Preventative turf maintenance strategies can help maintain healthy grass in your yard or garden. Some of the things you can do are monitor pest activity, fertilize, and apply fungicides and other treatments. This preventative turf maintenance Kent can also help reduce the impact diseases, such as pythium blight, can have on your lawn.
Large Patch Grass Disease
A large patch is a fungal disease that affects turfgrass. It is a common problem among seashore paspalum and centipedegrass, but other warm-season grasses can also be affected.
Various factors contribute to large patches, including excessive irrigation and rainfall. When lawns are overwatered, it makes the grass more susceptible to disease. Proper drainage and watering only when necessary are essential to maintaining a healthy property.
Extensive patch disease can be prevented by following the proper maintenance techniques. For instance, using a mower that chops clippings to a quarter inch or less, dethatching, and leveling the turf are good strategies.
A large patch can be controlled by applying fungicides. Fungicides are effective when used regularly. These applications should be made before signs of the disease appear.
Pythium Blight
Pythium blight is a destructive disease that affects many different types of grass. It can cause thinning, stunted growth, and off-color patches. Fortunately, preventing and controlling the disease is easy, especially with preventative turf maintenance strategies.
First, it’s essential to understand what causes pythium blight—many species of this fungus, like wet conditions and alkaline soils. To help combat the fungus, it’s important to aerate and maintain good drainage. Also, it’s vital to remove thatch. Thatch is composed of a buildup of dead plant material and can be removed by topdressing or using a vertical mowing technique.
If you have a lot of thatch in your lawn, this can promote the spread of pythium blight. By removing the thatch, you can improve airflow and drainage.
Fertilizer
Using fertilizer as part of preventative turf maintenance strategies can result in a lush, vibrant lawn resistant to environmental stresses and pests. But proper application techniques must be used for optimum results.
One of the most important considerations is the type of fertilizer to be used. There are two main types: slow release and quick release. Slow-release nitrogen sources release nitrogen over several weeks to months. They are also more cost-effective than quick-release nitrogen sources.
Quick-release nitrogen sources, also called “soluble” or “fast-acting” nitrogen sources, are water soluble and rapidly available to the turf. They are cheaper than slow-release nitrogen sources, but turf burn is more likely after a surface application of urea or ammonium-based fertilizer.
Fungicides
Fungicides are used to prevent fungal disease from occurring on a lawn. Fungal infections can be quite harmful to the health of your turf. They can also be costly. Treating and repairing the damage may be difficult when dealing with a fungal disease.
There are many types of fungicides available. Some are made with natural substances like neem oil, jojoba oil, rosemary oil, or Bacillus subtilis.
Fungicides can be applied to soil, fungi, or plant leaves. To select the best fungicide, you should know which type you’re dealing with. Also, you must follow the label’s instructions.
A good fungicide will provide the most benefit to your turf when it’s applied before the onset of a fungal infection. This is why it’s essential to use the proper fungicide at the correct dose and at the right time.
Monitoring Pest Activity
Monitoring pest activity is one of the most important aspects of a preventative turf maintenance strategy. It can help you determine what types of treatments are most effective, when they are most helpful and whether or not they are likely to be successful. In addition, it can also inform you about your site’s history and what problems to expect in the future.
In New York, several species of insects can damage turfgrass. The most common are sod webworms, fall armyworms, and black cutworms. There are also European chafers, scarab beetles, and leather jackets.
Sod webworms and fall armyworms are gregarious feeders. The larvae feed on above-ground foliage and then become crown feeders. They can be monitored using vane traps, lights, and soil sampling.