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Fertilizer Use Criticized In Maryland

By: Matt Bush // March 28, 2011
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Environmentalists say many conventional fertilizers contain two of the three chemicals federal authorities are trying to reduce in the Chesapeake Bay.
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Environmentalists say many conventional fertilizers contain two of the three chemicals federal authorities are trying to reduce in the Chesapeake Bay.

The use of fertilizer is one of the biggest contributors of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, according to the group Environment Maryland. Megan Cronin is with the group, and says many conventional fertilizers contain phosphorus and nitrogen, two of three chemicals federal authorities are trying to lessen in the waters of the Bay.

"Maryland has 1.3 million acres of grass in places like lawns, golf courses, and parks," she says. "If we compare that to all of the row crops in Maryland, like corn and soy, that add up to 1.5 million acres. So we should think of grass as Maryland's biggest crop."

One reason that fertilizers are used so much in Maryland is that soil in the state for the most part is not conducive to growing grass.

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