Registration of Dicamba for Use on Dicamba-Tolerant Crops
In 2018, EPA extended the registration for two years for over-the-top use (use on growing plants) of dicamba to control weeds in cotton and soybeans genetically engineered to tolerate dicamba. Extensive collaboration with the pesticide manufacturers, farmers, state regulators, and other stakeholders informed EPA’s decision. The registration requires label updates that add protective measures to further minimize the potential for off-site plant damage.
View the documents supporting this decision:
In 2019, EPA registered a product containing a combination of dicamba and S-metolachlor for over-the-top use on dicamba-tolerant cotton and dicamba-tolerant soybeans. This combination of active ingredients is currently an approved tank mix, and as such, is already used over the top on cotton and soybeans.
The registrations for all these dicamba products included an expiration date of Dec. 20, 2020, baring further EPA action to extend the registrations.
On June 3, 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order vacating three of EPA’s pesticide registrations containing the active ingredient dicamba.
On June 8, 2020, EPA issued a final cancellation order providing farmers with needed clarity following the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ June 3, 2020 vacatur of three dicamba registrations. This cancellation order outlined limited and specific circumstances under which existing stocks of the three affected dicamba products could be used for a limited period of time. EPA’s order advanced protection of public health and the environment by ensuring use of existing stocks follows important application procedures.
On October 27, 2020, EPA announced the registration of two end-use dicamba products and extended the existing registration for one other dicamba product, all for applications only on dicamba-tolerant cotton and dicamba-tolerant soybeans. These products will automatically expire in December 2025 unless EPA takes further action to amend the registrations. The new registrations include label changes that further restrict the use of “over-the-top” (OTT) dicamba applications compared to the 2018 registrations. Read the press release and FAQs about this action.
View the documents supporting this decision:
- Registration decision
- Effects determination
- Benefits assessment for DT cotton production
- Benefits assessment for DT soybean production
On December 21, 2021, EPA published a report on the nature and extent of dicamba-related incidents that caused damage to non-target crops during the 2021 growing season. Despite the control measures implemented in EPA’s October 2020 dicamba registration decision, these incident reports showed little change in number, severity, or geographic extent of dicamba-related incidents when compared to the reports the Agency received before the 2020 control measures were required.