Lawn Diseases

There are several lawn diseases that can appear on a homeowner’s lawn. Some diseases are more harmful than others but some of the damage can often be reduced by the cultural practices of the homeowner.

Most lawn diseases only start after favorable conditions develop, and then if these conditions remain the disease will spread. Favorable conditions for a lawn disease may include turf that is under extreme stress and turf growing in poor soil conditions. Even the weather can impact the development of a lawn disease.

One of the easiest things a homeowner can do to avoid or lessen a disease in their lawn is to plant disease resistant varieties of grass. It also helps to use grass mixes and blends of different varieties of grass, as, if a disease affects one variety of your turf mix it may leave the others alone. Two other cultural practices include not over-watering or over-fertilizing your lawn, as some diseases prefer wet conditions or high nitrogen.

Diseases such as Dollar Spot, Red Thread, and Rust are apt to appear in lawns that are low on fertility and high on moisture. Other diseases that might appear under conditions of excess nitrogen and a heavy thatch condition include Leaf Spot (sometimes referred to as “Melting Out”) or Snow Mold. Lawn diseases that are apt to appear where there is a heavy clay soil, soil compaction or heavy thatch include Summer Patch, Necrotic Ring Spot, and Fusarium Blight.

Although some lawn diseases are easily identified, others may be much more difficult. My advice to a homeowner is that if they suspect a lawn disease has infected their lawn, they contact a professional. It can be very difficult for a homeowner to differentiate one disease from another and sometimes to even differentiate between disease and insect damage. A professional, however, makes these determinations on a regular basis. Payment for his advise is usually money well spent.

There is also a lot of good information on “lawn diseases” on the internet and it as close as your favorite search engine.

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