EPA Green Lights OTT Dicamba Again

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (DTN) -- U.S. cotton and soybean growers will once again have access to dicamba herbicides labeled for postemergence application under a two-year conditional registration announced by EPA on Feb. 6.

The action comes exactly two years to the day since the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in Tucson vacated the 2020 registrations of three dicamba products previously approved by the EPA for "over-the-top" applications, including BASF's Engenia, Bayer's XtendiMax and Syngenta's Tavium.

All three registrants applied for new labels for their products in the months following the court's action in 2024. In July 2025, EPA announced its proposed decision to approve the products with new restrictions. They include a single use maximum application rate of 0.5 pound acid equivalent of dicamba per acre with no more than two applications allowed with a maximum annual application of 1 pound acid equivalent of dicamba; the use of approved drift-reduction agents and pH-buffering volatility reduction agents; and temperature-dependent application restrictions to manage volatility, including a prohibition on applications when the temperature is above 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The agency's new registration eliminates cutoff dates and crop growth stages that were previously used to govern application of the herbicides.

Watch www.dtnpf.com for more updates and reaction to this developing situation.

Jason Jenkins can be reached at jason.jenkins@dtn.com

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