New Herbicide Trait Talk

By Pam Smith
DTN Progressive Farmer Crops Technology Editor

DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- New herbicide seed traits coming to market this spring have some important footnotes. Vital approvals are still pending for both the dicamba and 2,4-D-tolerant weed control systems being offered by seed companies.

EPA and China continue to influence how and to what extent some of this new technology will be used on a commercial scale in 2016. Here's what you need to know if you lock in seed purchases containing these new traits and if approvals do not materialize before planting.

MONSANTO ROUNDUP READY XTEND WEED CONTROL SYSTEM

-- Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybean traits offer tolerance to dicamba and glyphosate.

-- Bollgard II XtendFlex cotton traits offer tolerance to dicamba, glyphosate (Roundup) and glufosinate (Liberty).

-- Xtend traits HAVE China import approvals. However, import approvals for this stacked product are pending in the European Union (EU).

-- Monsanto has announced it will sell Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans in 2016. The cotton trait has been on the market since 2015.

-- NO approved dicamba herbicides are available for the Xtend trait system yet for any crops. Monsanto and BASF both have low volatility formulations awaiting EPA clearance.

-- Use of existing dicamba (Clarity) herbicides over the top of the Xtend trait is prohibited.

-- Burndown and pre-emergence applications of dicamba and dicamba tank mixes must follow the current label plant-back restrictions.

-- Monsanto's soybean seed brands will be offering a $5-off per unit discount this year to encourage growers to "experience the germplasm."

What you need to know:

While Monsanto received the much anticipated import grain and fiber approvals from China earlier this month, there's no approved chemistry to go with the trait at this time. Seed companies are offering Roundup Ready 2 Xtend-tolerant soybeans for 2016 in the U.S. and Canada. Monsanto has announced 70 of its Xtend-brand dicamba-resistant soybean varieties. DuPont Pioneer is releasing 30 new dicamba-tolerant soybean varieties for 2016 and many other trait licensees will offer dicamba varieties.

Understand that unless EPA approves one of the new dicamba herbicides created for this technology, you are planting the equivalent of a Roundup Ready soybean. With no new approvals, soybean growers facing weeds resistant to glyphosate and PPO-inhibitors would still have no post-emergence rescue treatment options to take advantage of the dicamba trait. Xtend cotton growers have the option of using glufosinate where glyphosate resistance is an issue.

One of the advantages to dicamba tolerance is fewer plant-back restrictions in spring. Growers will not have that advantage in 2016 if there is no EPA approved dicamba product. Any burndown and/or pre-emergence dicamba or dicamba tank-mix combinations will be subject to current label restrictions -- whether planting a dicamba tolerant variety or not. For example, a pre-plant application of Clarity to control existing vegetation with one inch of accumulated rainfall requires a waiting interval before planting of 14 days for up to 8 ounces of Clarity and 28 days for up to 16 ounces. These requirements are governed by the herbicide label, not by the soybean variety.

Since Monsanto and BASF have yet to receive approvals for their low-volatility dicamba formulations, it is not known what those labels, if approved, will require with regard to buffer zone or crop set-backs and various other application requirements.

DOW AGROSCIENCES ENLIST WEED CONTROL SYSTEM

-- Enlist corn, cotton and soybeans offer tolerance to 2,4-D and glyphosate. Enlist E3 soybeans and Enlist cotton also have glufosinate (Liberty) tolerance.

-- Enlist traits DO NOT have China approvals.

-- Enlist Duo herbicide, a combination of 2,4-D choline and glyphosate designed to be used with this trait system, HAS approvals in U.S. on corn and soybean in 15 states.

-- Enlist Duo herbicide HAS NOT been approved by the EPA for use in cotton.

-- Dow AgroSciences HAS announced a 2016 launch of Enlist cotton, but growers DO NOT have access to an approved herbicide at this time.

-- Using existing 2,4-D herbicides over the top of cotton is prohibited. -- Burndown and pre-plant use of 2,4-D must follow current label plant-back restrictions.

-- Enlist corn 2016 launch is pending China approvals and uncertain at this time.

-- Enlist soybeans will be grown under an expanded program for seed production only in 2016.

-- The Enlist Duo label contains specific-use requirements aimed at avoiding drift issues and weed resistance to herbicides.

What you need to know:

While the Enlist Weed Control System has both trait and herbicide approvals in the U.S. and Canada in corn and soybean, the company is missing key import approvals from China. When China might issue approvals is unknown.

The only Enlist product on the "for sure" list for 2016 launch is cotton. However, Enlist Duo has yet to receive EPA clearance on the herbicide component for cotton. That leaves cotton growers with glyphosate and glufosinate to use post-emergence on seeds with tolerances to those herbicides. Burndown and pre-plant applications of 2,4-D alone or in tank mixes remain subject to labeled plant-back restrictions until Enlist Duo herbicide is approved for use in cotton.

EPA is still reviewing Enlist Duo's registration over possible synergistic qualities between 2,4-D and glyphosate in off-target plants, but a court decision in late January ruled the herbicide could be marketed. The label for Enlist Duo contains specific requirements as to nozzle selection, downwind buffer zones and eliminates aerial application.

OTHER TRAITS WAIT

There are additional new soybean herbicide trait technologies pending, but they are slightly further out on the calendar and are not being offered on a commercial scale in 2016. Bayer CropScience and MS Technologies have developed Balance GT, a double herbicide-tolerant stack that will offer tolerance for glyphosate and isoxaflutole (Balance Flexx). Balance Bean will be the herbicide that matches this trait stack.

Bayer is also partnering with Syngenta to develop an MGI herbicide-tolerant trait featuring tolerance to mesotrione (Callisto), glufosinate and isoxaflutole.

PURCHASING CONSIDERATIONS

While all these new tools will have important roles in weed control in the future, the uncertainties make them tough to use in 2016, said University of Illinois weed scientist Aaron Hager.

"Soybean producers who are planning to rely on dicamba and dicamba-resistant soybean in their 2016 weed management programs for control of waterhemp populations resistant to both glyphosate and PPO inhibitors are encouraged to consider utilizing alternative strategies," he said. "The Enlist soybean trait technology and the complimentary Enlist Duo herbicide formulation have received regulatory clearances, but without export approval to China it remains unclear how widely available these varieties will be in 2016," he added.

"Alternative strategies to manage weed populations with resistance to multiple soybean herbicides include rotating fields to a different crop, or planting soybean varieties resistant to glufosinate (i.e., Liberty Link). Please keep in mind, however, that regardless of the crop planted, the variety selected, or the herbicide applied, the most sustainable solution to the challenges of herbicide-resistant weeds is an integrated weed management system that utilizes both chemical and non-chemical tactics to eliminate weed seed production at the end of the growing season."

Hager has written a more detailed report on this subject. It can be accessed here: http://bulletin.ipm.illinois.edu

Pamela Smith can be reached at pamela.smith@dtn.com

Follow Pamela Smith on Twitter @PamSmithDTN

(GH/CZ/SK)

Copyright 2016 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.