Dry and rusty is the theme for the month of September. We seem to have more rust fungus than normal on lawns this fall due to the dry weather and slow down of growth on lawns. The recent cool nights with heavy dew, combined with the lack of rainfall, have created the perfect conditions for this fungus to thrive. Rust fungus tends to mostly affect rye grass but can and will affect bluegrass as well.
Overall, the lawn may take on a yellowish appearance but upon closer inspection you will see individual blades of grass coated with an orange or yellow powder that easily rubs off.
August and the first part of September have been very dry. Here is the precipitation data for Hudsonville since the beginning of August. On August 3 we had 1.15″ of rain and since then the most we have had was .55″ on August 17. The rest of the events were less than .2″ per event. We need to rely on our sprinkling systems or good old fashioned hoses to do the rest.
| STATION: hudsonville STATION ID: hvl LOCATION: Michigan Celery Cooperative CITY: Hudsonville LATITUDE: 42.8594 deg. LONGITUDE: -85.8895 deg. ELEVATION: n/a LOGGER PROGRAM: mawn_hvlf DATE/TIME: 2017-09-13/08:13:05 ============================= DAILY WEATHER DATA – SUMMARY: ============================= DATE PCPN ================== 08/01/2017 —- 08/02/2017 —- 08/03/2017 1.15 08/04/2017 0.20 08/05/2017 —- 08/06/2017 —- 08/07/2017 0.19 08/08/2017 —- 08/09/2017 —- 08/10/2017 0.10 08/11/2017 0.13 08/12/2017 0.01 08/13/2017 —- 08/14/2017 —- 08/15/2017 0.04 08/16/2017 —- 08/17/2017 0.55 08/18/2017 —- 08/19/2017 —- 08/20/2017 —- 08/21/2017 —- 08/22/2017 0.17 08/23/2017 —- 08/24/2017 0.01 08/25/2017 —- 08/26/2017 —- 08/27/2017 —- 08/28/2017 0.02 08/29/2017 —- 08/30/2017 —- 08/31/2017 —- 09/01/2017 —- 09/02/2017 0.04 09/03/2017 —- 09/04/2017 —- 09/05/2017 0.07 09/06/2017 0.07 09/07/2017 0.20 09/08/2017 0.03 09/09/2017 —- 09/10/2017 —- 09/11/2017 —- 09/12/2017 —- ================== Variable Ids: PCPN: Precipitation (in) ========================================================================= Data provided by the Michigan Automated Weather Network (MAWN) and Enviro-weather Program. |
The good news is that rust fungus will not permanently hurt your lawn. The bad news is that it makes a mess of shoes, mowers, and everything else it touches. The most important thing we need to do to combat rust fungus is to make sure we are doing everything possible to maintain consistent growth. Check soil moisture with a shovel. If your soil 1″ down is powdery dry or does not have enough moisture in it to make the soil somewhat sticky then you need to increase watering to stimulate new growth. Heavier, infrequent watering cycles are best to help wash off the fungus and stimulate new growth. Depending on the type of soil present, an every other day watering cycle should be sufficient. If your lawn is not treated professionally, make sure to feed it with a fall application to help maintain nutrient content. Continue to mow at regular intervals as well.
As always, feel free to call or email with any questions!
(616)813-3135