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Why Does My Lawn Have A Disease?
Why Does My Lawn Have A Disease?
Sometimes it is difficult to predict lawn disease pressures, but understanding how a disease gets started is an important part of the process. Disease spores are common in many lawns and can persist for years before conditions are right for the disease to become active.
Just like there is a fire triangle that describes the elements that are required for a fire to start – oxygen, fuel and ignition – there is also a disease triangle of the three factors that need to be in place for a disease to develop. First, the disease causing organism needs to be present, which often is available in the lawn or landscape. Second, you need the host plant that is susceptible to the disease. Third, you need the proper environment, which encompasses many different weather factors such as cool and wet, cool and dry, warm and wet, warm and dry, hot and humid, hot and dry, the list goes on and on.
Other factors can also influence disease development, especially if it puts the plant into some type of stress. These include mowing too short, too much water, too little water, too much fertilizer, not enough fertilizer, as you can read; this list is almost endless as well. The one thing that brings it all together is time. The environment has to exist for a long enough time for the disease to develop and invade the host plant. This time period fluctuates greatly from a couple of hours to several days.
Unfortunately, even with the best lawn care diseases can still develop. A lawn that is well-maintained will be better able to fight off infection and recover faster after the disease has run its course.