The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling on June 3, 2020 that cancelled the registration of three dicamba products XtendiMax®, FeXapan®, and Engenia® primarily used in dicamba-resistant soybean (Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® soybean).
On Oct 27, 2020, The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) announced a new 5-year registration for XtendiMax® and Engenia, and re-registered Tavium (a premix of dicamba and S-metolachlor).
To reduce off-target movement of dicamba, USEPA’s 2020 registration features important control measures, including:
- Requiring a downwind buffer of 240 feet and 310 feet in areas where endangered species are located. The use of hooded sprayers during application may reduce certain buffer requirements.
- Requiring an approved pH-buffering agent (also called a Volatility Reduction Agent or VRA) be tank mixed with dicamba products to reduce volatility.
- Prohibiting dicamba application in Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® soybean after June 30, regardless of soybean growth stage.
- Simplifying the label and use directions so that growers can more easily determine when and how to properly apply dicamba.
For more information, See the full labels of the three dicamba products on EPA docket: https://beta.regulations.gov/docket/EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0492/document
Dicamba off-target injury has been documented in Nebraska on sensitive soybean and other sensitive broadleaf crops in last three years; therefore, care must be taken when applying dicamba based products not only in soybean, but also dicamba based products labeled in corn.
More information will be shared on this topic as it becomes available.
