Agritope, Inc. today announced that it has licensed its proprietary ethylene control technology to Ball Horticultural Company, a global leader in the development, production and marketing of ornamental species.

Under the terms of the license, Ball Horticultural Company is granted a license to Agritope's
proprietary ethylene control technology including rights to both genes and gene promoters. In
return, Agritope will receive royalties on the sale of products and derivatives that incorporate the
licensed technology.

"The agreement with Ball Horticultural Company provides an opportunity to leverage our proprietary ethylene control technology beyond the area of fruits and vegetables and thereby
create a broader range of products with improved shelf life characteristics,'' said Adolph Ferro,
Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Agritope.

"The Agritope technology will be used to improve plant performance using Ball's extensive
germplasm base,'' said Randal Hauptmann, general manager of Ball Helix, which is the Ball
subsidiary focused on transgenic product development. "This technology, combined with Ball's exclusive rights to the Biolistics ''gene gun`` transformation technology in floricultural plants, will allow Ball and Agritope to develop novel flower products that have direct consumer and grower benefits.''

Agritope, Inc. is an Oregon-based agricultural biotechnology company that develops improved
plant products and provides technology to the agricultural industry.

Ball Horticultural Company is privately held and is a world leader in the production and marketing of floricultural crops. Ball has worldwide production, sales and marketing through its subsidiaries PanAmerican Seed Co., Ball FloraPlant, Ball Seed Co. and Vegmo Plant. Ball Helix was established in 1998 with the goal of applying advanced technology to the floricultural plant business and to provide a focal point for licensing new gene technologies.

Company news release
N1859