Lawn Disease Control

Lawn Disease Treatments

There are grass diseases for about every environmental condition we have. Some develop in the winter under the snow while others only occur during the extreme heat of summer. Some grass diseases occur more in wet soils after application of high fertilizer levels while others are brought on by drought and low fertilization levels.

Lawn diseases occur when environmental conditions (weather, management, and/or site conditions) become favorable for the buildup of the pathogen populations and/or cause an increase in the susceptibility of the plant. When this happens, turf grass loss due to lawn diseases can occur. Below are some recommendations that can help limit the chances of your lawn getting a lawn disease or fungus.

Lawn Disease Management Tips

• Minimize the amount of shade on your lawn.
• Improve the drainage of your soil
• Apply an adequate amount of nitrogen to your lawn, particularly in the spring and early summer.
• Mow your lawn on a regular schedule.
• To avoid drought stress, irrigate your lawn deeply and as infrequently as possible.
• Apply fungicides to your lawn on a preventive basis.
• Reduce the amount of thatch in your lawn.
• Aerate your lawn.
• Lightly fertilize your lawn in early spring to encourage new grass growth.
• Increase the mowing height of you lawn.

Lawn Fungus Disease

Applying fungicides to treat your lawn disease should be done along with all the practices listed above. Applying a preventive fungicide to a lawn with a history of disease should be done in early spring and repeat applications made every 3 -4 weeks. Fungicides alone are not a substitute for improved lawn practices.