Xtendimax Label And Xtend Soybeans

 

Xtendimax now has a federal label for use in Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans. How this will impact soybean production in Pennsylvania is still yet to be determined.

 

Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans (often referred to as dicamba-tolerant beans) have been developed by Monsanto to allow pre or post applications of dicamba (the active ingredient in Clarity) on soybeans. These varieties are also stacked with the Roundup Ready trait. You may recall that Xtend seed was approved for use in 2016, but few fields were planted because dicamba was not yet labeled and major exports were not yet approved at the time of soybean planting. At the same time, some adoption did occur mostly in the South this past summer and the illegal use of commercial dicamba products had major problems with drift and off-target injury.

 

Monsanto recently received a federal approval on November 9th for a dicamba-containing (Clarity, DGA-formulation) product called Xtendimax with “VaporGrip” technology to reduce volatility. Our understanding is that this Xtendimax label for use on Xtend soybeans is a probationary, 2-year supplemental label however, it can be prolonged if there are few or minimal problems in the first two years. (Other dicamba products such as Fexapan from Dupont and Engenia from BASF are likely to be labeled soon for use in Xtend soybeans.) In order to reduce drift and the other negative impacts to non-target areas, this initial label is quite restrictive, not allowing for tank mixing, only a single nozzle type is recommended, boom height is limited, and sprayer speed and wind speed are restricted. Also, depending on the landscape setting, field buffers must be included if susceptible crops are present and downwind at the time of application. In addition, the application cannot occur if wind is blowing in the direction of specific crops such as tomatoes, vine crops, grapes, and others. The applicator is responsible for any drift of these products to off-target sites. Guidelines for using Xtendimax as a burndown application are vague at this time and these guidelines can change periodically as new information is acquired. Updates will be posted online by Monsanto.

 

Currently, only 14 states have registered Xtendimax for use on Xtend soybeans and Pennsylvania is not yet included. Pennsylvania approval is likely and we see value particularly in a burndown setting for horseweed or marestail management. We are less excited about in-crop applications and would prefer to first learn from the experiences of other states and regions in 2017 that need this technology more.