What every homeowner loves is a lush, green, and healthy lawn at their compound. However, it can be dismaying when diseases befall your turf. These turf diseases will, moreover, convert your once-vibrant lawn into an eyesore of patchwork. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the six common turf diseases, their identifying symptoms, and effective quick fixes to restore your lawn’s health and vitality.
Identifying Turf Diseases
1. Brown Patch Disease
The brown patch appears as a round brown or tan patch surrounded by a dark ring. Usually, these patches are most frequent during warm and very humid weather and spread rapidly if not managed on the lawn.
2. Dollar Spot
Dollar spots appear on the lawn as small, round, brown, or straw-colored dead patches. They are mainly caused by fungal diseases rampant in the lawns where thatch is excessive, and air circulation is minimal.
3. Rust Disease
Rust disease is so named due to the orange or yellowish spores that form, actually giving the grass blades the look of being rusty. This fungus especially likes high moisture conditions and can dampen the overall health and lushness of your lawn.
4. Snow Mold
Snow mold results when your lawn is covered by snow for several months, through which the fungi can best grow. It comes in two types: the first, called gray snow mold, physically occurs on the melting snow banks as circular patches of matted grass and may eventually kill the grass if not treated.
5. Fusarium Patch
Fusarium patch includes symptoms that develop in cool, rainy weather. Like snow mold, it occurs in circular patches of dead, dying turf and can spread rapidly if not controlled.
6. Leaf Spot
Leaf spot diseases create small, dark lesions on the blades. It is found mainly in the case of over-watering or poor drainage and creates further susceptibility to other diseases.
Quick Fix Solutions
1. Fungicide Application
Management of turf diseases, therefore, requires timely application of fungicides. Check off the fungicide labels for the application directions and, more so, apply the preventive treatments when the disease risk period is close.
2. Proper Watering Techniques
Overhead watering can easily encourage the occurrence of fungal diseases. Water on the ground deeply and less often, allowing almost two-thirds of the root zones to dry up. Healthy lawns exhibit better resistance against disease pressure.
3. Nutrient Management
Occasionally check your soil and fertilize it to feed your grass with the necessary nutrients for health.
4. Aeration and Dethatching
Aeration of the lawn and raking out excessive thatch will also improve soil oxygen levels and drainage, helping to reduce many of the problems associated with grass diseases such as dollar spots and brown patch.
5. Turf Reseeding
Seeding the infected areas when disease damage is heavy or when the turf has been thinned from disease activity will help stimulate new growth and thus return a dense, lush appearance to your lawn.
6. Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
An integrated pest-management approach to avoiding turf diseases would need to be based on creating overall lawn health while minimizing the environmental stress factors of compaction and poor soil quality.
Lawn Recovery Tips
A professional intervention should be consulted for serious cases of turf disease. There are lawn care company treatment service that will effectively fight stubborn diseases and ensure people’s safety from the potential hazards of chemical treatment.
Final Thoughts
The management and preventive work of keeping your lawn healthy need to be carried out mostly in view of common diseases of most common turf grasses. Be informed on some of the quick fixes suggested, keep a cautious eye open for symptoms of turf diseases, and be the custodian of a dense and bright lawn all year round. Always remember that an early investment in your grass’s health could pay back rich dividends, providing you and your family with a beautiful space and increasing the value of your home.
