7 fall turf threats

Pictured above: Take all patch is a root-infecting fungus that thrives in wet, cool soil. 

Just as the growing season is ending, a number of turfgrass diseases and pests may show up. “The challenge with diseases is that you’re usually chasing the problem,” says Pete Landschoot, PhD, professor of turfgrass science at Penn State University. “It’s not like weeds or insects where you can go clean things up immediately.”

Timing is another issue. A golf course is monitored so fungicide applications can be put down when disease-inducing weather, such as a string of hot, humid days, is forecast.

But if you’re an LCO with hundreds of residential lawns, you generally won’t have the opportunity to pre-treat. “Sometimes by the time you get out there, the weather cools or dries out, and the fungicide wasn’t necessary,” Landschoot says. “With disease, it’s often better to let it run its course, then clean up later with an application of fertilizer, for example.”

Read the full story from the September issue here.