Spray solution pH and soybean injury as influenced by synthetic auxin formulation and spray additives

Use of synthetic auxin herbicides has increased across the midwestern United States after adoption of synthetic auxin-resistant soybean traits, in addition to extensive use of these herbicides in corn. Off-target movement of synthetic auxin herbicides such as dicamba can lead to severe injury to sensitive plants nearby. Previous research has documented effects of glyphosate on spray-solution pH and volatility of several dicamba formulations, but our understanding of the relationships between glyphosate and dicamba formulations commonly used in corn and for 2,4-D remains limited. The objectives of this research were to (1) investigate the roles of synthetic auxin herbicide formulation, glyphosate, and spray additives on spray solution pH; (2) assess the impact of synthetic auxin herbicide rate on solution pH; and (3) assess the influence of glyphosate and application time of year on dicamba and 2,4-D volatility using soybean as bioindicators in low-tunnel field volatility experiments. Addition of glyphosate to a synthetic auxin herbicide decreased solution pH below 5.0 for four of the seven herbicides tested (range of initial pH of water source, 7.45–7.70). Solution pH of most treatments was lower at a higher application rate (4× the labeled POST rate) than the 1× rate. Among all treatment factors, inclusion of glyphosate was the most important affecting spray solution pH; however, the addition of glyphosate did not influence area under the injury over distance stairs (P = 0.366) in low-tunnel field volatility experiments. Greater soybean injury in field experiments was associated with high air temperatures (maximum, >29 C) and low wind speeds (mean, 0.3–1.5 m s −1 ) during the 48 h after treatment application. The two dicamba formulations (diglycolamine with VaporGrip ® and sodium salts) resulted in similar levels of soybean injury for applications that occurred later in the growing season. Greater soybean injury was observed after dicamba than after 2,4-D treatments.