How To Identify Lawn Fungus The Main Symptoms
You might be wondering, âwhat does grass fungus look like?â In many instances, the tell-tale signs and symptoms are similar. However, with so many varieties of fungus out there, each species manifests itself differently.
Letâs take a look at some of the most common defining characteristics from the kind of fungus you might encounter on your lawn.
- Snow Mold
Snow mold typically occurs in vascular plant species and moss, so if your grass has some moss, you may be more likely to see these. This kind of fungus typically appears late in the winter when the snow begins to melt, leaving behind a series of pale-colored circular patches. Some might be just a few inches wide, others several feet wide.
- Rust Disease
Rust disease creates rust-like spots on leaves, plants, and grass. You should see the orange-reddish color on the grass, and may notice it on your clothes or shoes after walking on the grass.
- Red Thread Disease
With red thread disease, youâll notice straw-colored patches in your grass. The fungus is shaped irregularly and appears a light red or pink color.
- Take-all Patches
With a take-all patch, the fungus infects and kills the roots o the grass, leaving behind circular changes in color throughout the lawn. You should notice red, yellow, and brown colors.
- Brown Patches
This is probably one of the most common symptoms of lawn fungus. Because the fungus impacts the ability of grass to grow, brown patches of various shapes and sizes are very common.
- Dollar Spots
- Mildew
Management Of Turf Grass Rust
We canât change the weather to defeat rust. However, it is easy to change cultural practices that may predispose turf to rust. Keeping plants in good health also will help discourage visitation by numerous other unfriendly fungi that cause problems on turf.
Adhering to good cultural practices is basic to reducing turf disease problems. Encouraging vigorous growing conditions helps plants to fend off problematic pathogens. Routine monitoring and scouting allow for early detection of any disease problems.
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Will Baking Soda Kill Lawn Fungus
In yard maintenance everyone seems to have a different way of doing things. From spraying milk to high-end herbicides, there are numerous suggestions for how to treat your lawn. Knowing whats best for your plants can be tricky, especially as so many variables can affect the health of a lawn.
Baking soda, otherwise known as sodium bicarbonate, is a common household item. As you may guess from the name, its mostly used in baking.
However, this kitchen product may have uses beyond cakes. Baking soda is a popular fungicide for those who like homemade solutions. A small amount mixed with water is an easy way to tackle lawn fungus.
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How To To Get Rid Of Brown Patch Fungus On Grass
Many conditions can cause patches of brown, dead grass on your lawn, but only one gets the official name brown patch. Brown patch disease is a condition caused by a single species of fungus, Rhizoctonia, that often occurs in mid- to late-summer when the weather is hot and humid.
How To Tell If Your Lawn Has Fungus
The most important step when you spot fungus or another problem on your lawn is to correctly identify the specific type of disease thats present. Different lawn issues have different causes and symptoms, and treating your grass for the wrong thing could only lead to more damage not to mention, youll still have to deal with the original issues. Before you invest in a treatment, therefore, take the time to closely examine the issue or better yet, get a professional to identify the disease so you know exactly what youre dealing with and choose the right treatment the first time.
There are a number of signs to watch out for that indicate a problem with your lawn, and some of them are more obvious than others. In most cases, discoloration is the most obvious sign, as grass will turn yellow, tan, or brown in spots. Keep in mind, though that its not always a disease that can cause this. Higher than normal temperatures, inadequate watering, and insects can also cause dead or dying areas, only underscoring the need for adequate identification.
Assuming that everything else is normal, discoloration is just one sign that your lawn is sick. Brown patches not attributable to pets, slimy patches of grass, a film covering the grass and spots on individual blades of grass are all signs of an issue. While specific fungi and lawn diseases have unique signs, some of the most common types of disease and fungus include:
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How To Repair Lawn Spots Damaged By Summer Patch
Once summer patch is under control, repair the damaged areas quickly and easily by using an all-in-one patch and repair mix like Scotts® EZ Seed®. It contains high-performance grass seed, continuous release fertilizer, and super-absorbent growing material to help grow grass wherever you need it. Check the package for directions, and use this product during spring or fall for best results. Another option is to overseed your entire lawn with Scotts® Turf Builder® ThickR Lawn Sun & Shade or Scotts® Turf Builder® ThickR Lawn Tall Fescue Mix during early spring or fall to help restore your lawn to its original thickness.
How To Control Summer Patch
If you determine your lawn is infected with summer patch, you will want to treat it right away. Because summer patch is such a destructive disease, you will need to apply a systemic control thats both curative and preventive, like Scotts® DiseaseEX Lawn Fungicide. This product starts working in 24 hours and lasts up to 4 weeks, and should be applied at the first sign of disease. If youve had problems with summer patch in the past, help prevent it from coming back by applying when conditions are favorable for the disease but before it appears, typically in spring. Be sure to follow label directions.
