Having a lawn in good health, just like you being in good health, is the best protection against summer diseases like summer patch.
You can access the fact sheet I wrote while at the University of Nevada here. Otherwise you can find it here. Summer Patch fact sheet
Prevention. An ounce of prevention... and that is true in this case.
Get your fertilizer levels up and adequate. I believe the rates of fertilizer recommended for lawns is way too high. You can reduce that to 50% of what they recommend if you use a mulching mower (you dont bag the clippings it just falls back into the grass). You do need a good mulching mower or at least a mulching blade on your mower.
Aerate. Aeration opens the soil up so the roots can "breathe". This promotes a deeper root system, more heat tolerance and improved disease resistance. Ideally this should be done in about March but if you have not had it done before, do it now. There used to be a landscape maintenance service in Las Vegas that offered this service. Otherwise you will have to rent a gasoline driver aerator from places like Aherns or buy a hand operated aerator and do it by hand. If you go this route it is not hard to do. Just time consuming. Wet the lawn thoroughly and start plugging away. It is good to follow up this activity with a light application of a phosphorus fertilizer and water it in.
The correct kind of aerator will leave soil cores behind that you will have to rake up and put in a compost heap. |
This is typical of a lawn with a poorly designed or installed irrigation system. |
No guarantees. I cannot guarantee success with this next approach but if I had a lawn this is what I would try. I would get or rent a compost spreader (a fertilizer spreader that you push should work as well) and purchase some high quality compost.
If I were to send you somewhere in Las Vegas to get the compost, it would
be at Viragrow. Get the compost with the finest texture they have so it
will pass through the spreader. With this compost spreader I would
spread about 1/4 inch of compost over the lawn and water it in
thoroughly. I would do this once a month. Next year use this in place of
buying a fertilizer. I think you will see a big change in the lawn's
health and appearance. There is a significant amount of research that
points to disease reductions in lawns by topdressing with compost
several times during the growing season.
The Disease has Started
If this is the case, you have no choice but to use a fungicide to prevent the spread of the disease. Fungicides will not cure the disease but it should stop it from going further. There are fungicides available at nurseries for you to use. Pick one that says it helps prevent summer patch disease or they make call it "frogeye" or fusarium patch disease.
Compost spreader |
The Disease has Started
If this is the case, you have no choice but to use a fungicide to prevent the spread of the disease. Fungicides will not cure the disease but it should stop it from going further. There are fungicides available at nurseries for you to use. Pick one that says it helps prevent summer patch disease or they make call it "frogeye" or fusarium patch disease.
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