Have you ever wondered why your lawn looks great in the spring and early summer, and then it suddenly loses its vigor and starts looking less than desirable? A lawn disease may be the problem. One of the main diseases I see throughout the season is summer patch. This disease affects Kentucky bluegrass and must have fungicides applied in the spring to prevent it from rearing its ugly head later in the summer. I’m including a couple of pictures, so if your lawn looked like these pictures in past summers, contact me so I can apply fungicides this spring to prevent your lawn from looking less than desirable this summer.
Besides the summer patch disease, there are several other diseases that can be very detrimental to the health and beauty of your lawn.
Some of the most common summer lawn fungi are:
Red Thread – Bright red thread-like strands appear near grass tips or the cut surfaces of the grass blades.
Summer Patch – Yellow patches approximately 6-12 inches in diameter that form rings around healthy grass plants.
Dollar Spot – Straw colored patches about 2-3 inches in diameter with bleached centers and orange borders.
Brown Patch – Circular, yellow-brown patches of discolored, wilting and dead grass.
Leafspot – Oval, purple spots appear on the grass blades along with some yellowing and thinning of the overall turf.
Stripe Smut – grass blades become pale green and stunted with long, black stripes of spore pustules, infected leaves curl, die and become shredded.
