Turf Tips - Lawn Diseases 2016

The summer of 2016 has been quite favorable for the development of an assortment of infectious diseases on residential turf. The primary driver of all of this disease activity is the weather. In the lower Midwest, the combination of elevated temperature and ample precipitation since the beginning August of has spawned outbreaks of brown patch, dollar spot, Pythium blight, leaf spot diseases, and the appearance of symptoms of summer patch and necrotic ring spot. Although infection is almost entirely a function of temperature and moisture, there are other factors (addressed in the linked blog post) that may hasten the decline of turf once disease becomes established.

Not all turf species are susceptible to all diseases. In general, Kentucky bluegrass (KBG) is less prone to brown patch , dollar spot, gray leaf spot, and Pythium blight—but very susceptible to root diseases such as necrotic ring spot and summer patch. Root pathogens are present in all soils, and infect turf as soil temperatures increase beyond 60F. With ample moisture, infection will continue through summer. Plants are killed outright in some instances, but in most cases, KBG can tolerate some infection. However, during periods of environmental stress, infection-impaired plants cannot survive, and characteristic dead patches or rings or frog-eyes appear.

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Rick Latin, Ph.D.
Professor of Plant Pathology
Purdue University