US regulators weigh dicamba registration as injury reports mount

 

As herbicide injury reports mount in the Midwest and South, state regulators and EPA of the United States are watching the situation closely. 

 

Dicamba is facing the most alleged injury reports so far, and 2,4-D injury complaints are also an issue in some Southern states. So far, dicamba injury complaints are most numerous in Southern states, but they are also beginning to be reported in Midwestern states, where post-emergence dicamba spraying in Xtend soybeans is still underway and double-crop soybeans have yet to be sprayed. 

 

Injury to non-soybean crops and plants, such as vegetables, fruit, ornamentals and trees, is being seen at a higher rate than last year, weed scientists told DTN. 

 

EPA is planning to make a decision by mid-August on whether or not to extend the registrations of XtendiMax, Engenia and FeXapan, which expire in November 2018, said Tony Cofer, president of the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO). 

 

"Our goal is to make a regulatory decision in time to inform seed and weed management purchase decisions for the 2019 growing season," an EPA spokesperson told DTN via email. 

 

AAPCO is monitoring dicamba injury reports and trying to give EPA a "real-time reporting" of the situation this summer, Cofer said. 

 

 

The Missouri Department of Agriculture is facing 42 complaints of potential dicamba injury and 11 complaints of potential 2,4-D injury as of June 18, said Sami Jo Freeman, the department's public information administrator. State regulators from Tennessee are reporting 19 dicamba complaints, with Mississippi checking in at 13 this week, said Cofer. 

 

In Arkansas -- where dicamba use is banned in season -- the state has nonetheless received 43 dicamba injury complaints -- about half as many as last year at this time, when growers had legal access to Engenia, added Adriane Barnes, director of communications for the Arkansas Agriculture Department.