ASA Partnership
Plant Health Care PLC
18 February 2008
Embargoed for release: 08.00, 18 February 2008
ASA and PHC Renew N-Hibit(R) Partnership Programme
Plant Health Care (AIM: PHC.L), a leading provider of natural products for
plants and soil, announces that its 'N-Hibit(R) Partnership' program with The
American Soybean Association (ASA) has been enhanced with a 'Satisfaction
Guarantee' for the 2008 growing season. The new program provides ASA members and
other qualified growers with a risk-free means to evaluate N-Hibit Seed
Treatment as a tool to lower Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN) pressure and improve
soybean plant health and yield.
'ASA views this program as an opportunity for its members to maximise soybean
yield and profitability, and reduce the threat of SCN damage,' said ASA
President John Hoffman, a soybean producer from Waterloo, Iowa.
'Year after year and all across the country, results with N-Hibit Seed Treatment
have been positive,' said Mike Cloutier, Plant Health Care Vice President of
U.S. Sales. 'We want growers to share our confidence, and the Satisfaction
Guarantee assures them of a full refund of the purchase price paid for N-Hibit
if they are not fully satisfied with its performance on treated acreage.'
ASA member Michael Gray, of Elizabeth City, N.C., was one of the growers who
participated in the ASA Partnership Program in 2007. He reported a yield gain of
4.6 bushels per acre on his Partnership acres.
'Mid-season examination of the N-Hibit-treated plants showed no visible signs of
damage from soybean cyst nematode or from root knot nematode,' said Gray.
Measurements showed increased plant stand, nodes per acre, plant height, nodes
per plant, and plant weight in both roots and forage. Of these, plant stand
counts at 8 percent more and nodes per acre (a strong indicator of yield) at 15
percent more were significantly higher than in the untreated acres.
'The yield monitor showed we harvested 50.8 bushels per acre at 13 percent
moisture from the treated beans and 46.15 bushels from the untreated,' Gray
said. 'If it hadn't turned off so dry the second half of the season, I believe
that yield difference would have been even greater. I'm trying N-Hibit on more
acres in 2008.'
'Replicated and commercial soybean field trials across Midwestern and Southern
states in 2006 and 2007 showed an average yield gain of 7.2 percent, or 2.9
bushels per acre, with N-Hibit Gold CST over the untreated control, said Dr. Ned
French, Plant Health Care Director of Field Biology and Development. 'These
research trials have shown N-Hibit increases root mass and total plant weight
and health. N-Hibit produces more nodes per plant and per acre, which is a key
to increased yield.
'In addition to those trials, university field research has shown that N-Hibit
reduces SCN eggs significantly. We believe N-Hibit can be a very economical and
helpful tool in reducing SCN egg counts and damage in soybeans. Earlier
university research has shown that N-Hibit reduces Root Knot Nematode and
Reniform Nematode eggs among roots by about 50 percent,' Dr. French said.
-Ends-
For further information please contact:
Plant Heath Care plc Tavistock Evolution Securities
Communications Limited
John Brady, Chief Jeremy Carey/Matt Tim Worlledge/ Tim
Executive Ridsdale Redfern
Tel: 001 603 525 3702 Tel: 020 7920 3150 Tel: 020 7071 4300
Notes to editors:
In the N-Hibit Partnership program, soybean growers were asked to conduct their
own on-farm trials to determine results with N-Hibit on a commercial scale under
their own growing conditions and management systems.
N-Hibit is a dry material that is not a restricted use product. It is easy to
apply by the seed dealer or in the hopper box, has an excellent safety profile,
and leaves no residuals in the water, soil or on plants.
The active ingredient in N-Hibit and other Harp-N-Tek(R) products is harpin
protein, which is produced by disease causing bacteria that attack plants.
Harp-N-Tek products do not contain pathogens, but cause the plant to respond as
though being attacked. Harpin proteins do not enter the plant. They bind with
the plant's external harpin protein receptors, which are present on seed, as
well as foliage. This turns on the plant's natural self defense and growth
systems. Then the harpin proteins harmlessly disintegrate.
For further information on the N-Hibit Partnership Program, phone Plant Health
Care at 800-421-9051. Sign-up forms for the N-Hibit Partnership Program will be
available by phone and on the Plant Health Care website,
www.N-HibitPartners.com. Enrollment forms also will be available at the Plant
Health Care booth Number 719-721 at Commodity Classic. Growers can access
information about the program on the ASA web site www.SoyGrowers.com.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
BD