After reports last year that the popular weed–killer Dicamba had damaged soybeans in Missouri and other states, its manufacturer, Monsanto, revised their use guidelines.
Non–genetically modified soybeans are extremely susceptible to the chemical. Talon Becker, Extension Educator for Commercial Agriculture with the U of I Extension Service says the new guidelines call for farmers to apply it only when the predicted winds will be between three and nine miles an hour. Becker says for this upcoming growing season he has heard that some farmers are planning on doing their Dicamba spraying earlier, to make sure it is applied BEFORE their soybeans start to flower. The Extension Service is sponsoring a workshop with the latest information about this controversial weed–killer, this Wednesday (1/24/18) at the Double Tree in Mt. Vernon.
For more information about the controversy surrounding Dicamba, visit: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/10/26/559733837/monsanto-and-the-weed-scientists-not-a-love-story
For more information about the Crop Management Conference, visit: http://news.aces.illinois.edu/news/registration-open-2018-crop-management-conferences