WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Arkansas Plant Board has voted in favor to continue the ban on the use of weed killer dicamba in 2018.
The Arkansas State Plant Board ban prohibit sprayings of dicamba between April 16 and October 31, 2018. A state legislative subcommittee must approve the ban before it becomes official.
According to farmers and weed experts, the new versions of herbicides with dicamba harm crops because they evaporate and drift away from where they are applied. An estimated 3.6 million acres of U.S. crops suffered damage linked to the herbicides this year.
However, Monsanto and BASF SE, which also manufactures a dicamba-based weed killer, say the products are safe when properly applied.
Monsanto's herbicides are designed to be sprayed during the summer over soybeans and cotton, seeds of which the company engineered to resist dicamba.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX