by Scott Nolte, scott.nolte@tamu.edu and Mark Matocha, mmatocha@ag.tamu.edu

The Texas Department of Agriculture approved auxin-specific herbicide training, developed by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Allied Industry, has been reciprocally approved by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture.

In the fall of 2017, the U.S. EPA revised the labels for the three dicamba products, (Engenia, FeXapan, and XtendiMax), approved for use on dicamba tolerant soybean and cotton varieties.  One of the label changes included a mandate that anyone (applicators and operators) making applications of one of these three dicamba products must receive auxin-specific training prior to applying the herbicides.  Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and Allied Industry collaborated to develop a training program that was subsequently approved by TDA.  Recently, OK and NM likewise approved the Texas auxin training for applicators in their states.  These approvals will allow producers that operate in multiple states to attend one training that will satisfy the regulatory requirements of the new technologies.

Extension has conducted numerous auxin trainings since December and applicators in need of training can visit agrilife.org/aes for a list of upcoming training opportunities.  Those needing training, or help with additional questions about the new requirements, should contact their local County Extension Office.

Currently, Arkansas and Louisiana do not reciprocate with Texas and require additional training and/or certifications for applicators in those states.

Assistant Professor and
State Extension Weed Specialist
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
scott.nolte@tamu.edu
979-845-4880