Lawn Disease
Fungus is always present in North East Florida, and becomes active when certain conditions are present. Disease such as Brown Patch, Gray Leaf Spot, and Dollar Spot are examples of fungus that affects St. Augustine grass. Free moisture is the number one factor in fungus development.
Conditions that favour disease development include:
• High humidity
• Heavy dew or fog
• Free moisture
• Evening irrigation
• Enclosed areas
• Areas with low air circulation
Good cultural practices such as early morning irrigation, mowing with a sharp blade, and bagging clippings when fungus is present are key in the prevention of disease conditions. Proper cultural practices are discussed in greater detail in the Cultural Practices section of this site. Click here to read more about our Cultural Practices.
Fairy Rings and Mushrooms
Fairy rings with their ring of the mushrooms, and Mushrooms are common during the summer because of the high humidity and rain. Fairy rings and Mushrooms are not a Lawn Disease but the natural result when organic matter (lumber, tree stumps, logs, thatch, leaves, etc) decomposes in a lawn. The mushrooms, which are all sizes and shapes, are the fruiting stages of the decay fungi, not a soil fungus.
Fairy rings and mushrooms will disappear naturally, but may re-occur for several years. Trad’s does not treat mushrooms or fairy ring with disease control products because they are not diseases. For appearance purposes, we sometimes fertilize fairy rings to mask the dark green rings. We suggest the removal of mushrooms by putting your hand inside a plastic bag, and pulling the mushroom up, into the bag for sealing and disposal.
In rare situations, Fairy Rings make the soil repel water resulting in rings of dead grass. In this situation, it is necessary to aerate or break up the soil under the dead grass (a pitchfork is a good tool to use).
Root Rot Disease
Trad’s does not treat for or cover Root rot diseases such as Pythium, Take all Root Rot, and Root Rot. Once symptoms of these diseases are evident, it is often too late to treat. Prevention is the hands of homeowner and involves Proper Cultural Practices such as maintaining correct moisture levels, suitable drainage, reducing stress, proper mowing, etc. Can we put a shortcut to Cultural Practices here for the customer? Click here to read more about our Cultural Practices.
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