Lawn Diseases
Weeds aren’t the only thing that can have an impact on your lawn. Even with them out of the way, your yard can still be hit with lawn disease.
Five of the most common lawn diseases include Brown Patch, Dollar Spot, Leaf Spot, Rust, and Red Thread. Let’s take a look at each one.
Brown patch
Brown patches are a type of grass fungus that pops up in the summer on cool-season grasses. These large discolored patches can grow several feet wide and are caused by fungus in high temperatures. If left unchecked without proper grass fungus treatment, brown patches can kill large areas of grass quickly.
Dollar spot
This disease can be identified by white or beige lesions on the grass blades, which appear in circles no more than 6 inches wide throughout the lawn. Dollar spot can kill both warm-season and cool-season grass.
Leaf spot
This causes grassroots to rot in summer, leaving dark lesions on the individual grass blades. As the weather becomes increasingly hot and dry, infected areas of the lawn will “melt-out” and die.
Rust
This disease will cause a yellowish discoloration in grass blades, which eventually turns to a rusty color (as the name suggests). Warm-season grasses in soils that are moist and low in nitrogen are most susceptible to rust, which can cause lawns to thin and die out.
Red Thread
This may be the most easily identified disease in turfgrass that is most prevalent in the late spring and/early summer. It tends to pop up more in ryegrasses and bluegrass, but has a distinct pinkish, reddish curly of the tips of the grass blades that looks like a bad hair day! Luckily, in most cases this disease will grow out with a little bit additional nitrogen and will not damage the grass long term.
Fungus Control for Lawns and Treatment
The best ways to prevent lawn disease is to keep your lawn healthy, through proper mowing, watering, and fertilizing. Specific diseases may require a modified lawn fungus treatment approach as well. Fungicides, for example, will help stop the spread of brown patches. In the case of Dollar spot, which can be spread by contact, lawn irrigation can help aid in prevention. Irrigation and applying a fertilizer with high nitrogen levels will also help stop rust, while aerating, fertilizing, and watering deeply and infrequently will help prevent diseases like leaf spot and fairy ring.
If lawns are suffering from one or more disease, it’s important to get started on fixing it immediately with weed treatment and fungus control for lawns. Waiting will only make the problem worse. With this knowledge of how to best address lawn weeds and disease control, you’re well on your way to having that beautiful yard you’ve always wanted.
Not sure if your property is suffering from lawn weeds, disease or fungus? Call Lawn Doctor today for a free evaluation.
