Is Your Sprayer Equipped for 2019 Dicamba, 2,4-D Application?
Herbicide residue has a way of hiding in hoses, some more so than others. Of the hoses tested (pictured below) at Mississippi State University, the VersiGard synthetic rubber hose showed the greatest carryover herbicide damage, while the PMA 4086-08, an ethylene-centered hose, had better cleanout.
“The other [non-ethylene-centered]hoses had microscopic breaks in the interior lining where the herbicide could sequester and rejoin the solution later,” says Dan Reynolds, Mississippi State professor of weed science. “Farmers are especially likely to see herbicides rejoin the solution when using herbicides with good solvent and surfactant loads that tend to bring residues from tanks into the solution.”
Yield loss when using rubber hoses was as high as 19%; the areas where the ethylene-centered hose were used lost only 8% (neither had any kind of cleanout). The yield loss from the carryover dicamba in the VersiGard hose was equivalent to spraying a 1/256 rate on sensitive soybeans.
The ethylene-centered hose can be ordered from Kuri Tec or John Deere. And yes, they’re the most costly.
Triple Rinse to Avoid Damage
Just 0.000488 lb. of dicamba per acre can lead to a 10% yield loss in sensitive soybeans—and a half-pound rate can drop yields 97%, according the University of Arkansas. If 2,4-D hits sensitive cotton 30 days after planting, 0.025 lb. of active ingredient per acre can cause up to 100% yield loss, according to Oklahoma State University.
See labels for detailed clean out instructions.
Find more ways to prep yourself for dicamba application:
Dicamba Registration Extended To 2020, Additional Restrictions Apply
Spray Cleaner System Will Deactivate Dicamba
10 Dicamba Stories Highlight Its Journey Of Use In 2018
