Defining Glyphosate and Dicamba Drift Injury to Dry Edible Pea, Dry Edible Bean, and Potato

Abstract

Field trials using sublethal doses of glyphosate, dicamba, or mixtures of both herbicides on dry edible pea (Pisum sativum), dry edible bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), and potato (Solanum tuberosum) were conducted at six locations to determine the injury potential if spray drift were to occur. All studies used three increasing sublethal doses of glyphosate and dicamba, which were labeled as low, medium, and high. The doses for each herbicide varied for the three crops because of expected sensitivity differences. Herbicide doses were targeted for the reproductive stage 1 with dry edible pea and dry edible bean, and at tuber initiation for potato. Visible injury 20 days after the treatment ranged from 0% to 13% for dry edible pea, 0% to 53% for dry edible bean, and 0% to 50% for potato. Compared with the nontreated, yield was least when doses included dicamba, regardless of the crop. Dry edible bean was the most sensitive crop to sublethal doses of dicamba, followed by dry edible pea and potato. Results from these six studies suggested that drift injury potential to dry edible pea, dry edible bean, and potato will be greater if a dicamba-resistant soybean (Glycine max) crop is adjacent and upwind compared with a glyphosate-resistant crop. Results also reinforce the need for diligence in the application of these herbicides in proximity to susceptible crops and the need to thoroughly clean sprayers before spraying a sensitive crop.