Lance Tarochione, technical agronomist with Monsanto, shared details about the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™ soybeans, which will be available for the 2016 growing season. These varieties contain traits that are resistant to glyphosate and dicamba to help improve weed management. He emphasizes the importance of following label instructions because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not yet approved dicamba herbicides to be used with Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans. It is extremely important not to use dicamba herbicides with these varieties until it is approved by the EPA.
Key Takeaways:
- Always follow label instructions—it’s the law.
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not approved dicamba herbicides for in-season applications. Monsanto hopes the EPA will open the public comment period soon—which is the next step in the labeling process.
- The long-term consequences of going off-label outweigh any short-term benefits.
- Throughout Illinois, Roundup Ready 2 Xtend products offer the newest genetics and have demonstrated yield potential equal to or greater than current Roundup Ready 2 Xtend products.
- Growers have a good opportunity in 2016 to plant Roundup Ready 2 Xtend products so they can evaluate the germplasm on their farm before potentially switching to a new herbicide platform in 2017.
- Once fully approved, the Roundup Ready 2 Xtend Cropping System will be a great new tool for farmers to manage resistant and hard to control weeds.
About the Author: Illinois Soybean Association
and then