Drifting herbicides harm crops in 2 states

Farmers in Arkansas, Tennessee say their soybeans are being damaged by weed-killer

Approaching what should be the peak of the growing season, farmers in Tennessee and Arkansas face possible damage to tens of thousands of acres of crops from a weed-killing chemical that has been drifting from the fields where it was sprayed.

Problems associated with the broadspectrum herbicide dicamba have prompted complaints from more than 500 farmers in East Arkansas and about 50 in West Tennessee, including Shelby County. The growers say soybeans, one of the Mid-South’s most important crops, are sustaining the most apparent damage, with their leaves appearing puckered or cupped after exposure to the chemical.

Officials in both states are investigating whether the herbicide drifted as a result of applicators not following label instructions, allowing mist or droplets to be spread in the breeze, or because of the volatile nature of the dicamba. Under the right conditions, such as temperature inversions, the chemical can vaporize from fields where it is sprayed and then recondense and settle again on crops up to a mile away.

“What we’re probably seeing is some drift, and what we’re also seeing is some inversions,” said Jeff Via, extension service director in Fayette County.

“It’s obvious,” he said of the chemical’s effect. “When you walk out into the fields, you can see the cupping of the leaves.”