American Cyanamid Company and Nidera Seeds have signed an agreement to develop highperformance herbicide tolerant corn hybrids within the CLEARFIELD* Production System. With more than 8.25 million acres of corn planted, it is one of the largest crops with high input technology grown in Argentina.

This initiative combines Cyanamid's expertise in herbicide tolerant crops and weed control, and Nidera's expertise in the development of high yielding hybrids, through traditional breeding techniques. As a result of this agreement, corn growers will gain access to high performance hybrids and benefit from the broad spectrum, long season, weed control offered by Cyanamid's imidazolinone herbicides. Nidera's top yielding line of hybrids, containing the CLEARFIELD Technology, will be available for the 1999/2000 season.

"This is the first agreement that Cyanamid signed with Argentina's leading seed company, which allows growers to use our broad spectrum herbicides in combination with Nidera's most advanced hybrid seeds, thus maximizing their yield potential,'' says Jeff Pritchard, president and general manager of Cyanamid Latin America South.

Cyanamid's imidazolinone herbicides belong to a unique family of crop protection products. They were developed by Cyanamid Agricultural Products Research Division, and act on an enzyme which is present in plants but not in animals, birds, fish or insects. This selectivity makes the imidazolinones environmentally compatible while providing outstanding weed control.

The Nidera/Cyanamid agreement is the most recent effort by both firms and their collaborators to improve grower productivity in the corn market. With the launch of imidazolinone tolerant corn in 1992, Cyanamid was the first company to introduce a herbicide tolerant crop. Now, through the CLEARFIELD* Production System, Cyanamid continues to improve productivity of growers through technological advancement.

Nidera Seeds is a division within the Nidera Corporation, a grain, oil seeds and oil processor company. Nidera started in the seed industry in 1988 with a program to improve sunflowers. New crops such as corn, soybean, grain sorghum, forage sorghum, alfalfa and canola were added and in 1997, wheat was included to the company's seed offering. Nidera maintains full-service research, development and production operations at its headquarters, while its biotechnology laboratory is located in Venado Tuerto. During the last growing season, Nidera positioned itself as the largest firm in the seed market with more than 3.5 million hectares sown with their products.

American Cyanamid Company is a leading global developer and marketer of crop protection products for agricultural, specialty and consumer markets. Cyanamid produces and markets herbicides, insecticides and fungicides in the major agricultural regions of the world. It was the first to introduce herbicide tolerant cropping systems, based on its imidazolinone chemistry. American Cyanamid is a subsidiary of American Home Products Corporation, which is one of the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical and health care products companies. AHP is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications. It is also a global leader in vaccines, biotechnology, agricultural products, and animal health care.

* The UNIQUE CLEARFIELD SYMBOL and CLEARFIELD are trademarks of American Cyanamid Company

Company news release
N1974