How to Identify and Treat Different Types of Lawn Disease

How Do I Identify Lawn Diseases?
Lawn diseases often start with yellow patches that gradually grow and spread. Some appear as circular spots, while others are stripes on the lawn. You may also see brown or scorched patches after fertilizing, watering, or applying weed killer to your lawn.

Since several conditions can cause these symptoms, the prudent course is to visit your local nursery to obtain a soil test kit or another tool for identifying lawn infections. Once you identify the type of disease present in your lawn area, it will be much easier to treat it effectively and safely.

Common Lawn Disease Symptoms And Treatment
There are numerous types of lawn disease, and the following common examples may be helpful as you identify the type of disease problem in your lawn.

Powdery Mildew
If your lawn is infected with powdery mildew, it will appear as a whitish coating on the leaves and stems, often accompanied by a grayish-black or brownish fuzz. Mild, warm temperatures and high humidity are the main culprits for this condition.

If you’re battling powdery mildew in your lawn, you should also address an overabundance of shade, allowing too much moisture to accumulate on the grass blades.

Summer Patch
This is a patch of grass with a brown or yellowish cast. It will appear when the lawn has been affected by drought, heat, or excessive summer watering. If you have seen brown and yellow grass patches in your lawn or garden, you may have a summer patch.

Conditions that cause summer patch disease include poorly drained soil, excess fertilizer application, faulty irrigation system, or poorly timed mowing too early in the season to warm up the soil. All of these issues will increase your likelihood of having a summer patch. Once you identify this type of lawn infection, treating it properly and effectively will be easier.

Fairy Ring
Fairy ring is caused by fungi that live in the soil. The grass will develop a ring of greenish-white stalks and dark green leaves, eventually turning black. This is a serious lawn disease that can cause significant damage to your lawn if it spreads.

Treatment for fairy rings includes:

• Thinning dense lawns.
• Removing overhanging shrubs.
• Aerating the soil.
• Raking to destroy the affected areas while minimizing lawn damage from heavy fertilization or watering treatments.

Gray Snow Mold
Gray snow mold grows in cold climates and appears as white patches or scars on the lawn. It starts to form in the early spring and can cause significant damage to your lawn if it is not treated quickly. If you discover that your lawn is infected with gray snow mold, you should immediately begin a preventive treatment program.

This lawn disease can remain dormant until the weather gets cold and wet. This means you might need to treat your infected lawn area more than once during winter.

Conclusion
If you discover that one of your lawn areas is infected with one of the conditions outlined above, it will be easier to treat your lawn by knowing what type of lawn disease you are dealing with and how to handle it. Once you identify what type of infection your lawn area has, you should also learn how to deal with the symptoms and eradicate the infection quickly.