Soybean with resistance to dicamba (DR soybean) and glyphosate and cotton with resistance to glyphosate, glufosinate, and dicamba were recently commercialized in the United States and have been readily adopted. To evaluate results of over-the-top application of dicamba in DR crops, field studies were designed to examine off-target movement using proposed sprayer setup recommendations. Association analysis and nonlinear regression techniques were used to examine the effects of 26 field-scale drift trials conducted in 2014 and 2015 during soybean reproductive development (R1 through R6). The greatest predictors (injury, height reduction) of soybean yield reduction generally occurred and had steeper relationships after drift events at the R1 growth stage than at later stages. Using non-DR soybean as an indicator, dicamba was documented to move as much as 152m from the application area (distance to 5% injury). Instances of height reduction (5%) differed among growth stages, with the greatest distance occurring at R1 (83.4 m). Soybean yield reduction was erratic, with the greatest distance to 5% loss in yield occurring at 42.8 m after an R1 drift event. Overall, the data suggest floweringstage soybean is more sensitive than later reproductive soybean to injury, height reductions, and yield loss. Average and maximum wind speeds did not account for the injury documented from dicamba, and it is hypothesized that other meteorological variables also play a notable role in dicamba off-target movement as well as growing conditions following exposure. With concerns surrounding off-target movement of dicamba, proper stewardship of this new technology will be key to its longevity.

Nomenclature: dicamba; glufosinate; glyphosate; cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L.; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr.