Certain turf diseases are more prevalent during the cool months. One common disease in our area is Brown Patch Fungus. This fungi lives in the soil and is impossible to remove. There is hope for treating it but there are changes that need to be made in order to reduce the potential for it to establishing itself in your lawn.
Why Does My Lawn Have This?
Reducing the amount of water will greatly help the reduction or spread of Brown Patch. However, the grass still needs water to survive so it’s a very tricky balance. All fungi or pathogens need two basic things in order to survive: a host (turf grass) and a hospitable environment (weather).
Brown Patch develops out of bad luck—any lawn can develop it, whether it’s currently being treated or not. However we now have good products to suppress and stop it in its tracks. That said, Brown Patch can re-activate when temperature and moisture conditions are conducive to its growth.
Is There Any Way To Prevent It?
You may be wondering is there anyway to prevent it. Well, the answer is both ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ You can carefully watch how much water the turf gets this time of year, bearing in mind if it rains excessively, you will want to alter the watering schedule on your irrigation system, if you have one installed. Cutting too low with the lawnmower can stress the turf and make it more susceptible to all types of disease and insects, as well. Therefore, proper mowing heights is a must. Areas that are scalped by mower blades, expose the turf to fungus and disease. Also, shorter leaf height drastically reduces the photosynthesis process that it needs in order to grow. These same scalped areas are also more prone to weed seeds germinating since there isn’t enough healthy turf to crowd it out. Proper mowing is critical all year round.
If we have identified Brown Patch fungus in your lawn, it is important that you do not mow through it as this can spread it to other areas of the lawn. The disease may also be transferred by grass clippings from a commercial mowing company by mowing someone else’s yard who has it, thereby depositing that fungus in your yard. It’s hard to say for sure, but it’s one of the many ways, disease, insects and weeds get transferred.
Is This Permanent?
We at Slug-A-Bug understand how frustrating Brown Patch can be, but it’s important to remember that this is an environmental disease. This means that we can apply products to slow it down or reduce its spread, but we cannot control the weather nor the environment which encourages it from appearing in the first place. The good news is that no matter how unsightly Brown Patch fungus looks, it nearly always recovers and turf loss is uncommon. The grass may look dead, but in actuality it is not. It just may not grow out until the spring growing season.
Slug-A-Bug Is Here To Help!
There is hope! All of our field technicians go through ongoing training on a regular basis, all of our lawn technicians are Best Management Practices certified, they attend regular training meetings both in house and at larger events to receive the ongoing training that is needed to stay on top of the ever changing world of lawn care. We invest heavily in the products we use, because the results are far more important than the profits to us.
We do all that we can to reduce the chances of getting it to the best of our ability, but remember this is an environmental disease, the only true way to stop it is to control the environment, which is sometimes nearly impossible. So remember, water only as needed in the fall and winter and maintain proper mowing heights year round, have mower blades sharpened on a regular basis and as always, feel to call or speak with your technician should you have any questions.
We would like to sincerely thank you for putting your trust in us to take care of all your lawn’s needs. If there is anything we can do, please do not hesitate to contact us!
Elliot Zace
GI-BMP Certified Instructor
GHP Certified Operator
L&O Certified Operator