Dicamba Basics

Field Trials Demonstrate Dicamba Efficacy

• As demonstrated in the pictures below, glyphosate and dicamba in Roundup Ready 2 Xtend^® soybeans provided excellent control of glyphosate resistant weeds, including giant ragweed, common ragweed and Canada fleabane, in collaborative trials between Bayer and the University of Guelph.
• When managing glyphosate-resistant weeds, Bayer recommends adding an additional effective mode of action to dicamba.
• The addition of dicamba to Roundup agricultural herbicides enhances control of tough weeds such as velvetleaf, wild buckwheat, and smartweed, which can be hard to control due to spray timing, weed staging, and/or environmental conditions.

Dicamba Basics

Dicamba is a selective benzoic acid herbicide used to control a wide spectrum of broadleaf weeds. It has a broad application window and can be used as a burn-down, pre- and post-emergence residual herbicide. Dicamba is rapidly absorbed by plant leaves, stems, and roots, and works as an auxin agonist by mimicking naturally-occurring plant hormones (i.e., auxins) that regulate many plant processes, such as protein synthesis and cell growth. Dicamba can induce rapid abnormal cell growth and development in the stems, petioles, and leaves of sensitive plants. Dicamba can also limit transpiration and photosynthesis. This leads to irregular cell growth, leaf drop, and starvation, resulting in plant death.

One of the most widely used herbicides in corn crops, dicamba is registered for use in agriculture, as well as other applications such as turf, ornamental, and lawn/garden. It is used to control weeds in pastures, range land, and non-crop areas.

A variety of dicamba formulations have evolved over time, differing in their physical properties and type of salt used. Dimethylamine (DMA) salt and dicamba acid are two of the oldest salt types while diglycolamine (DGA) salt was introduced in the mid-1990s. Innovations in dicamba chemistries continue today.