A chemical engineering professor has published a study that looked at how certain chemicals in current dicamba formulations might contribute to volatility and drift.
Dr. Kimberly Parker with Washington University in St. Louis tells Brownfield Ag News dicamba formulations contain amine, a chemical that is supposed to keep the herbicide in place, preventing it from going airborne. But, what they found was hydrogen bonds that were the key.
“My student actually looked into whether or not the molecular weight, the heaviness of the amine, alone could explain its effects and he found that it could not. And, in fact, it was these hydrogen bonds that were much more important for controlling the volatilization.”
Parker says her approach to research differs from others – such as the pH content in the water of the dicamba spray and its effects on volatility – and that a variety of studies is needed.
