Reformulation of dicamba herbicide: Impacts on offsite transport and soybean damage

Abstract

The herbicide dicamba (3,6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid) is commonly used to control broadleaf weeds in soybeans. Dicamba, however, is susceptible to volatilization and drift, thereby causing significant plant damage to nontarget crops downwind. Dicamba was reformulated to reduce volatility and off-target movement. The effectiveness of the dicamba reformulation was assessed by quantifying dicamba emissions following spray application and investigated how meteorological factors influenced the off-target movement. The experiments were conducted at the University of Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station (UMORE Park) during the growing season of 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022. Multiple high-flow polyurethane foam air samplers were used to measure dicamba concentrations downwind from a 4-ha soybean field sprayed with dicamba. Dicamba emissions were estimated using backward Lagrangian modeling constrained by the air sample observations. The results indicate that dicamba emissions and downwind transport were significant for several days following application. Further, non-traited soybeans located within 15–45 m showed substantial dicamba-related damage. In warmer, drier seasons, increased dicamba emissions caused more severe damage to downwind soybeans, likely worsened by drought stress preventing recovery. Favorable atmospheric conditions that reduced potential drift can be difficult to achieve in terms of the typical weather experienced over agricultural sites in the Upper Midwest. These results indicate that the dicamba reformulation has not adequately prevented significant post-spray volatilization losses and downwind transport.