Lawn Disease Control
Every lawn in Georgia, whether new or established, is susceptible to a variety of lawn diseases because of our environmental conditions. Even if a disease-causing pathogen is present, infection will not occur unless the environmental conditions are conducive to disease development. If left untreated, your lawn is likely to undergo major damage that could take months to recover from.
What Causes Lawn Disease?
Lawn diseases vary depending on the region and weather tendencies. Some of the most common lawn diseases in the southeast include brown patch, gray leaf spot, dollar spot, pythium, and large patch. Promoting healthy growth is the best way to prevent a severe disease outbreak. This can also be avoided by optimizing maintenance and watering practices. Stressed grass is much more susceptible to disease than healthy grass. Some of the most common causes of lawn disease include:
- Drought
- Mowing too low
- Compacted soil
- Overwatering
- Too much fertilizer
- Weather conditions
If you can fight against the conditions listed above, you have a good chance of preventing or stopping lawn disease before it takes over your yard.
Preventing Lawn Disease
Whether you think you may have lawn disease trying to take over or you're planning to stop it before it can even get to that point, there are some key preventative techniques that we recommend implementing on your lawn.
1. Strategic Watering
The time of day you water your lawn can actually make a big difference! By watering your lawn early in the morning instead of at night, you allow the grass to dry during the day. It's also important to ensure that you aren't overwatering your lawn. It only needs 1-1.5 inches per week, so you should be watering deeply, but less frequently. Since wet grass is more susceptible to fungus, regulating your water output in the mornings gives your grass the water it needs without leaving it wet for long periods of time.
2. Strategic Mowing
It's important to find the sweet spot when mowing your lawn. You want to cut your grass on a regular basis, while making sure that you don't cut it too short. By cutting your grass too short, the thatch layer develops must faster. Once this thatch develops, the grass doesn't get everything it needs. Once the grass is weakened, there is an increased chance of lawn disease.
3. Monitor Drainage
Do you have any areas of your lawn that are prone to drainage issues? If so, this could be a big cause of your lawn disease. These drainage issues will keep your grass wet and, as mentioned before, open you up to fungus and other lawn diseases.
4. Preventative Fungicide Treatments
Creating an environment for healthy grass growth is the best option for preventative maintenance, but sometimes you have to take that extra step and have fungicide treatment sprayed.
At Agropro Lawn Care, we're happy to take care of you and give direction as you work to fight off lawn disease. You can learn more about our disease control services here.
