IDOA ANNOUNCES STATE-SPECIFIC RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF HERBICIDE DICAMBA ON SOYBEANS FOR 2019

Tricia Braid

Mar 04, 2019  |  Today's News |  Conservation

Goal to reduce off-target movement of dicamba products

 

The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) announced last week it will require Special Local Needs labels, including new restrictions, for the use of the herbicide dicamba on soybeans in Illinois for the 2019 growing season. Dicamba is primarily used on soybeans to control post-emergence broadleaf weeds.

 

On February 15, IDOA notified the manufacturers of the three dicamba-containing products approved for over-the-top application to dicamba-tolerant (DT) soybeans that additional application restrictions will be required for the 2019 growing season. The affected formulations of dicamba are Engenia by BASF, XtendiMax with Vapor Grip Technology by Bayer, and FeXapan plus Vapor Grip Technology by DuPont/Corteva.

 

The additional restrictions beyond federally-approved labels are:

  1. The implementation of a cutoff date of June 30, 2019, for application to DT soybeans.

  2. Prohibiting application when the wind is blowing toward adjacent residential areas.

  3. Required consultation of the FieldWatch sensitive crop registry before application, as well as compliance with all associated record keeping label requirements.

  4. Maintaining the label-specified downwind buffer between the last treated row and the nearest downfield edge of any Illinois Nature Preserves Commission site.

  5. Recommendation to apply product when the wind is blowing away from sensitive areas, which include but are not limited to bodies of water and non-residential, uncultivated areas that may harbor sensitive plant species.

 

The intent of these additional restrictions is to reduce the potential for off-target movement of these products, thereby reducing the potential for possible adverse impacts to dicamba-sensitive crops/areas. The decision to pursue state-specific Special Local Needs (SLN) labels was made in response to the record number of misuse complaints IDOA received during the past two years. In 2017, IDOA received 430 total complaints, 246 of which were related to the use of dicamba on soybeans. Those numbers rose to 546 total complaints, including 330 dicamba-related complaints, in calendar year 2018. Prior to the 2017 introduction of these new formulations of dicamba for use on tolerant soybean varieties, total pesticide misuse complaints average 110 per year from 1989 to 2016.