Preventing Dicamba Drift Situation Update From Larry Steckel

Damages caused by misapplication of dicamba herbicides can be severe and extremely costly. It is imperative that pesticide applicators strictly follow these best management practices to reduce the potential for off-target dicamba.

Best Management Practices.

• Only use Engenia or Xtendimax. These low-volatile formulations are the only approved products for post-emergence applications. Older, generic formulations of dicamba are highly volatile and very likely to move off-target.
• Only tankmix with labeled products. Tankmixes can affect the size of the droplets that leave the spray tip as well as degree of volatility.
• Only use labeled nozzles. Do not use flat fan or other nozzles that produce very small droplets, which take longer to reach their target.
• Keep the spray boom low. The higher the boom, the more time the spray droplet is in the air where it can be moved by winds.
• Avoid spraying in a temperature inversion.
• Communicate with neighbors.

Spotting an Inversion

A temperature inversion occurs when air temperature rises with altitude. In other words, cooler air is closer to the ground. In West Tennessee we experience temperature inversions almost every day in June and July. Temperature inversions can start as early as 3:30 p.m. and last until 8 a.m. the following day.

Signs of an inversion include fog, heavy dew on leaves, or dust hanging in the air. In an inversion, tiny spray droplets will hang in the cooler air, often for hours. When the inversion lifts, the droplets could move anywhere.

Any formulation can drift during a temperature inversion, including Engenia and Xtendimax.

Limit Sequential Applications

The best way to avoid dicamba drift is to stop using it. For mid- to late-season reapplications, there are effective alternatives for both cotton and soybean.

Cotton

We recommend glufosinate in dicamba-tolerant cotton for follow-up applications. Our research has shown glufosinate to be very effective in controlling Palmer amaranth that escapes a dicamba application.

Soybean

In areas where Palmer amaranth pressure is not extreme, a fomesafen-based herbicide program should be sufficient. Recent research has found that a sequential fomesafen application is very effective in controlling Palmer amaranth that survives an earlier dicamba application – even in PPO-resistant populations. Please be aware that dicamba applications in Xtend soybeans are not allowed after first flower (R1).

RELEASED: June 30, 2017

Cotton Acreage Continues to Rise in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the Acreage and Grain Stocks reports today, showing Tennessee farmers are planting more cotton this year than last.

Upland cotton acreage in Tennessee was estimated at 320,000, up 65,000 acres from 2016. The U.S. total upland cotton acreage is estimated at 12.1 million acres, up 20 percent from the previous year. Continue reading at JUNACR17_TN.

Corn, cotton, soybeans, and wheat were up for the week.

This week all four commodities were up; largely due to a positive reaction to
Friday’s USDA Acreage and Quarterly Grain Stocks reports. For Friday, 2017
corn futures contracts were up 10 ¾ to 12 cents; 2017 soybean futures were
up 26 ¼ to 30 cents; cotton futures were up 1.31 to 1.35 cents; and wheat futures were up 29 ½ to 30 ¾ cents.

The USDA estimated 2017 corn planted acreage at 90 million acres (down 4% from last year); soybeans at a record 89.5 million acres (up 7% from last year); cotton at 12.2 million acres (up 21% from last year); and all wheat planted area at 46.1 million acres (the lowest US recorded planted acreage; winter wheat was down 9% from last year and spring wheat down 3%). Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.

In light of dicamba drift issues, Dr. Steckel recommends using a PPO herbicide as a follow-up application in Xtend soybeans. Recent research has found that a sequential PPO application is very effective in controlling Palmer amaranth that survives an earlier dicamba application. Watch as he walks you through the study.

Producers in Tennessee and surrounding states will want to mark their calendar for Wednesday, August 9, 2017 for the Mid-South Agricultural Finance Conference. This annual conference will once again be held in the Boling University Center on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Martin in Martin, Tennessee. Continue reading →