Early in the season, mechanical and abiotic stresses create persistent turf stress that can lay the groundwork for future emergence of the disease.
Management to prevent anthracnose starts early. Although the issue may feel a little further off in our minds than the looming threat of dollar spot, it’s worth remembering that a lot of what we do early season is preparation for preventing future outbreaks. There’s plenty you can do at this stage to make life easier later in the season. Start with a well-balanced nutrition programme – not too high, as excessive nutrition can end up working against what you’re trying to achieve with dollar spot management. Managing stress is essential too: don’t push the plant too hard, too early, by chasing speed and presentation at the expense of resilience. Looking at biostimulants, wetting agents, and pigments can be a good way to manage some of the building stresses that contribute to anthracnose. The importance of managing stress from UV and high DLI can be overlooked because we don’t always see immediate visual symptoms, but it’s often the layering of multiple stresses through the season that leads to the issues we face later.
The principle is simple: the turf needs energy to be able to defend against the disease – anything we can do to reduce stress, maintain photosynthesis, and normal plant function will help to Join the dots across the season.
Primo Maxx plays a vital role across multiple aspects of your stress mitigation strategy for anthracnose.
Your fungicide strategy for dollar spot earlier in the season can also reduce the risk of anthracnose later. Where programmes include products such as Ascernity or Instrata Elite, this can help lessen the chance of future anthracnose outbreaks – another reason why being proactive now pays dividends later. The aim is simple: stay organised, monitor closely, manage stress, and be ready to act. That’s how you damp down disease pressure from the outset and help manage risk as the season progresses to maintain consistent quality surfaces.
