It's that time of year in Central Indiana when the Spring moisture collides with Summer heat. This combination provides the ideal conditions for turf disease to rear its ugly head. Turf diseases require 3 components to become active. These components are:
HOST- the plant must be susceptible to the disease.
PATHOGEN- the disease pathogen must be present
ENVIRONMENTAL- conditions must be favorable for a successful infection
Together they form what we called the disease triangle. If one component (or side) is missing, then the triangle is not completed, and disease won’t be a problem.
Although you can't control all of these components, these are a few things you can do to help protect your lawn from a turf disease:
- Choose a disease-resistant grass seed when seeding your lawn like Turf Type Tall Fescue.
- Mow tall and mow often and make sure you are following the one-third rule.
- Avoid watering the lawn in the evening.
- Make sure your lawn is fertilized properly.
