Update from the Field: Damn the Dicamba, Full Speed Ahead
Posted by David Dyson, Agronomist on March 12, 2018
This post may reference products and/or services only available to our Retail Farm Center customers. For more information contact your Territory Manager at The Andersons.
In the last few months, there has been a major push by both the chemical industry and the extension agencies to “teach” applicators how to apply dicamba properly. While waiting at meetings to present my slide show, I have had a chance to listen to several presentations of the dicamba training mandated by the EPA. The training has ranged from common sense to outright terrifying growers into not planting dicamba tolerant (DT) soybeans or not spraying dicamba. There has to be some common ground, as DT soybeans are a godsend to areas affected by herbicide-resistant weeds.
First of all, there is no substitute for reading and following all product labeling before using them. The three products that are labeled to spray pre- or post-emergent on DT soybeans are FeXapan®, Xtendimax®, and Engenia®. All other dicamba products require applications to be made 45 days and one inch of rain prior to planting. The biggest change to the label for an application of Fexapan, Xtendimax, and Engenia is the wind. The wind has to be blowing between 3-10 mph, and these products cannot be sprayed downwind adjacent to susceptible crops. The rest of the label is the same as last year (Figure 1).
Figure 1: This is a quick guide to dicamba spraying in 2018. Always read and follow label directions.
We need to look at spraying dicamba during a pre-emergent application with a high-quality residual herbicide. I cannot emphasize this enough: if we apply dicamba before the soybeans emerge, we can reduce our exposure to “chemical trespassing” while controlling herbicide resistant marestail, lambsquarter, common and giant ragweed. In 2017, we applied dicamba, Roundup®, and a high-quality residual herbicide prior to soybean emergence to test fields around the North Manchester, Indiana, area. We came back and applied a single rate of Roundup in the middle of July and had a high control of tough weeds. These test fields were all but abandoned to marestail in 2016, so the weed pressure was present.
The residual chemistry applied with the dicamba is the key for success. If we can kill everything that is germinated at emergence and put down an extremely effective group 15 herbicide, we can move our second application to mid-July. If we can clean up our fields in mid-July, the soybeans should be able to shade out weeds for the rest of the summer.
In conclusion, this article is named after the famous Battle of Mobile Bay during the Civil War. Admiral David G. Farragut immortalized the battle by declaring, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” People always mark this event by the rash but successful run through a minefield by Admiral Farragut, but if we look further into the reason for his success, it was communication. He successfully communicated with the Union ground troops to carry the day. Like Admiral Farragut, we in the Ag industry have to communicate and be aware of our surroundings. This DT technology is very useful in combating resistance in our weed population. Let’s not ruin this tech with needless drift lawsuits. If at all possible, apply the dicamba chemistry prior to emergence. For more information on resistance weed management, visit http://www.iwilltakeaction.com/resources.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Please complete the form, and we’ll get you in touch with your Territory Manager from The Andersons.
Dave Dyson is a regional agronomist for The Andersons’ Farm Centers which are located throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. He is an Indiana native and grew up on a dairy farm in Miami County. A graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Crop & Soil Science, Dave has a deep knowledge of various agronomic topics and is committed to helping growers improve their crops. If you have any questions, Dave can be reached at david_dyson@andersonsinc.com.
FeXapan is a registered trademark of DuPont. Xtendimax and Roundup are registered trademarks of Monsanto. Engenia is a registered treademark of BASF.
