By the time you see a lawn disease, it is too late to do much in the short-term. The best defense against significant damage from diseases is a dense cover of vigorous growing grass blades. Promote this by following practices in four steps to success.
Practices To Minimize Disease
- Use alternatives to grass in shady areas.
- Avoid excess nitrogen – when nitrogen is needed, focus on late season feeding.
- Limit leaf blade wetness by limiting watering to the morning and to achieve no more than 1 inch per week.
- Choose disease resistant cool-season grass.
Disease Examples:
Brown Patch (Summer)
Gray Leaf Spot (Summer)
Red Thread (Spring and Fall)
Fairy Rings (Spring and Fall)
Turf rust diseases (Summer)
Dollar Spot (Spring, Summer and Fall)
Pythium Blight (Summer)
Pink Snow Mold (Late Fall to Early Spring)