Effect of Low Doses of Dicamba Alone and in Combination with Glyphosate on Parent Soybean and Offspring

It is well established that soybean that does not contain the dicamba-resistant (DR) trait is highly sensitive to off-target exposure to dicamba. However, there is limited information on the effect of low doses of dicamba plus glyphosate mixtures on dicamba-sensitive soybean—a mixture likely to be used on a vast acreage of dicamba/glyphosate-resistant soybean. The objective of this research was to examine leaf and pod malformation, along with height and yield effects, when dicamba, glyphosate, or a mixture of the two was applied to soybean sensitive to both dicamba and glyphosate at sublethal doses. Field applications were made at three growth stages (R1, R3, and R5) at multiple locations. Two glyphosate rates (1/64 and 1/256 of the labeled rate of 870 g ae ha -1) and two dicamba rates (1/64 and 1/256 of the labeled rate of 560 g ae ha -1) were used. Adding glyphosate to dicamba increased leaf malformation by 6% more than dicamba alone when applied at the R1 soybean growth stage. After R3 applications, pod malformation was 10% greater in treatments containing dicamba and glyphosate than dicamba alone. Applications at R5 showed minimal leaf and pod malformation. Seed from field trials was planted in the greenhouse to evaluate the offspring. The number of offspring plants showing dicamba-like symptomology was not increased with the addition of glyphosate to dicamba. Overall, injury to offspring was similar in dicamba alone and dicamba plus glyphosate treatments; however, the number of plants injured increased when parent plants were exposed to sublethal doses of dicamba at R3 and R5 compared with R1 growth-stage exposure. Vigor was reduced in dicamba-containing treatments, but not glyphosate-alone treatments. Glyphosate addition to dicamba had no effect on vigor of soybean offspring. Although there is increased injury to parent plants when glyphosate is added to dicamba, this research demonstrates that glyphosate does not contribute to the negative effects of dicamba on soybean offspring.Nomenclature: Dicamba; glyphosate; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr