A fungicide from BASF with a new active ingredient should be on the market next year. BASF’s next-generation fungicide called Xemium offers a unique mobility feature that allows it to travel systemically and to completely cover a leaf. As a result, the product offers strong preventive and curative properties against a wide sprectrum of fungi, according to BASF. The company has applied for EPA registration and anticipates receiving it for 2012.

Xemium is derived from the carboxamide class of chemistry, which BASF first used in 1974 as a seed treatment. Xemium is BASF’s third class of fungicidal agents developed from this chemistry.

The structure of the carboxamide molecule has been improved so it provides better disease control, broader spectrum and more properties to help it perform better than previous products, according to Nick Fassler, BASF technical market manager.

Xemium will be offered in two brands for the corn and soybean markets. The first is Priaxor, a fungicide formulated for row-crop cereals, corns and soybeans. In Priaxor, Xemium is paired with the active ingredient found in Headline to provide broad-spectrum control, Fassler says. It works well on diseases like grey leaf spot in corn and soybean rust in beans. The product also has a long-lasting residual disease control.

Systiva is a seed treatment formulation of Xemium for crops, including corn and soybeans. BASF soybean field trials showed a 7% increase in plant emergence when Systiva was added to seed treatments versus the standard seed treatment without Systiva.

Another big plus for Xemium is its ability to work better with other BASF products than any other chemistry seen before, according to Ulf Groeger, BASF Global Project Leader.

For more information, visit BASF’s fungicide Web site at www.agproducts.basf.us.