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.
Choose & Apply The Right Product
- Choose a product labeled for control of turf leaf spot fungal disease.
- Apply to affected areas, keeping in mind that you could apply to surrounding areas to try to prevent spread of the disease.
- If the leaf spot has progressed in the disease cycle or if melting out has begun, it might very difficult to control.
- If melting out has begun, this means the disease has progressed very far. If the melting out is at the very beginning stages, a fungicide formulated for this disease may offer some improvement. However, if it is advanced, there is little a fungicide can do in the way of correcting the disease, although it will help to limit further spreading of the disease in your lawn. The disease will run its course, leaving you with thinned grass in the affected areas, but will allow you to then re-seed your grass.
- Keep in mind that if your fungicide applications don’t seem to be effective, you can perform a preventative application in the spring to prevent leaf spot from returning.
Benefits Of Our Lawn Disease Treatment Services
ExperiGreen Lawn Care offers lawn disease treatments. The treatments are not part of our standard program but are offered on an as needed basis. The benefits of our lawn program are that your lawn will get the right products at the right time to maximize the health and appearance of your lawn. If our trained, expert lawn technicians note a disease problem in your lawn, we will let you know and advise you on what you should do and what we can do. If you approve, only then will we apply a lawn disease treatment. Lawn disease treatments can be expensive, and we recommend at least 2 sequential treatments. At ExperiGreen, we will recommend only what you need, when you need it.
How does it work?
We apply a lawn fungus control application to prevent and minimize active lawn diseases in your lawn. When a pathogen finds a host and the environment allows it, disease causing fungus can do major damage to your lawn.
A healthier lawn: If applied early in the season you can maximize the protection for your lawn. If applied at the first signs of a problem, our lawn disease program can significantly minimize the problem in its tracks. Then by following up with an aeration and continued fertilization your lawn will regain its color and density.
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Use The Sharpest Mower Blade To Mow Your Lawn
A blunt mower blade doesnt make sharp cuts on grass. If your lawn already has fungus infestation and you decide to use a mower with blunt blades, grass blades will create an open ground for the fungus to enter. Since mowing is part of the natural fungi control method, it would be best if you used a device with sharper blades.
How To Treat Lawn Fungus Naturally
A waterlogged lawn is a conducive breeding ground for fungi. While your lawn may look lush and green, eventually, its almost inevitable, that you may need to apply natural fungal control measures, as part of your lawn care routine.
However, the success of fungi control using natural methods depends on the severity of the infestation, grass type, and your routine lawn care practices.
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How To Identify Lawn Diseases
Something looking not quite right on your lawn, but you’re not sure what it is? Use this guide to common lawn diseases to help you ID it and learn how to treat it.
Anytime you grow a bunch of the same plants together, disease problems can take hold and begin to spread before you even notice theyre happening. This can be a real challenge for lawns, because lawns are made of hundreds of thousands of the same type of grass plants. Even when you give your lawn excellent care, the grass can still become infected with various lawn diseases that can lead to dead or discolored areas. Disease spores can float by in the air or hide in the soil, and when conditions are right, they multiply. Thats why its a good idea to protect your lawn, or fight back if disease has already taken hold, with Scotts® DiseaseEX Lawn Fungicide. It starts to work in just 24 hours to prevent and control 26 different lawn diseases for up to 4 weeks .
Here are some of the most common lawn diseases and how to identify them.
How To Spot Fungal Diseases In Your Lawn
From highly-obvious spots, rings, threads to dead-looking patches brown patches, fungal diseases can take many forms. Examine your grass for signs of dampness, squishy roots and stems or fine white threads in your soil.
Others signs your lawn may have a fungal disease include:
- A wet-looking, slimy or greasy-looking lawn
- Patches or rings, usually white, yellow, or brown, that grow in diameter.
- Discolouration, frayed or distorted-looking blades of grass.
- Spots on the stems or blades of your lawn, often gray, black, red or orange.
- Powdery or threadlike coatings around and on grass blades
Fact: Mowing your grass too low can encourage fungal diseases.
