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University of Wisconsin Test Site with Soybeans: How Far Does Dicamba Work?
Photo:
TOM POLANSEK / REUTERS
Bayer's dispute over cancer risks from glyphosate is currently before the California Supreme Court.
But while the processes have been dragging on for years because of the controversial weed killer, the Leverkusen chemical company has already launched another plant poison with Dicamba, together with the Ludwigshafen-based chemical company BASF - and this is also causing heated arguments.
The US environmental protection agency EPA has now approved Dicamba for five years, despite strong criticism.
"With the decision, farmers have the necessary planning security for their 2021 growing season," said EPA director Andrew Wheeler.
The approvals relate to the products XtendiMax from Bayer and Engenia from BASF and Tavium Plus from the Swiss company Syngenta.
Dicamba is also already approved in Brazil.
The US seed company Monsanto, which Bayer acquired in 2018 and which also produces glyphosate, made the drug known.
The approval of the EPA is causing discussion.
It was not until June that the sale of dicamba in the USA was legally prohibited following lawsuits.
A court in San Francisco had confirmed that the Environmental Protection Agency had errors in the license originally granted in 2018 and withdrew its registration from the agent.
Sale and use have been banned because the risks associated with dicamba are underestimated.
Fierce feuds among US farmers over dicamba use
Background: The product is sprayed onto genetically modified soybeans and cotton.
However, if it is blown into nearby grain fields with non-resistant crops, damage can occur.
Farmers who do not use genetically modified seeds therefore fear crop failures.
Because dicamba blows on neighboring fields, there have been bitter feuds between US farmers for years.
How far arable toxins can spread through the air was recently shown by a study in Germany with the participation of the Munich Environmental Institute.
In the USA, EPA boss Wheeler emphasized that the approval that has now been granted goes hand in hand with new control measures designed to ensure the safe and environmentally friendly use of the products.
There should be a deadline by which soy and cotton farmers can use the product, and the buffer zone to other fields must be enlarged.
In addition, an active ingredient is added to reduce the drift on neighboring fields.
A trader said Bayer could now market XtendFlex soybeans for growing in the US in combination with the XtendiMax weed killer.
How strong sales in the new season will be, remains difficult to estimate at first.
At the end of September, for example, Bayer prepared investors for a difficult agricultural business in 2021, pointing out low prices for important crops, intense competition for soy and lower biofuel consumption.
The news from the USA on Wednesday did not help Bayer shares.
In a very weak overall market, they have now fallen by more than three percent.
The Bayer shares recently cost a good 40 euros.
For comparison: In the spring of 2015, the price was 146 euros.
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apr / dpa
