Apogee provides a tool that growers can use to control vegetative growth, possibly even eliminating summer pruning. This means reduced production costs and more profit for the grower. And for those who have fire blight worries, Apogee provides an added bonus — controlling fire blight of shoots."

The active ingredient in Apogee, prohexadione calcium, brings about changes in succulent vegetative growth, making the plant more resistant to fire blight of shoots. Apogee can be used along with blossom blight sprays and good sanitary practices as part of a total integrated pest management strategy to control fire blight of shoots. It is important to note that Apogee is not a bactericide and does not control blossom blight.

BASF Agricultural Products Group, with headquarters in Research Triangle Park, N.C., develops a range of innovative crop protection products and systems that enable growers to be more cost-efficient and increase crop yield potential.

BASF is among the top five producers of chemicals and related products in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with sales of $7.2 billion in 1999. BASF in North America has its regional headquarters in Mount Olive, N.J., and is a member of the BASF Group (Ludwigshafen, Germany). "We don’t make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better.^®" summarizes the diverse product mix BASF offers, such as chemicals, polymers, automotive coatings, colorants, pharmaceuticals, nylon fibers and agricultural products. BASF in North America employs more than 15,000 people.

For more information about Apogee^®plant growth regulator visit

http://www.apogee.basf-corp.com

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Always read and follow label directions.

Apogee and "We don’t make a lot of the products you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better." are registered trademarks of BASF Corporation.

NVA#00-10-80-0026

Apogee is not yet registered in CA and NY.