Growers in California have an effective new disease management tool to protect their potato and vegetable crops from quality and yield-robbing downy mildew and Phytophthora diseases with the registration of Forum™ fungicide for use in the Golden State.

“Forum is a high-performance fungicide delivering both preventative and curative control in a single product,” says Jerry Minore, BASF Market Manager for Vegetable Crops. “Now, growers in California can get the most from their potato and vegetable crops by getting the most from their disease control.”

The active ingredient in Forum, dimethomorph, is designed to be tankmixed with other fungicides, offering flexibility and compatibility. Forum must be used in a tank-mix with a fungicide of a different mode of action and cannot be applied alone. Forum is very effective and economical when applied prior to the onset of disease as part of a regular fungicide program to help growers produce clean, high-quality, marketable potatoes and vegetables.

Registered for use in more than 20 crops – including lettuce, bulb vegetables, cucurbits, tomatoes, and potatoes – the exceptional diseasefighting power of Forum comes from its antisporulant activity and fungal growth inhibitors. It’s one of the only systemic fungicides that helps stop spores from forming and also surpasses contact fungicides by protecting the plant from infection from inside the leaf. Forum™ fungicide can also reduce the risk for disease during more advanced stages of the infection’s lifecycle. This includes excellent control of tough diseases like downy mildew, late blight and Phytophthora blight.

With a zero day pre-harvest interval in vegetables (4 days for potatoes and tomatoes) and a short re-entry interval of just 12 hours, Forum offers flexibility and as a low-dose liquid formulation is a hassle-free tank-mix partner.

“California potato and vegetable growers can count on Forum as one of the best disease management tools for controlling devastating diseases such as downy mildew in lettuce and bulb vegetables and late blight in tomatoes,” says Minore. ”Plus, it’s flexible and economical. Add it all up and you have an excellent component to any fungicide program in vegetables.”

With sales of €3,298 million in 2005, BASF’s Agricultural Products 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 Agricultural Products 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 is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals to crude oil and natural gas. As a reliable partner to virtually all industries, BASF’s intelligent system solutions and high-value products help its customers to be more successful. BASF develops new technologies and uses them to open up additional market opportunities. It combines economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility, thus contributing to a better future. In 2005, BASF had approximately 81,000 employees and posted sales of more than €42.7 billion (approximately $50.4 billion). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

Forum is a trademark of BASF.
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