The Environmental Protection Agency and several state agencies have gotten reports about crop damage that appears to be related to the use of herbicides containing dicamba. Extension experts in several states across the country believe that the illegal use of dicamba products on adjacent or nearby fields containing dicamba-resistant cotton and soybean crops is what caused the damage. The EPA has not registered any dicamba herbicides for use at planting or over the top of growing plants like soybeans or cotton, including those plants that are modified to resist dicamba. That means any dicamba application during the growing season is against the law. Use on cotton and soybean fields are restricted to pre-plant or post-harvest burndown applications only. Missouri has fielded over 100 complaints about dicamba misuse, and estimates are that more than 42,000 acres of crops have been infected. Other complaints have shown up in Arkansas, Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Texas.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.