Plano, Texas
October 2, 2003

More than 100 seed companies, including seven of the top 10, have announced plans to offer new Poncho™ 250, Poncho 1250 or both seed-applied insecticide products to their seed corn customers for planting in 2004.  The companies represent more than 80 percent of all U.S. seed corn sales, according to Paul Holliday, corn product manager for Gustafson LLC, which produces and markets Poncho 250 and Poncho 1250 in the United States.

“We anticipated that demand for both products would be strong, but the overwhelming response from corn producers and our partner seed companies has somewhat surprised even us,” Holliday noted.  “For seed and seedling protection against early season insects, Poncho 250 has filled a void. Growers told us they liked the protection provided by Gaucho® seed-applied insecticide but wanted a longer period of protection and a higher level of protection against a number of insects, including black cutworm control. We’ve delivered that with Poncho 250.

“In the case of Poncho 1250,” Holliday explains, “the seed companies tell us that their customers simply don’t want to handle soil-applied insecticides.  Now, with an alternative that is effective against a broad spectrum of important insect pests, including corn rootworms and billbugs, it appears that many producers are making the move to Poncho 1250.”

Corn growers can check with their seed corn suppliers to see if their favorite hybrids will be available with Poncho insecticides, or visit www.gustafson.com for a list of participating companies, Holliday says.

Gustafson LLC is recognized worldwide as the industry leader in seed protection technology and markets seed-applied insecticides and fungicides for most agricultural crops.