Home & Garden Tips
How to Protect Turf Durng Wet and Dry Times
By Roosevelt McWilliams County Extension Agent

The recent drought has stressed our lawns. It's like, when we ourselves do not get enough rest or eat well, this can lead to problems. Dry weather followed by wet weather can be especially hard on lawns.

There are pests that may take advantage of your weakened lawn. Proper preventative or curative turf medicine should help your lawn through this critical time.

I talked about Gray leaf spot in my article last week. Gray leaf spot mainly attacks St. Augustine lawns but can affect Bermuda and Centipede as well. This disease is worse in hot, humid summer weather and on new St. Augustine lawns. Lawn stresses can make the disease worse. It can be concentrated in one location or spread over large areas.

Disease management begins with the way we grow the grass. Merely spraying the lawn with a fungicide will not control some lawn diseases. Examine your lawn practices and prevent or manage diseases with these tips.

It is important to use a slowrelease fertilizer in the hot humid summer weather. This is especially important for St. Augustine. This practice reduces the potential for disease.

Make sure the fertilizer has plenty of potassium. The first number in the fertilizer analysis indicates nitrogen percentage, the second number represents the amount of phosphorus and the last number in an analysis indicates potassium percentage. For instance, 5-10-15 contains 5 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphorus and 15 percent potassium (or potash). Fertilizers should generally have at least two-thirds as much potassium as nitrogen. Use half rates of fertilizer on St Augustine in the summer.

If your lawn gets diseased, do not fertilize again until the disease is under control. You should water only once a week, applying one inch of water each time. You should water between midnight and 9 a.m. to slow the spread of the disease. Do not let the lawn remain wet for long periods of time.

Spraying a fungicide can help slow the spread of the fungicides alone but may not control the diseases. Try using a combination of fungicides and cultural practices to help control these problems. Keep in mind that fungicides can be quite expensive. Proper turf culture is the best disease prevention.

Preventing lawn diseases is easier than curing them. Use these tips to keep your lawn healthy.