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Causes Of Lawn Fungal Disease
Lawns are full of fungal spores that are usually harmless, although certain conditions can cause them to germinate and lead to the harmful diseases mentioned above.There are several causes of lawn fungus, most commonly:
- Underwatering
- Weather conditions
Whilst some of these are uncontrollable factors – the unpredictable British weather for example – keeping an eye on how much or how little you are watering your turf and mowing to appropriate heights are both aspects of lawncare that you can control.
Lawn Fungus Types: What To Look For
What is brown patch? How serious is root rot? The following are two of the most common diseases that are likely to develop on warm-weather lawns. Do keep in mind that there is a wide variety of fungal diseases that can affect your lawn. If you arent quite sure whats wrong with your lawn, call a lawn care company to help diagnose the problem.
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How To Identify And Control Dollar Spot Fungus
Dollar spot is one of the worst grass diseases you can have on your lawn. If left unchecked, what begins as bleached, dollar-sized spots on your lawn can spread into a warzone of dead patches of grass.
To fight back against dollar spot, reduce watering to twice per week and water only in the early morning. This reduces nighttime soil moisture, slowing or stopping the spread of dollar spot. Fertilize your lawn to help it battle against the fungus, cut your grass higher, dethatch your lawn, and clear your yard of leaves, debris, and grass clippings.
Finally, use a fungicide to kill dollar spot fungus. Sometimes, this is the only option to reclaim your lawn from this disease.
When To Apply Fungicide On Lawns: Experts Weigh In
Homeowners lead busy lives, with a seemingly endless list of things that need to be done at any given time. Faced with the reality of juggling work, home and recreation, its easy for your lawn to become an afterthought.
As much as we wish this wasnt the case, healthy and well-manicured lawns dont take care of themselves. First, you need to make sure your grass is getting the amount of water and sunshine it needsand not too much. Then, you need to make sure you are mowing your grass to the proper height. Although most homeowners stop here, to keep your lawn happy and looking great youll also want to have an understanding of your soil chemistry to determine what nutrients might be lacking.
What are some of the risks you run if you dont care for your grass? Lawn diseases, weeds and a dead, yellow lawn, just to name a few.
Lawn fungus can look like brown, patchy grass. What can you do about it?
Ignore it and hope the situation improves? Choose one of the fungicide treatments and cross your fingers it works? If you decide to ignore the problem and it doesnt go away, you may start researching when to apply fungicide on lawns.
The short answer to the question is that you should apply a fungicide as soon as disease symptoms are discovered on the lawn. Why? Because while fungicides will destroy any fungus that might be damaging your lawn and stop the fungi from spreading, they cant reverse the damage already caused by the fungus.
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How To Prevent And Treat Lawn Fungal Diseases
A simple change in your lawn care practices may be enough to prevent or eradicate lawn fungal disease. At other times nature may deliver a soggy spring or summer heat wave that just cant be helped. Stressed or unhealthy lawns are much more likely to develop disease so the better you care for your lawn, the better the grass will be able to handle the natural conditions in your area.
Follow these steps to help take control of fungal diseases in your lawn:
Is Baking Soda A Fungicide
Baking soda has been shown to be used as an effective fungicide. The ion balance of the fungus is disrupted by an application of baking soda. Eventually the spores collapse, dying off. The baking soda then leaves behind an alkaline residue, which helps kill the remaining fungal spores.
If you are looking for a homemade solution to a fungal problem, then baking soda is a good option. Its easy to make, cheap, and effective.
While you should be careful with it, baking soda is safe to handle . Take care if using around children and pets, and keep the solution away from children.
As mentioned, baking soda is also known as sodium bicarbonate. You may notice the first part of that is sodium aka a major component of salt. The sodium is integral to the antifungal properties, as it sucks the water out of the fungus. However, this is also what makes it potentially dangerous to plants.
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List Of Fungicides And Uses In The Us
What are some of the more common types of fungicides used here in the United States? The graphic below lists some of the most common treatments, along with the fungicide type, the mode of action and an example of a product you could pick up from the store with that kind of fungus fighter in it.
Many of these items can be purchased at home improvement stores or online.
Best Fungicide For Lawns: What Should You Look For
Just like human medicine, fungicides work in different ways. However, the best fungicides have the following characteristics:
- First and foremost, they have been proven to be effective by quickly killing the lawn fungus. You can read online reviews to get a sense of whether other homeowners have found them to work.
- They offer protection against future fungal growth and attacks.
- Theres zero or minimal resistance to the fungicide by the specific lawn fungus.
