BASF reminds growers that cold soil conditions this spring may delay seed germination

MISSISSAUGA, ON, May 6, 2014 /CNW/ - Winter 2014 may affect growers long after the snow has gone. Planting in cold soil produces slow growing conditions that can delay crop establishment and give rise to disease and uneven maturity.

BASF Canada reminds growers that the right seed treatment will protect seedlings from disease and cold soil and contribute to maximized yields at the end of the season.

"By using a seed treatment with plant health benefits, crops can get off to a good start in spring," said Russell Trischuk, Technical Marketing Specialist, Functional Crop Care, for BASF Canada. "Having a more vigorous, robust seedling will obviously lead to better plant health down the road."

Through 2011 and 2012, BASF conducted an extensive trial program using its INSURE^TM Cereal seed treatment. In 30 trials for wheat, INSURE-treated seed had a two-bushel increase over competitors. In barley, the increase was three bushels and in wheat it was more than a four-bushel advantage for the INSURE-treated seed.

"With INSURE you're not only getting disease control, you are getting the plant health benefits of AgCelence^®," said Trischuk.

INSURE is a ready-to-use seed treatment with three modes of action: pyraclostrobin, triticonazole and metalaxyl.

"The first [cereal crop] we put in the ground was wheat treated with INSURE Cereal," said Arie Vandertweel, a grower in Gronlid, Saskatchewan. "We were totally amazed after six days it was up; not very often in the years I have farmed have I ever seen that."

Always read and follow label directions.

AgCelence is a registered trade-mark and INSURE is a trade-mark of BASF SE; all used with permission by BASF Canada Inc.
© 2014 BASF Canada Inc.    

BASF - The Chemical Company

BASF Canada, located in Mississauga, Ontario is a subsidiary of BASF SE, and an affiliate of BASF Corporation. BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has nearly 17,000 employees in North America, and had sales of $19.3 billion in 2013. For more information about BASF's North American operations, visit www.basf.us. To find out more about BASF's activities in Canada visit www.basf.ca or follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/basfcanada.

BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, we enable our customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition and improving quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF had sales of about €74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

SOURCE: BASF Canada Inc.

Christina Stroud, BASF Canada Inc., Tel: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]; Jo Ann Robinson, ON Communication, Tel: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]