Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an existing stocks order for dicamba products previously registered for over-the-top (OTT) use on dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybean.
This comes as relief to growers who have already placed orders for dicamba-tolerant seed and the herbicide itself for the 2024 growing season.
“The order on February 14 assists growers who planned to or have already invested in dicamba-tolerant seeds for the season,” said Scott Nolte, AgriLife Extension statewide weed specialist in the Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
“It also means that growers must abide by stringent guidelines for use of the existing stocks of dicamba as well as the deadlines for their purchase and use,” Nolte continued.
The order allows for limited continued use of the OTT dicamba products, as well as sale and distribution of these products as long as they were in the possession of growers or in the channels of trade and outside the control of the pesticide companies as of Feb. 6.
The use of these products must be consistent with the previously approved labeling, which included measures intended to reduce environmental damage caused by offsite movement of the pesticide.
The order applies only to the 2024 growing season with specific sale, distribution and use dates outlined by state (Table 1). After these dates, the products will be considered illegal to use.
This order comes after a ruling by the U.S. District Court of Arizona on Feb. 6 vacated the 2020 registrations for OTT dicamba products XtendiMax, Engenia and Tavium. These products were registered to be sprayed OTT of genetically engineered dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton after the crops have emerged from the ground.
As of Feb. 6, these products are no longer registered, and the sale or distribution of these products is unlawful, except as provided in the EPA’s Feb. 14 existing stocks order.
Additional details on the sale, distribution and use of these formerly registered products can be found in the EPA’s existing stocks order.
Dicamba is a herbicide used to target broadleaf weeds and is registered for use in agriculture at specific growth stages for corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, sugarcane and other crops.
Other dicamba products that are only registered for non-OTT applications are not involved in this ruling or order as they are labeled for application earlier in the growing season before crop emergence.
