Goal to use less chemicals by improving turfgrass

Peachtree City officials are developing a program to improve pest and weed management of sports fields to help reduce the amount of chemicals used for control measures.

It's called Integrated Pest Management, but there's no one-size-fits-all program, cautions Randy Gaddo, director of leisure services for the city. The goal is to use measures other than just chemicals to improve the quality of the Bermuda grass on sports fields, Gaddo said. By doing so, the grass will grow thicker and will choke out the weeds that can cause danger to young athletes as a tripping hazard.

Development of the program is in response to complaints from a group of parents who cite medical difficulties that several players developed after playing on fields soon after they had been sprayed with pesticides. At least two of the players had respiratory problems that had to be treated in the emergency room.

But some question whether the alleged pesticide problem is a real issue or if it is because those players developed symptoms after being exposed to something else, perhaps an allergen, at the South 74 baseball and soccer complex. The City Council has authorized tests on the water that is pumped in from Line Creek to irrigate the fields, which local biologist Dennis Chase said could also be a problem. Developing a special IPM program for Peachtree City will take some input from experts in the field of agriculture and chemical land application from the University of Georgia, Gaddo said.

One avenue to explore is the possible use of applying bio-solids to the fields to improve the health of the Bermuda grass, Gaddo said. But that has the possible drawback of exposing athletes to metals contained in the bio-solids, he added.

"We need to be doing what's best and what's healthiest," Gaddo said. The city is studying the matter in detail so there is no need for experimentation, Gaddo said.

At stake is not just the health of youth sports athletes but the quality of the fields, which in many cases is good enough to attract local, regional and state tournaments to the city, which in turn helps the hospitality industry and the city, which benefits from collection of a hotel-motel tax.

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