variable rate sprayer

Variable rate sprayer over cotton

Dr. Brett Bultemeier, UF/IFAS Pesticide Information Office

On June 3, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit vacated the registrations of three dicamba products: Xtendimax with VaporGrip Technology, Engenia Herbicide, and DuPont FeXapan Herbicide. This created uncertainty for many farmers growing soybeans and cotton, and forced EPA to issue cancellation orders for these three products as of July 31, 2020.

On October 27, 2020 the EPA issued new 5 year registrations for two products and extended the registration of a third:

  • XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology for over-the-top (OTT) on dicamba-tolerant (DT) cotton and soybeans, expires 2025
  • Engenia Herbicide for OTT on DT cotton and soybeans, expires 2025
  • Tavium Plus VaporGrip Technology for OTT on DT cotton and soybeans, expires 2025

To address off-site movement concerns the registration added the following requirements for 2021-25:

  • Must use an approved pH-buffering agent prior to all applications to help control volatility
  • A downwind buffer of 240 feet or 310 feet in areas where listed species are located
  • No OTT applications after June 30 for soybean and July 30 for cotton
  • Label use and instructions were simplified for easier reading and implementation of safety measures

For the language related to this change please see the following resources:
EPA Press release: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-2020-dicamba-registration-decision
Full EPA Documentation: https://beta.regulations.gov/search?filter=EPA-HQ-OPP-2020-0492%20
Ethan Carter