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1. Where are herbicides used in the Borough when needed?

• Athletic fields
• Friendship Field – 501 Franklin Ave
• Veterans Park – 192 Mowere Rd

2. Why do you need to spray athletic fields?

Grass disease can be a significant problem on athletic fields and must be controlled to preserve the function of this asset.  When athletic fields face excessive stress from wear or environmental conditions such as heat or drought, pest pressures can become a serious problem.

3. Who does the turf management on the athletic fields in the Borough and what do they do?

The Borough has hired an outside company that specializes in turf management on athletic fields.  They have implemented a comprehensive and effective approach to pest management, termed IPM program. An IPM approach considers all strategies to reduce pest damage to manageable and acceptable levels in the most economical means, while simultaneously considering potential impacts on humans, property, and the environment. In sports field management, these programs involve various agronomic practices, as well as the option to consider the use of chemical applications in situations when other means have been exhausted or deemed ineffective. Where allowed, pesticide use can be incorporated into an overall IPM strategy that also includes non-chemical control methods such as biological controls, cultural methods, or pest monitoring. The judicious use of pesticides, when needed, helps to control disease, insect, and weed pests that will otherwise comprise the quality and safety of the playing surface. The safe and effective use, storage, and handling of pesticides is highly regulated, which helps to ensure that their relative risk is largely mitigated. In addition, pesticides are only applied by licensed professional applicators who are subject to a certification process and must be regularly recertified, further ensuring safety.

4. What do you use to treat athletic fields and how often?

Primo Maxx Turf Growth – Twice a year to promote root development so the plants can obtain more nutrients from the soil

Prudent 40 Plus Phosphite Fertilizer application– 2-3x per year, is used like a vitamin to promote plant strength prior to the summer stress period

Merit Insecticide – 1x per year

Propiconazole fungicide (if needed), not much of need for it as fields tend to dry out well

25-5-10 Granular Fertilizer –4-5x per year

Drive Crabgrass –1x per year at label rate

Broadleaf Triplet Low Odor –1x per year

5. What product do you use to control weeds downtown and how often is it applied?

The Borough hires an outside company to spray the downtown area twice a year; once at the beginning of growing season and once again at the end of summer.  The spraying occurs from Borough Hall down Bridge Street to Ashland Street. It includes Bank Street, Flo Straub Way, Church Alley and all of the downtown Borough parking lots.

There are three (3) different products that are used.  They are all herbicides with different active ingredients.  The products used are:

Ranger PRO Herbicide from Monsanto Company.  The active ingredient is Isopropylamine salt of glyphosate.

REWARD Landscape and Aquatic Herbicide from Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC.  The common name for the active ingredient is Diquat Dibromide.  The chemical name is [6,7-dihydrodipyrido(1,2-a:2’1’-c) pyrazinediium dibromide].

SureGuard® SC Herbicide from Nufarm Americas, Inc.  The two active ingredients are Flumioxazin and Propylene Glycol.