- The fungicide doesnt pose a health risk to the people and pets who use or play on the lawn.
- The fungicide is low impact, to minimize any damage to the larger environment.
The success of a fungicide depends on its mechanism of action and fungicidal activity. Primarily, fungicides destroy lawn fungus by damaging their fungal cell wall and cell membranes. They may also inhibit vital cellular processes within the fungus, thereby killing it.
The best fungicides are those that have been designed to incorporate several killing mechanisms as part of their mode of action. This not only makes the fungicide more powerful, but also reduces the risk of resistance and tolerance development.
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How To Identify Grass Fungus On Your Lawn
What Causes Brown Patch Disease
Of all St. Augustine grass fungal diseases, brown patch causes the most damage to turfs, as it leaves behind large sections of unsightly brown patches over a short period of time. The disease is caused by Rhizoctonia fungus, which finds nitrogen-deficient lawns more favorable. Rhizoctonia also prefer hot and humid conditions, hence the disease advances more rapidly when temperature conditions rise to about 80-degrees Fahrenheit.
During fall, Rhizoctonia fungi usually hide out in the grass thatch. The cold temperatures and high humidity during this time of the year favors them. As such, once the temperatures drop below 80-degrees Fahrenheit, these fungi start penetrating the grass blades via the stomata, causing stress damage in the process. These fungi are also more likely to appear on your lawn if theres excessive soil moisture due to rainfall or irrigating too frequently. As such, you can make your St. Augustine turf less-vulnerable to brown patch disease by avoiding overwatering and ensuring proper soil drainage.
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Common Lawn Fungal Diseases
There are quite a few fungal diseases that can impact lawns, but theyre usually pretty specialized, targeting specific lawn types, at certain times of year, under certain conditions. For example:
- Brown patch strikes during hot, humid weather.
- Fusarium blight prefers hot, drought conditions.
- Dollar spot tends to spring up when nights are cool and dew is heavy.
Before treating your lawn, its important to identify not only whether your lawn indeed has a fungal disease, but to identify the fungus itself. All fungicides arent the same, and some diseases can be easily treated by making changes in your lawn care.
Knowing your grass type and recent weather conditions can make it easier to narrow down, but you may need help in figuring out exactly whats going on. Your local cooperative extension center is your best resource for determining which diseases are most common in your area, or you can take a small baggie of the infected grass to your local garden center for help.
Natural Remedies For Lawn Fungus
There are many natural remedies for lawn fungus. These include baking soda solutions, neem oil, and compost teas. For the best results, you should use these natural options early in the season as a preventative rather than waiting to treat your lawn after you already have a fungus.
Neem Oil
This is one of the better natural solutions available. Dilute 2 oz of neem oil into 1 gallon of water. Apply 2.5 gallons of the spray solution per 1,000 sq ft. You will typically need to apply this solution two or three times on a 7 14 day interval to ensure effective control.
Baking Soda
Using a weak baking soda solution to treat lawn fungus issues can be effective but you must be cautious. Baking soda is a salt and like all salts, can damage your lawn.
Grass type and environmental conditions such as rainfall, air temperature and lawn stress all affect how your grass reacts to the baking soda, so you run the risk of doing more harm than good.
Compost Tea
While the use of compost teas are generally considered a good way to increase the organic content of your lawn, research on using them as a natural fungicide is limited. When applied in the spring, compost teas will help to boost the overall health of your lawn and can help your lawn to be less susceptible to getting a fungus in late spring or summer.
However, compost teas alone are usually insufficient in preventing turfgrass diseases.
Clove Oil
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How Do I Prevent Grass Rust
You can prevent grass rust from showing up in your lawn simply by keeping it well fed. However, you dont have to go overboard with fertilizer.
Four timely applications of a nitrogen-based lawn food, such as Scotts 4-Step Program, will keep your lawn green and healthy, enabling it to fend off rust and most lawn diseases. Two applications should come after August 1 plan those around August 1 and Sept. 15. Those dates can vary depending upon where you live.
Proper fertilizing and other lawn care practices, such as proper watering, shade management and core aeration, can keep your lawn healthy enough to resist diseases and other lawn ailments.
Those grass rust pustules appear mostly on the leaf blades. If you bag clippings as you mow, youll remove some of the infected leaf tissue, improving your chances of keeping it under control. Just dont add clippings of rust-infested grass to your compost pile. Also, if you hire out your lawn care, know that commercial mowers can oftentimes spread it from one lawn to the next.
When reseeding your lawn, look for a mix that contains rust-resistant varieties. Because many species and varieties mingle in todays grass seed mixtures, you may need help here. Refer to your local lawn and garden extension service for help. Retailers who take selling grass seed seriously may be good resources of information, too.
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