Did you know that the U.S. spends more money on dollar spot turf disease control than on any other turf control?
Nebraska and Turf Disease…and getting help
It’s been a crazy weather summer here in Nebraska–and these last few weeks of high temperatures and equally high humidity have created the perfect scenario for turf disease.
Like in any other plant, turf diseases are caused when the grass is susceptible to disease, a disease-producing organism exists, and the environment is favorable for disease development. Take Nebraska, for example. We had a decent amount of rain this spring, then it became incredibly hot and humid. Our grass becomes the perfect breeding ground for these disease-producing organisms to wreak havoc on our beautiful yards.
What we’re seeing this summer
We are seeing many occurrences of “dollar spot” turf disease in the lawns around Omaha. They get their “dollar spot” name from the round, silver dollar-sized (or larger, 1-2 inches in diameter) brown patches they show up as in your lawn.
While most turf grasses can be affected, dollar spot turf grass disease is most common in bluegrasses and bentgrasses. Occurrences of this disease are most prevalent from June to September.
How dollar spot turf grass disease is treated
You can let the disease run its course, but if you are concerned with it spreading we would recommend treating your lawn with a curative fungicide to minimize further brown spots. There are a few preventative maintenance actions you can take, too:
- Fertilize your lawn as necessary
- Water your lawn on a regular basis
- Water your lawn in the early morning hours (see our lawn watering tips!)
- Avoid walking on your grass in the early morning when it may still be wet from dew or recent waterings
Finding help for Nebraska turf disease
Of course, we’re happy to help remedy your lawn of this type of situation–give us a call at 402-612-1527Â or fill out the contact form on this page!
Is it correct that fungus often follows a fertilization?
That is a great question but not necessarily true. There are three conditions that must be met before a lawn disease begins. The first is a pathogen has to be already present in or around the soil. The second is the grass type must be susceptible to that particular pathogen or disease. The last thing is the environmental conditions must be right for the disease to begin. So to answer your question if I am reading it correctly, fertilization will not bring on a fungus or lawn disease.
It could just be coincidence if you have experienced a lawn disease following a fertilization application because chances are that if it was going to occur, it would have occurred with or without the fertilization.
Also, depending on the fungus the fertilization treatment can actually help the grass to outgrow the disease. This would be true in foliar diseases such as dollar spot and brown patch to name a few. On the other end of the spectrum with crown and root diseases such as summer patch and necrotic ring spot, the fertilization could have a different effect. With those types of diseases, fertilization could possibly cause the affected turf to die off if the disease is already active and present but cases like that are few and far between and usually extreme.
If lawn fungus is a concern for you there are cultural practices you can do to help minimize the chances of it occurring. Proper watering and mowing techniques are simple and very important, check out our Omaha Lawn Watering Tips blog for more information. One other thing you can do is to provide proper nutrients and fertilizers at the appropriate times throughout the season. We recommend an organic program for a couple reasons. The first is that it provides a slow and steady supply of soil building nutrients for a healthy lawn and minimizes the stress that a chemical program with rapid growth might place on your grass. It also helps to build the soil structure so your lawn has the beneficial microorganisms that help with a strong and healthy lawn – this equals better insect and disease resistance. The final reason is that is safer for you, your pets, children, and the environment.
If you are not already enrolled in one of our programs and would like more information simply click Omaha Organic Lawn Care and fill out the form, we would be happy to answer your questions and see how we might be able to help!