New oilseed variety for brown and dark brown soil zones

WINNIPEG, May 1, 2013 /CNW/ - Western Canadian canola growers in the brown and dark brown soil zones have a new Brassica juncea hybrid for the 2013 season.

Viterra Inc. introduced the first XCEED^® Hybrid, VT X121 CL with the Clearfield^® trait this year, allowing growers to grow canola in areas less suited for traditional napus varieties, with significantly improved yield potential over previous open-pollinated juncea varieties.

"The new Clearfield Brassica juncea hybrid produces canola-quality oil but is more hardy than traditional canola. It offers unique characteristics such as increased drought and heat tolerance, reduced green seed and increased pod shatter resistance, which makes it a superior candidate for straight cutting," says Harley House, Clearfield Crops Brand Manager, BASF Canada.

XCEED Hybrid, VT X121 CL is the first Clearfield juncea hybrid from the Viterra Research and Development program that will allow growers to utilize the Clearfield production system for canola. The system offers several Clearfield herbicides, including new ARES^®, for weed control and AgCelence™ yield benefits from HEADLINE^® fungicide.

ARES provides flushing weed control of shallow-germinating weeds and broad-spectrum control on grass and broadleaf weeds, including cleavers and wild buckwheat, while HEADLINE delivers a high level of disease control and AgCelence benefits for enhanced yields.

"With the minimal precipitation the brown and dark brown soil zones can get each growing season, the new Clearfield Brassica juncea hybrid offers improved drought and heat tolerance, reduced green seed and increased pod shatter resistance while delivering higher yields," says House.

For more information on XCEED Hybrid, VT X121 CL, visit www.viterra.com or for the Clearfield Production System for canola, visit www.clearfield.ca/canola.

About BASF
BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, we enable our customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition and improving quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF had sales of €72.1 billion in 2012 and more than 110,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

Always read and follow label directions.

Clearfield and ARES are registered trade-marks of BASF Agrochemical Products B.V.; AgCelence is a trade-mark of BASF SE; and HEADLINE is a registered trade-mark of BASF Corporation; all used with permission by BASF Canada Inc.

XCEED^® is a registered trademark of Viterra Inc.

© 2013 BASF Canada Inc

SOURCE: BASF Canada Inc.

Harley House 
BASF Canada Inc. 
[phone] 
[email protected]

Natalie Little-Rowe 
ON Communication Inc. 
[phone] x 236 
[email protected]