Croplink

By Pamela Smith, Crops Technology Editor

Bayer's XtendFlex soybeans are now ready for a full commercial launch in the U.S. and Canada in 2021, after a long-awaited import approval from the European Union.

The soybean variety tolerates over-the-top applications of three herbicides: glyphosate, dicamba and glufosinate (Liberty). The trait platform will replace Roundup Ready 2 Xtend as the underpinning of Bayer's soybean portfolio.

The trait brings another mode of action for soybean growers in the Xtend system facing dicamba-resistant weeds or hoping to stave them off, crop experts note.

The addition of glufosinate as a postemergence option for weed control in Xtend soybeans lets producers move dicamba to an earlier application period. Temperature has been associated with volatility issues that have plagued in-season dicamba use for the past four years.

"It's going to add some much-needed flexibility, especially for growers with a cutoff date on dicamba use," says University of Arkansas Extension weed scientist Tom Barber. Arkansas growers face the most restrictive dicamba cutoff date in the country, May 25.

At press time, new registrations of the four over-the-top dicamba herbicides for the Xtend system (XtendiMax, Engenia, Tavium and FeXapan) were still awaiting EPA approval.

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