In the fight for better control of weeds in an ever changing environment where not only Mother Nature controls the weather conditions but there is the evolution of chemical resistant weeds, more producers switched their weed control packages to the use of the three new dicamba options (Engenia, Xtendimax, and Fexapan) for the 2018 growing season.

According to Kentucky Ag Statistics, Fulton County produces annually about 51,000 acres of soybeans or 2.5 billion bushels of soybean.  In the 2017 U.S. Ag Census $26.8 million of soybeans were sold in Fulton County.   These sales plus our other grain crops ranks Fulton County 13^th in the state and in the top third of sales in the U.S. for counties producing these items.  Fulton County also ranks in the top 5 counties in the state in number of acres of soybeans grown per square mile.  With keeping these statistics in mind there is the fact that over 10 thousand acres of Fulton County is prone to frequent Mississippi River flooding along with the long history of problems with Palmer Amaranth and Water Hemp the switch to this product from a weed control standpoint made sense for many producers.  The other major push to utilize these products was from the 2017 growing season as over 15 thousand acres of soybean that were not resistant to dicamba sustained growth regulator damage.

During the early part of 2018, numerous meetings and training were held in both Kentucky and West Tennessee to aid producers in making an educated decision, but also to receive training on the proper application of these products.  The Fulton County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources worked with Specialists from University of Kentucky and University of Tennessee; Kentucky Department of Agriculture; Tennessee Department of Agriculture; and University of Tennessee Extension to host, attend, and provide information so that over 400 area producers had all of the materials needed for application of these products in 2018.  After all of these training the underlying question was: How will 2018 turn out?

As Paul Harvey would say, “Now for the rest of the story.”  2018 was a better year in just looking at number of acres of growth regulator injuries to soybean than 2017.  In 2018, there were approximately about 5,000 acres of soybeans damaged, and one garden reported to the Fulton County Extension Office.  The first reaction would be that all of the education that occurred during the winter was successful; well yes and no. Yes, as a whole in discussions with producers and retailers it was found that producers were better educated in the handling and application of the products through Extension lead programs and articles.  The other side to the story the total acreage of Non-Dicamba Tolerant soybeans was greatly reduced to a handful of producers, with many of them reporting damage.  The overall suppression of Waterhemp and Palmer Amaranth in the county was under a better control, but through observations by the Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent and Weed Specialist in select areas these weeds had numerous escapes due to various reasons that could be linked to both environmental and application.

As a result of the challenges presented with the Dicamba products, topography of the county, and weed pressure of Waterhemp and Palmer Amaranth at least two research projects and one field day are tentatively planned for the 2019 and 2020 crop years in Fulton County.  These activities will not only give the producers in the county local data, but aid the research being conducted by University of Kentucky Weed Specialists for research based data from an area with long-term issues with weed control in a diverse topographical location.