Golden Valley, Minnesota
July 31, 2003

The NK® Brand product portfolio from Syngenta Seeds, Inc. has 29 new corn hybrids and soybean, soft red winter wheat and alfalfa varieties designed to meet growers' individual needs. Available for the 2004 planting season, the new products offer traits such as insect protection, herbicide tolerance and disease resistance with excellent overall genetics, including yield and standability.

A recent USDA survey shows that U.S. growers invest $8.3 billion in seeds annually. "We are committed to developing hybrids and varieties that broaden growers' choices, spread risk and increase their return on investment," said Marc Hennen, corn marketing manager for NK Brand Seeds, Syngenta. "Our extensive research and product development allows us to offer the tools necessary to support the way our customers farm."

The addition of the new products to the existing high-yielding NK Brand portfolio gives growers a full range of maturities, insect treatment options and other value-added traits to maximize yields. Like all NK Brand products, they have full export approval to the European Union, Japan and all other major U.S. trading partners.

14 New Corn Hybrids Add Depth to NK Brand Portfolio

The addition of 14 corn hybrids provides unique options to growers. Ten hybrids include both YieldGard® insect protection and resistance to Liberty® herbicide for corn borer protection and excellent weed control. One of those hybrids, N70-T9, is also stacked with herbicide resistance for the Clearfield® production system.

"Each high-yielding hybrid is adapted for specific situations and geographies," Hennen added. "We focus on complete bite protection, and the addition of Cruiser® seed treatment to our Bt hybrids protects from up to 14 pests, including European corn borers, corn rootworms and many secondary insects."

Additionally, a new conventional NutriCrop® silage hybrid, N33-H6, provides a high-yielding option for optimal dairy feeding rations from the NK Brand silage offerings.

According to Hennen, all the new hybrids deliver the quality growers expect, as Syngenta Seeds is committed to industry-leading quality control testing for germination and genetic purity.

Soybean Portfolio Celebrates 35 Years with 10 New Varieties

The 2004 growing season marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of the NK Brand proprietary plant-breeding program. The new varieties benefit from the unique genetics developed through the program. All 10 varieties fit the Roundup Ready® system, and one variety is also tolerant to sulfonylurea herbicides.

"Supported by 35 years of research and experience, our soybean varieties rank tops for yield and customer satisfaction," said Mark Schmidt, soybean product manager for NK Brand Seeds, Syngenta. "The new varieties deliver the dependable performance expected from NK Brand soybeans, with many providing resistance to Phytophthora root rot and soybean cyst nematode."

Alfalfa Varieties Deliver Yield and Quality

For hay and forage growers, four new alfalfa varieties join the NK Brand seed portfolio. One variety, EverGreen 2, includes HopperGuard® potato leaf hopper protection for seedling-year resistance. "Our alfalfa varieties are developed for yield, persistence and quality," said Joe Waldo, alfalfa product manager for NK Brand Seeds, Syngenta. "And, each variety is adapted to fit a specific management system."

As a season-long partner, Syngenta Seeds continues to offer a wide range of localized services, such as the Community Choice financing option, which allows growers to work through a local lender. For local weather information, NK Brand Agrometer(tm) Growing Degree Unit (GDU) Monitors have been provided to growers and dealers in more than 3,000 locations, a program in its second year. The company also provides local agronomic support to growers and dealers.

Syngenta is a world-leading agribusiness committed to sustainable agriculture through innovative research and technology. The company is a leader in crop protection and ranks third in the high-value commercial seeds market. Sales in 2002 were approximately US $6.2 billion. Syngenta employs some 20,000 people in over 90 countries. Syngenta is listed on the Swiss stock exchange (SYNN) and in London (SYA), New York (SYT) and Stockholm (SYN). Further information is available at www.syngenta.com.

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2004 New Products Fact Sheet in PDF format

NK®, Cruiser®, NutriCrop® and Agrometer(tm) are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company.
YieldGard® and Roundup Ready® are registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC.
Liberty® is a registered trademark of Bayer CropScience.
Clearfield® is a trademark of BASF.