Do you know how much time you have to officially write down details about a dicamba application over dicamba-tolerant soybeans? You will after you attend a mandatory dicamba training session for anyone who intends to apply dicamba over soybeans.

The required training is in response to an updated label issued by the U.S. EPA. The goal is to reduce drift complaints, notes Scott Gabbard, Shelby County Extension ag educator. Gabbard presented a dicamba training session in Johnson County, Ind.

Here are eight facts gleaned from the presentation.

1. You have 14 days to create records after applying one of three new dicamba products. The normal requirement for restricted-use products is within 30 days, Gabbard says. Any dicamba product with more than 6% active ingredient is now a restricted-use herbicide in Indiana. Once you create records, you must keep them for two years.

2. Don’t apply if there is a 51% or greater chance of rain within 24 hours. This is spelled out on the labels. Check forecasts carefully. If there is more than a 50% chance of rain within 24 hours of application, it’s not legal to make the application.

3. The width of buffer required for sensitive crops varies depending upon spray concentration. New label updates for XtendiMax and FeXapan indicate that the buffer area where you can’t spray next to sensitive crops can be 110 feet or 220 feet. The wider buffer is required when you’re applying higher rates of these products. Roadsides and woods can’t be counted as part of the buffer.

4. The wind must be blowing away from a sensitive crop. Document wind direction plus wind speed at the sprayer boom height before and after application. Labels clearly state that it’s a violation to spray if the wind is blowing toward a sensitive crop at any wind speed.

5. Don’t drive the sprayer faster than 15 mph. In fact, a speed as low as 5 mph is recommended when spraying in downwind field edges. Spraying at ground speeds above 15 mph within the field increases the odds for off-target movement.

6. Set spray booms at 24 inches or less above the crop canopy. It’s also important to record wind direction and speed using a recommended recording instrument at boom height, Gabbard says. Just stepping outside the cab to measure wind direction or speed is no longer adequate to comply with the label. Winds must be from 3 to 10 mph for a legal application.

7. Only apply these products between sunrise and sunset. This is a new requirement for 2018, added when EPA revised the labels late in 2017. The Office of Indiana State Chemist interprets “sunrise” as time of sunrise and “sunset” as up to 30 minutes after sunset. Base these time determinations on information from a reliable weather recording service.

8. Do not apply products during a temperature inversion. The Engenia label specifically states that it is not to be applied when temperature inversions exist at field level. OISC says: “Temperature inversions shall be identified by reliably recorded calm or zero to 3 mph winds during application.”

For more points made during this training session, read the first part of this three-part series, and watch the website for the final installment.