When your lawn is diseased, it can virtually spread this disease from your lawn to your neighbors if they are butted against one another. This can cause the entire neighborhood to end up losing the luscious lawns without know what exactly happened. There are a number of diseases to watch for and we will examine ways to prevent your lawn from becoming a victim.
Red Thread Disease
Red thread is caused by a fungus and is usually found in cool, humid weather. It is most commonly found on lawns with fescue and ryegrass blends growing. It causes your lawn to have a bleached appearance growing in irregular areas in size from several inches to several feet. You grass will develop a whitish or pinkish color to it. Your lawn may appear wet or greasy in green areas and then it will dry out and become tan in color.
If you live in a wet climate, the grass will begin with a gelatin type pink fungus that forms bright red threadlike strands around the ends of the leaves and literally is spread from leaf to leaf. You can control this disease by collecting all grass clippings. Allowing diseased clippings to remain on the lawn will only infect more or your grass. Try introducing a nitrogen rich fertilizer to the area. Avoid short frequent watering and only water the grass when you can allow it to soak deep into the soil.
Pythium Blight Disease
Pythium Blight Disease occurs during hot and very humid weather. Your lawn develops circular spots initially small in diameter. These too have a greasy green appearance as if the grass is water soaked but the grass will feel slimy and be shriveled. The area may look matted with a white growth. This develops on the dead blades of grass during very wet periods such as spring or fall. One distinguishing feature of Pythium Blight disease is that surrounding grass may have a lesions on them.
Pythium Blight Disease can be spread by mowing while the grass is wet which could cause irregular patches to form. This disease is also known to travel drainage patterns of your lawn. It is most common with day temperatures above eighty-four and night time temperatures above sixty-eight. It is also common on highly thatched lawn and in heavily fertilized grasses. You can control this with careful water management avoiding excessive watering or late day watering. Do not mow when the grass is wet and avoid excessive fertilizer, especially nitrogen. There is no fungicide that will kill this disease that is available for homeowners.
Fairy Rings Disease
Fairy rings are difficult to control which is why some homeowners choose to live with them. In order to eliminate these you must dig it out of the soil. You should remove the soil at least one foot beyond where the ring forms and then remove all the sod in that area to a depth of one foot. You must take care not to spill any of the offending soil on your lawn. Refill the hole with new soil and reseed.
Author Resource:-
John Smith is an avid garden and lawn care enthusiast. John is also an avid blogger. You can read more of his articles at Husqvarna Equipment.
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