LITTLE ROCK – Homeowners trying to save their lawns from drought may be going too far.
“Some people are overcompensating for the dry weather by overwatering their lawns,” said Mark Brown, Pulaski County extension agent for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
Grass that’s too wet, plus warm air temperatures, make the lawn a very inviting place for fungal and bacterial diseases.
Three diseases are turning up in samples sent to the University of Arkansas’ Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic: Pythium blight, Take All patch and large patch.
“Pythium blight is really active now. Take all and large patch tend to be spring and fall diseases, but the damage can show up now,” Brown said. “All of these diseases love wet conditions and are helped when the lawn is overfertilized.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The prescription for halting the diseases include watering less, improving drainage, mowing as high as is practical and removing lawn clippings that could spread the disease.
Fine more information on lawn care at www.arhomeandgarden.org/lawns.htm or contact your county extension office.
The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture and offers its programs to all eligible persons without discrimination.