The Kansas Department of Agriculture announced last week that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved its request to extend until June 30 the Section 18 emergency exemption for Lumax herbicide use on Kansas grain sorghum.

An earlier emergency exemption allowed Lumax to be used until June 15.

"Given the planting delays many farmers experienced due to ongoing wet weather, we asked that the deadline to use Lumax be extended from June 15 to June 30," says Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky.

When applied according to label directions – and after proper activation – this herbicide controls broadleaf weeds and annual grasses (excluding shattercane) in grain sorghum. The controlled weeds include triazine-resistant, glyphosate-resistant, and acetolactate synthase (ALS)-resistant Palmer amaranth and waterhemp.

The emergency exemption does outline special conditions for Lumax use on sorghum. Users must have the label at the time of application, and they must accept responsibility for failure to perform and for crop damage. Applicators can access the label online at www.farmassist.com.

For those who do not have Internet access, their retailer will help them through the process.

The Kansas Grain Sorghum Producers Association asked the Kansas Department of Agriculture to apply for the exemption.

Lumax Herbicide, which is manufactured by Syngenta Crop Protection, must be applied following all label directions, restrictions and precautions on the federal label and as outlined in the authorization notice.

The exemption has several conditions which include: