The American Soybean Association (ASA) and Plant Health Care, Inc. (PHC) today announced that the "N-Hibit® Partnership" program 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 maximize 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, PHC 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, PHC 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.

In the N-Hibit Partnership program, soybean growers are 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. Producers who visit the PHC booth at Commodity Classic during the kick-off for the Partnership’s second year will be automatically entered into a drawing for a shotgun that will be given away at the close of the trade show," Cloutier said.

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® 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 PHC at 800-421-9051. Sign-up forms for the N-Hibit Partnership Program will be available by phone and on the PHC web site, www.N-HibitPartners.com. Enrollment forms also will be available at the PHC booth Number 719-721 at Commodity Classic. Growers can access information about the program on the ASA web site www.SoyGrowers.com.