Three is a magic number, and that holds true in the lawn care world, too. When you’re treating homeowners’ lawns, three well-timed fungicide applications will give you excellent results during the hot summer months.
You’ll want to make one application right before each of these holidays:
- Memorial Day, which is always the last Monday in May
- Independence Day, which is on July 4
- Labor Day, which is always the first Monday in September
The Memorial Day application will allow you to tackle spring diseases like red thread, dollar spot, and leaf spot. As things heat up, your Independence Day application will fend off difficult diseases like brown patch. Finally, your Labor Day application will keep persistent diseases like dollar spot from returning as the weather cools back down.
Since fertilizer applications and irrigation—both common in the summer—can exacerbate disease issues, you’ll want to choose strong products. I like to use combination products, which are more powerful and broad-spectrum than those with a single active ingredient. You’ll have two actives and two different modes of action working for you, which gives you the best chance of controlling whatever pops up on your customers’ lawns.
Pillar G is a great granular option, and so is its liquid counterpart, Pillar SC. They are both broad-spectrum combination products (triticonazole and pyraclostrobin) that provide about a month of residual control, right in line with the program’s timing. Zoxy-PG (granular, propiconazole and azoxystrobin) and Armada (liquid, trifloxystrobin and triadimefon) are two other powerful combination products that have a 28-day residual. These fungicides all provide preventative and curative control, and can also improve plant health and increase stress tolerance.
As summer draws closer, it’s a good idea to reach out to your ATS rep to prepare for the season. From product suggestions to sage advice, they have what you need to be successful.
