herbicides
Fungicides are leading culprit in new Dirty Dozen report
Four of the five most frequently detected chemicals on fruit and vegetables in the Environmental Working Group's annual Dirty Dozen list are fungicides linked to endocrine disruption and reproductive system damage in humans.
Lower glyphosate prices hurt Bayer sales
Bayer Group, a pharmaceutical and consumer health goods giant and one of the world’s largest seed and ag chemical companies, said on Tuesday that its sales had fallen by 3.1 billion euros in 2023, with lower herbicide prices as a factor. Sales by the crop sciences division, which accounts for half of Bayer’s revenue, were down by 1.9 billion euros, or 3.7 percent.
Lawsuit challenges EPA approval of 2,4-D herbicides
The EPA failed to take environmental and public health risks into account when it reapproved two brand-name weedkillers produced by Corteva that contain the herbicide 2,4-D, according to a federal lawsuit that challenges the 2022 decision. The plaintiffs asked the U.S. district court in Washington, D.C., to vacate the registrations of Enlist One and Enlist Duo and to halt sales of the products while the EPA reconsiders their risks.
Researchers link glyphosate to liver and metabolic disease in children
Researchers looking at health records and blood, urine and saliva samples found "an association between early-life exposure to glyphosate and liver inflammation and metabolic disease in young adults" in California's Salinas Valley, according to the lead scientist Brenda Eskanazi. Glyphosate is the most widely used weedkiller in the world.
Despite stricter rules, thousands of complaints of dicamba damage, says EPA
A week before the 2020 presidential election, the EPA issued new instructions on the use of dicamba that it said would tame the notoriously volatile weedkiller. But complaints of damage to crops in nearby fields and to plants in parks, wildlife refuges, and residences continued to roll in, said the EPA on Thursday during a review of the herbicide.
Fragile recovery in monarch butterfly population
The monarch butterfly is imperiled by the loss of food and habitat as well as climate change but an expansion in its winter hibernation area was "a sign of recovery — albeit a fragile one," WWF said in an annual survey.
Monarch butterflies are in peril but won’t go on U.S. endangered list
The orange-and-black monarch butterfly, known for its 3,000-mile migration across North America and its plunging population, meets the criteria for listing as a threatened or endangered species, said the Interior Department on Tuesday. But it will be listed only as a candidate for federal protection because "we must focus resources on our higher-priority listing actions," said Fish and Wildlife Service director Aurelia Skipwith.
Block dicamba until weedkiller is under control, says report
The herbicide dicamba is too risky to use on row crops such as soybeans and cotton until independent research shows it won't evaporate and harm nearby crops and plants, said a report from three conservation and environmental groups on Wednesday. Dicamba is blamed for "off-target" damage on millions of acres of property, and the EPA is considering possible rules for its use on crops in the future.
Nearing end of review, EPA finds no risk to human health from glyphosate
Glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world, poses no threat to human health when used as directed and is unlikely to cause cancer, said the EPA in an interim decision on Thursday. Environmental groups denounced the decision as faulty.
Federal jury awards $80 million in Roundup trial
In a bellwether trial, a federal jury found Monsanto liable for causing blood cancer in a man who used its Roundup weedkiller, and awarded the man, Edwin Hardeman, more than $80 million in damages, said The Recorder.
Pigweed develops resistance to dicamba and 2,4-D
Researchers at Kansas State University have found pigweed that tolerates dicamba and 2,4-D, two herbicides that are often used to combat the invasive weed. Pigweed, or Palmer amaranth, is difficult for farmers to control, growing up to 10 feet tall and capable of producing 1 million seeds per plant.
Atrazine spikes in drinking water often go unseen, says report
Nearly 30 million Americans in 28 states “have some level of atrazine in their tap water,” says the Environmental Working Group in a report on the second-most widely used weedkiller in the country.
State regulators call for early cutoff date for dicamba use
Many states have reported significant complaints from farmers about dicamba damage to their crops and plants, said an association of state pesticide regulators in calling for the EPA to tighten its rules on use of the weedkiller.
Weed scientist: When will agriculture hit the reboot key?
“Off-target” herbicides are creating tremendous discord in farm country, writes weed scientist Ford Baldwin in an essay for Delta Farm Press, adding that “dicamba technology has been the most divisive of my career.”
North Dakota is fourth state to write tougher dicamba rules
State agriculture commissioner Doug Goehring announced “North Dakota-specific” rules on use of the weedkiller dicamba on GE soybeans in the new crop year. They include a ban on spraying when temperatures top 85 degrees and a total cutoff of dicamba use after June 30.
Arkansas proposes ban on row-crop use of dicamba for 2018
Spurred by nearly 1,000 complaints of crop damage from dicamba this summer, the Arkansas State Plant Board has proposed a ban on using the weedkiller on cotton and soybeans from April 16 to Oct. 31 — effectively the entire growing season. The EPA also is considering restrictions on the use of dicamba, which was touted as a new tool against invasive weeds resistant to other herbicides but has also been blamed for damaging more than 3 million acres of soybeans nationwide.
Arkansas plant board faces opposition to April 15 dicamba cutoff
The Arkansas State Plant Board, which is scheduled to decide today whether to limit use of the weedkiller dicamba in 2018, is getting advice that ranges from a letter that suggests permitting use of the herbicide as late as May 25 to a petition against any limits at all, says broadcaster KARK. A task force convened at the direction of Gov. Asa Hutchinson has recommended an April 15 cutoff for using dicamba on cotton and soybeans in the state next year.
Looking for an alternative weedkiller to glyphosate
When the Arkansas state officials banned use of the weedkiller dicamba on corn and soybeans for the rest of this growing season, it was the latest roadblock in the search for an alternative to glyphosate, which is losing its effectiveness against some invasive weeds. A little over two years ago, when farm groups told the EPA that growers needed "new technology to address the weed control challenges on U.S. farms now," they meant Dow's combination of glyphosate and 2,4-D, not dicamba.