On January 11, 2022, the EPA released an announcement that highlighted some changes to the labels of the herbicides Enlist One and Enlist Duo, including restrictions on use in certain counties, that impact Nebraska. These changes to the labels occurred after evaluation of Enlist products and their effects on species listed under the Endangered Species Act as threatened or endangered, as well as the habitats those species reside in.
These new label requirements have been determined to reduce the “Take” of endangered species and the destruction or alteration of the habitats where those organisms are found. A few major changes are summarized below:
• Prohibitions of Enlist application when soil is saturated or 48 hours before rainfall
• Prohibition of irrigation within 48 hours of application if runoff would occur
• Users must select from a list of runoff reduction measures to reduce herbicide residues in runoff
• Minimize Enlist product applications when soybean and cotton crops are in bloom
• Registrants must develop and provide training and education on pollinator protection and habitat
An important reminder is that Enlist One and Enlist Duo are general use pesticides, and a license is not required to use them. However, this information is pertinent to all producers, even those without a license, if they use these products. Two PDFs are available from industry representatives on this topic (in the UNL-Pesticide Safety Education Program Materials SharePoint under Documents>Product information>enlist) that give more product information.
The Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) has also released important statements to share with growers and applicators.
Talking points for growers and applicators
The new labels were registered on January 11, 2022 for seven years.
The previous labels expired on January 12, 2022 and are no longer considered legal to use in the U.S. Corteva (registrant for the two products) is required by the new registration to replace old labels with the amended label before the 2022 use season.
The labels remain general use pesticides, meaning anyone can buy and apply them, however, Corteva is required by the new registration to develop and deliver applicator training specific to the product, which will have a significant component of resistance management and label understanding.
There are 32 counties in Nebraska that are prohibited from using Enlist One and Enlist Duo as part of EPA’s new policy for the protection of endangered species. The following pages show the national and state map with the prohibited counties highlighted and listed by name.
For those counties in Nebraska where the products can still be used, the last date of application on Enlist soybeans is no later than the R1 growth stage and before weeds are 6 inches in height.
Applications must not be made less than 48 hours before irrigation or predicted rainfall that would result in runoff from the target site.
If a target field is subject to surface water runoff, applicators must follow the soil runoff land management standards listed on the label. In order for Enlist One or Enlist Duo to be used, fields in Hydrologic Soil Groups A and B must have at least 4 credits as counted from the Mitigation Measures table, while Groups C and D require a minimum of 6 credits.
The EPA-accepted label for Enlist Duo can be found at EPA-HQ-OPP-2021-0957-0015_content.pdf
The EPA-accepted label for Enlist One can be found at EPA-HQ-OPP-2021-0957-0016_content.pdf
Existing stocks of Enlist One and Enlist Duo must be relabeled before use in 2022. Corteva will provide the supplemental label in person and online at http://www.enlist.com. The supplemental label expires September 30, 2023, therefore all old label product that is subject to the new supplemental label must be used by that date.
Please also see the materials on the UNL-Pesticide Safety Education Program Materials SharePoint under Documents>Product information>enlist from the NDA.
https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/epa-renews-enlist-product-registrations-new-control-measures-providing-growers-certainty