Lawn Diseases in Texas

Here in Texas, our warm weather allows us to show off our well-maintained lawns, year-round. Unless, our grass is ravaged by a lawn disease! Here are 3 of the top lawn diseases in Texas:

St. Augustine Decline

St. Augustine decline is a virus that causes the blades of St. Augustine grass to show chlorotic mottling. As the virus spreads throughout the plant the foliage will begin to yellow. The virus can persist for years, severely weakening the grass and causing other invasive grasses, like Bermudagrass, to take over. The virus is transmitted via infected mowing equipment and other tools.

Treatment and Prevention

Even though St. Augustine decline cannot be cured and there aren’t any chemicals available to treat it, it can still be controlled if you mix in virus resistance varieties of St. Augustine grass. Over time the resistant strain will crowd out the virus.

Take-All Patches

Affecting St. Augustine and Bermuda grass, take-all patch is a serious disease that is most prevalent in the fall, winter, and spring when the weather is wet and warm. Don’t just hope it will cure itself. Take-all patch can decimate large swaths of turf and it is quite troublesome to control. The first noticeable symptoms are usually yellowing of the leaves and blackening of the roots. Grass in the affected area, that can be up to 20 feet in diameter, will thin as the plants slowly decline and the virus will remain in the soil making regrowth extremely difficult. During the hot dry months of summer, the plants become even more stressed and symptoms become more visible.

Treatment and Prevention

To treat for take-all patch make sure your yard is well-drained as the virus requires moisture to grow. Don’t over fertilize. Nitrogen can make the virus stronger. Raise your mower deck to reduce stress on your grass and avoid herbicides that can weaken your grass.

Necrotic Ring Spot

Necrotic ring spot is a soil-borne lawn fungus, identified by circular straw-colored or gray patches that can be over a foot in diameter. These patches appear in the spring, grow less noticeable in warmer temperatures and then reemerge with heat and drought stress. The fungus is brought on by overwatering but thankfully it can be cured. Overwatering kills beneficial microbes in the soil which help battle the fungus when it’s present. Without these microbes, the necrotic ring spot fungus faces no resistance and is free to spread and spread quickly.

Treatment and Prevention

Bringing a lawn back from necrotic ring spot can be difficult because it takes six to twelve months to replenish the microbes that battle it. Certain fungicides may reduce the severity of the fungus but will not control it. Your best option is time, patience, and proper lawn maintenance.

Call In The Pros!

If you suspect that your yard is infected with one of the diseases listed here then call Lawn Lab immediately. Quick action can make all the difference in a healthy recovery and prevent the disease from spreading. With our lawn care program we can get your yard back to perfect health.

Call today at 972-287-7400 or leave us a message.