SPRINGFIELD, IL. – The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) announced additional label restrictions for the 2020 growing season for the herbicide dicamba. After careful consideration, IDOA Director John Sullivan has determined the Department will be forwarding 24 (c) registration requests to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for Illinois specific labels for the use of dicamba on soybeans in 2020 requiring the following additional provisions:
1. DO NOT apply this product if the air temperature at the field at the time of application is over 85 degrees Fahrenheit or if the National Weather Service’s forecasted high temperature for the nearest available location for the day of application exceeds 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
(Local National Weather Service forecast are available at https://www.weather.gov.)
2. DO NOT apply this product after June 20, 2020.
3. Before making an application of this product, the applicator must consult the FieldWatch sensitive crop registry (https://www.fieldwatch.com) and comply with all associated record keeping label requirements.
4. Maintain the label-specified downwind buffer between the last treated row and the nearest downfield edge of any Illinois Nature Preserves Commission site.
5. It is best to apply product when the wind is blowing away from sensitive areas, which include but are not limited to bodies of water and non-residential, uncultivated areas that may harbor sensitive plant species.
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“The number of off-target complaints received during the 2019 growing season rose dramatically, and the Department is taking action to reduce those numbers,” said John Sullivan, Director, IDOA. “These additional restrictions were reached after careful consideration with our Environmental Programs team at the Department, as well as input from stakeholders in the agriculture industry.”
In addition to these provisions’, applicators must follow the federal guidelines when it comes to applying dicamba, including taking an annual certified applicator training course.
The intent of these additional restrictions is to reduce the potential for off-target movement of this product, thereby reducing the potential for possible adverse impacts to dicamba-sensitive crops/areas. Dicamba is primarily used on soybeans to control post-emergence broadleaf weeds. The decision to pursue state-specific Special Local Needs (SLN) labels was made in response to the record number of misuse complaints the IDOA received during the past three years.
