Effective Lawn Disease Control from Lawn Pride

Brown patch fungus is a very common fungal disease in grass caused by Rhizoctonia solani spores. Once started, it spreads rapidly, causing circular areas of brown grass surrounded by dark, narrow rings. It is crucial to treat brown patch fungus with a lawn disease treatment as soon as possible.

Lawn disease control is most successful when you can identify the type of disease attacking your yard and apply a fungicide before the fungus gets out of control. Disease in turf is influenced significantly by rainfall, temperature, humidity, cultural practices, and the environment in your area. Some of the most common fungal diseases include the following:

• Brown patch disease
• Yellow patch disease
• Zoysia patch disease
• Summer patch disease
• Take-All patch disease
• Dollar spot disease
• Snow mold disease
• Slime mold disease
• Leaf spot disease
• Pythium blight
• Red thread disease
• Fairly Ring disease
• Necrotic ring spot disease
• Powdery mildew disease
• Rust disease
• Fusarium patch disease
• Stripped smut disease
• Crown rot anthracnose

As the saying goes, understanding is half of the battle. If you are battling a fungal disease spreading across your lawn, it is helpful to understand how fungus develops. Fungus on grass needs three main conditions to take hold. Fungal spores exist in every lawn but only become a problem when these three circumstances align. It is often called the disease triangle. The three elements of the disease triangle include the following:

• Presence of Pathogens – With any fungal disease, the spores of that particular fungi must be present for an infection to start.
• Susceptible Host – Even if a fungus is present, it will not take root in your grass unless your type of grass is susceptible to that type of fungus.
• Environmental Conditions – Each fungus requires specific conditions favorable to its growth. If the conditions are not right, a present pathogen will not affect a susceptible host.

Fungicides are best applied preemptively before the disease has begun to infect the grass plant. This is a preventative approach. Once the disease has already started infecting the lawn, fungicides are used to slow down the disease from spreading. This is a reactive approach.

Controlling disease is multi-faceted. Cultural practices, irrigation, and weather changes can favorably influence the environment and favor disease development and activity.

Our team can help you diagnose your particular fungus and help you develop a plan for fighting it, which will include fungicide treatments.