The University of Missouri plans to offer both in-person and Web-based dicamba training beginning in December. The locations and dates have not been finalized but should be available shortly, according to a news release.
The training is in response to label changes the Environmental Protection Agency approved in October that require only certified applicators with special training, and those under their supervision, to apply the products. The dicamba-specific training for all certified applicators will reinforce the herbicide’s proper use, according to the EPA.
The label applies to the three dicamba products registered for over-the-top applications to Xtend soybeans and XtendFlex cotton that have been genetically engineered to tolerate the herbicide. They are Engenia from BASF, XtendiMax with VaporGrip technology from Monsanto and FeXapan with VaporGrip technology from DuPont.
The label changes were prompted by hundreds of complaints of suspected dicamba drift this summer onto sensitive crops, the most common being non-dicamba soybeans.
In 2016, most of the complaints in Missouri about off-target dicamba movement came from the Bootheel. But this year, they spanned 50 counties and increased to 303 from 130. Crop damage was estimated at 325,000 acres of the state’s 6 million acres of soybeans.
The problem became so bad that the Missouri Department of Agriculture issued a temporary “stop sale” on all dicamba in July. Days later, it allowed applications once again although following a much more restrictive Section 24(c) Special Local Needs label.
Check back later for more training information at extension.missouri.edu.