To maintain the greenery of the lawn, it is essential to keep the lawn devoid of growing fungus. Fungi can suddenly pop up anywhere in the lawn, letting the grass turn brown and eventually die. So to save the grass, a fungicide should be applied properly and correctly to make your lawn look beautiful and lush green. but should you water the lawn after applying fungicide.
But one should not water the lawn immediately after the application of fungicide. Make sure that the fungicide remains on the blade’s surface until it’s completely dry, or it will wash away if watered immediately after the fungicide application. So let’s dig into details in this topic to help the readers maintain their lawns beautiful and bushy year long.
Why apply fungicide to your Lawn?
The occurrence of fungus on your lawn is very common and can pop up anywhere at any time and wreaking havoc on your lawn’s beauty. The beautiful green grass slowly turns brown and eventually dies.
Hence it is very important to apply fungicide to prevent the growth of fungi, and this should be applied in the correct quantity and at the right time. This would save the lawn from any other future diseases. Hence fungicides result in suppressing the growth of fungi or fungal spores occurring on the green grass of the lawn.
What is the best time to apply a fungicide?
It is common for fungi and microbes to grow in the soil. However, if they have a proper growing condition, they would multiply very fast and cause harm to your lawn. There are 3 most common lawn fungi,: brown patch, summer patch, and spring dead spot. All of these look different, and it’s critical to identify them correctly and apply the treatment accordingly.
So to apply lawn fungicide, temperature and relative humidity play a critical role as they can affect the drift of fungicide. The best time for application is at night or early morning when the low temperature gradually rises to 60°F. Because the high temperature and low relative humidity would result in the evaporation and volatilization of the fungicide.
Therefore, during those appropriate times, the temperature is low, and the relative humidity is high. Moreover, during early morning, the drift hazard is reduced from fungicide volatilization as the winds are considerably calm and the convective air turbulence is also low. This preventive application is conducted at an interval of 14 to 30 days, depending on the fungicide used.
Should You Water the lawn after applying fungicide?
Though applying fungicide to your lawn is mandatory, there is a definite approach to it with the right quantity and at the correct time. Generally, early morning is the best time to water the lawn; however certain aspects need to be checked to water the lawn after the application of fungicide on it.
It is not advised to water the lawn immediately after fungicide application. The fungicide must be completely dry on the surface of the blade, or else if it is watered before that, the fungicide will be washed away, and it won’t be able to protect the lawn. Moreover, it is also advised to apply the lawn fungicide before the rainy season starts, or else it will wash away the fungicide.
There are different types of lawn fungicides used these days. Organic fungicides are the latest to prevent lawn diseases. These organic fungicides are also safe for pets as most of them are less or non-toxic than chemical fungicides. There are many organic fungicides available in the market these days that are also giving extremely great results, and you can choose any as per your choice.
Chemical fungicides are of two types, systematic fungicides and contact fungicides.
Contact Fungicide
These fungicides usually stay on the outer surface of the lawn grass and build a protective barrier that prevents the occurrence of lawn diseases that penetrate the grass’s blades. Hence, this must be applied before the disease happens on the grass blades.
They are of short residual in nature, and the effect usually remains for three to eight days, depending on the environment and needs to reapply. Make sure that the automatic sprinklers are turned off after these are applied, and also advised to sprinkle checking the rain timing as rain would wash away these fungicides.
Systematic Fungicide
On the other hand, Systematic fungicide penetrates inside the plant and reaches its vascular system. They come with protective and curative characteristics and can be applied before and after the fungal disease. They last a considerable time of 7 to 25 days or even more. So after applying these, it is important to water the lawn as it would help the fungicide to reach the root zone.
Chemical fungicides have different forms, from liquid, granular, and drenches. Each of them needs critical application methods, or it would harm the plant. The dry powder and granules need to be diluted with water and should be applied with the help of a fertilizer spreader. The granular fungicides can be applied on wet, damp grass, and to activate its performance, it is required to water so that it penetrates well inside the grass.
Should you water the lawn after applying Scott’s fungicide?
The Scotts Fungicide is a great fungicide to prevent and cure lawn diseases. This chemical lawn fungicide has the feature of a broad spectrum that not only prevents lawn diseases but also controls and cures them. This super-efficient product can prevent and cure 26 different types of critical and complex lawn diseases.
This product can be applied both to dry and damp soil foliage, and to activate the product, the grass needs to be watered so that it should penetrate deep inside the plant’s vascular system and the roots. After application, this product starts functioning within 24 hours to control critical lawn diseases.
One application of this product can protect the lawn from diseases for up to 4 weeks. It is generally advised to use this product during the spring season, before disease symptoms, and the environmental conditions are extremely favorable for the product to work.
How long does fungicide need to be on before rain?
It is always advised to apply lawn fungicide before rain events so that the product penetrates well inside the plant to prevent it from critical lawn diseases. These fungicides have efficacy only when they penetrate deep inside the plant, and this usually takes 12 to 72 hours, depending on the fungicide and lawn diseases that have occurred.
This time interval helps the product to distribute to the entire plant and gets absorbed completely by the plant tissues. Only then are they less susceptible to getting washed away from rainfall. After applying the fungicide, if it rains within 1 hour, it becomes pretty ineffective.
What happens if it rains after applying fungicide?
In the case of protectant or contact fungicide only, if it rains within 24 hours, the effectiveness is reduced to quite an extent. A good systematic fungus can be applied to damp soil but needs to be watered so that the product penetrates well. They become effective only when they have reached well inside the plant, and this effectiveness takes a minimum of 12 to 24 hours to activate.
So if it rains after 24b hours, it might not need to reapply immediately; however, if it does before 24 hours, its effectiveness will be reduced to some extent. However, if there is huge rainfall or subsequent plant growth of the lawn, the fungicide needs to be reapplied to control diseases.
Can fungicide be applied to a wet lawn?
In the case of systematic fungicide, it can be applied to the wet lawn. It needs to be watered after application so that the product should reach the vascular system and roots. Its effectiveness starts only when it is absorbed completely by the plant tissues. However, in the case of contact fungicide, it is best to apply when dry, and if it rains within 24 hours of application, its effectiveness will be completely gone.
Do Fungicide Treatments Fail if you water your lawn after applying fungicide?
It is strictly advised not to water your lawn after applying contact fungicide. Their action and treatment will fail if it is watered immediately after the application. The product must be dried on surface blades, which takes some time. However, in the case of systematic fungicide, it can be applied on damp soil and needs to be watered so that the product reaches well inside the plant.
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Conclusion
Though the lawn looks beautiful in every garden, it requires many processes to take care of properly. Only then would they become lush green and bushy. This article has covered lawn fungicides and the ways to apply them. It is very important at first to know and identify different lawn diseases; based on that; treatment should be done. However, it is always advised to be prevented well before fungal diseases in your lawn.
