There’s no doubt that U.S. soybean farmers need the additional mode of action for weed control provided by dicamba-based soybean systems. With EPA approval again needed for their continued use after this year, 2018 needs to be a year of good stewardship results. One tool to help applicators is a free Apple and Android mobile app.
The RRXtend Spray App features three components to assist with accurate, on-target spraying of XtendiMax® Herbicide with VaporGrip® Technology. North American Crop Protection Lead at Monsanto Ty Witten explains the weather feature helps identify best application windows.
“All pesticide labels have a language that says do not apply during a temperature inversion, and that’s important because when I apply into a temperature inversion, small particles, fine particles, can be suspended and caught up in that inversion,” he explained. “If I’m doing it during the evening hours and that inversion is starting to form those can move all night long and can affect a lot of acres. Also understanding that dissipation in the morning of when can I get into the field is a key component here.”
Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Climate Corporation combines to provide growers and applicators with a good overview of application conditions.
“They’ve done a good job to understand and give a characterization of field conditions, of wind speed and direction at the boom height, as well as the potential for inversion. That is a tool that growers said they need and need to understand. So, we gave them something that would be a better predictor. It doesn’t remove the necessary step to measure wind speed at the time of application and ending of application, or use a smoke bomb and test for an inversion, but it sure helps give them good guidance.”
According to the label, wind speed should be measured before spraying at the boom height, and Witten encourages applicators to “make sure you’re out where it is representative of what the field is going to be like, where wind is going to move across there before you pull in, not just the first row, but what’s indicative of how wind is going to affect this pesticide movement. Take your wind meter and a good, sustained 2-minute reading is recommended to understand what wind gusts do and it would affect the wind measurement.”
Other portions of the app are digital record keeping capabilities and educational resources for the Roundup Ready® Xtend Crop System. The record-keeping feature gives applicators an easy way to comply with mandatory dicamba record keeping requirements when applying XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology. App users can save and export multiple field records and store them on a mobile device.
The educational resource section connects growers to key resources including training information, materials on approved tank mixes and nozzles, and educational videos featuring insights on methods used in the forecast tool. For the app search for RRXtend.
Growers are also encouraged to visit https://www.roundupreadyxtend.com/training to review training dates and locations and to register to attend. The Indiana dates are here, and plenty are still available in March.
It has been a busy training season across the country. Indiana is a good example with the Office of Indiana State Chemist reporting nearly 150 training sessions and approximately 4,000 attendees. Most of those have been either licensed private applicators or commercial applicators, and it is far and away a record number of both trainings and trainees.
For more information on the Roundup Ready Xtend crop system visit https://www.roundupreadyxtend.com.