The North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) has issued extra rules for using dicamba on soybeans in North Dakota. The rules are in addition to the federal labels for formulations of Monsanto’s XtendiMax; BASF’s Engenia and DuPont’s FeXapan. They are:

1) No applications of any of the products can be made after June 30 or after the first bloom (R1 growth phase) of soybeans, whichever comes first.

2) No applications may be made if the air temperature at the field at the time of application is over 85 degrees F, or if the forecasted National Weather Service high temperature for the day exceeds 85 degrees F.

3) Applications may only be made between one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset.

4) Operating speed cannot exceed 12 miles per hour when applying products.

5) You must notify the NDDA before you spray XtendiMax, Engenia or FeXapan. The notification shall include the applicator contact information; certification type (commercial, public or private); and the date, time and location of the application (county, township, range, etc.).

6) Any applicator, even those working under the supervision of a certified private applicator, must be certified to apply dicamba. Manufacturers will be holding special certification classes this winter.

7) Products must be applied with a minimum of 15 gallons of spray solution (water) per acre. That’s the same as the federal label for XtendiMax and FeXapan. Engenia’s label is 10 gallons.

8) No applications may be made using spray nozzles with less than an 80 degree angle.

Other limitations
North Dakota’s rules are in addition to the EPA’s new label which specifies when, where and under what kind of weather conditions the compounds can be applied, as well as what products can be tank mixed with the herbicide and which nozzles have to be used, among other factors.

“We applaud the work done by the EPA and the registrants to develop the new label, but believe that a one-size-fits-all approach does not adequately address some of the unique conditions we face in our state,” says Doug Goehring, North Dakota agriculture commissioner, in a statement announcing the guides.

The new labels and registration process may still take several weeks to complete. The products will not be available for purchase until the registration process is complete.

South Dakota
The South Dakota Department of Agriculture has not yet issued new protocols for using dicamba in South Dakota. The issue is under review, according to a department spokesperson.

Source: NDDA and SDDA