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Water Your Lawn Early In The Morning Hours
If youve been waiting until the last minute of the day to water your lawn, the soil will retain the water throughout the night. Harmful fungi tend to grow and multiply quickly in waterlogged soils. It needs moisture to survive.
The only way to ensure the soil absorbs enough water to encourage root growth and encourage photosynthesis is by watering your lawn in the early morning hours. Its during this period that the sun isnt extremely scorching.
Diy Lawn Fungus Control Vs Professional Treatment
If you discover fungus on your lawn, you want to address it right away. But should you DIY it or call a professional for help?
If the issue is a simple fix, and you know exactly what it is and how to go about killing the disease, doing it yourself can save time and money. However, if you dont choose the correct treatment, you could do more harm than good, and end up spending more in the long run. Not to mention, lawn fungus treatment products designed for consumer use arent always as powerful as those used by professionals, so it may take longer to solve the problem on your own.
Lawn fungus and disease is a common problem, and it doesnt have to mean that all of your hard work was in vain. Sometimes its due to factors out of your control, but taking the right steps to prevent and treat disease can keep your grass looking beautiful all season long.
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How To Treat Fungal Disease In Your Lawn
If youre prefer organic options, you can pour or sprinkle compost tea, baking soda solutions or neem oil its plant-based and non-toxic. This option is best for small areas. You can also try thinning out trees and shrubs surrounding your lawn to increase the air circulation, because lawn fungi develop in moist, still conditions.
A sure-fire way to sort out fungal diseases is a fungicide thats targeted to your specific problem. These are available at all hardware stores. Keep in mind it wont help your grass regrow but itll sort out spores.
Tip: If your lawn has diseased patches, be sure to wash and disinfect the underside of your mower after each use.
Additional Treatment For Lawn Disease
Aeration, overseeding, consistent water, and fertilization treatments are all beneficial in preventing lawn disease, but sometimes more potent methods are needed. At 4everGreen Turf Management, we use a combination of Fungicide/Micronutrient treatment to nourish your lawn while curing diseases. Depending on the needs of your yard, we can deliver curative or preventative broad-spectrum fungicide. These products will reduce the occurrence of lawn diseases and improve the color, density, and root growth of your lawn.
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Growing A Healthy Disease
As we mentioned early on, lawn disease is often related to a triangle effect in which the health of the grass, as well as its conditions, are also factors. Keeping your lawn weed-free and your soil healthy will also have an impact on reducing disease. In fact, a healthy lawn is your best natural defense against disease and pests.
While there is no surefire way to prevent disease from ever creeping in, handling it quickly will make all the difference in the world. At Joshua Tree, we cannot stress enough how important it is to get in touch with us quickly if you spot trouble.
We value communication with our clients and view the best possible lawn care as a two-way street in which the client is regularly communicating with us and were regularly communicating with them. It is this ongoing partnership that will ensure a lawn disease diagnosis is made early and in time to be treated when necessary. Our goal is to provide the best possible lawn care and we cant do that without your help.
If youd like to start a partnership toward a healthier, disease-free lawn near Allentown, Lansdale, or Collegeville, PA, contact us for a free consultation or feel free to give us a call at 610-365-2200.
How Do I Get Rid Of Fungus In My Lawn
Lawn diseases are generally fungal diseases that affect the grass plants when the right environmental conditions exist. For a lawn disease to get to the point where it is causing damage to your grass, requires three things: A host , the pathogen and the correct environmental conditions. This is called the disease triangle. So, if all 3 things are not present at the right time, a lawn disease may exist at very small, manageable population levels and not really cause noticeable damage. While you cant really get rid of fungus diseases in the lawn, there are ways to manage it and help the lawn stay healthy. Our
ExperiGreen lawn program is a key first step in maintaining and enhancing your lawn so it can resist fungus diseases and minimize damage they may cause.
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Can It Go Away On Its Own
Unfortunately, powdery mildew doesnt disappear on its own. So if you dont treat the disease, your best bet is that itll just stop growing, but it wont go away.
Thisll solely depend on the conditions of your lawn. If the humidity increases and the temperatures become moderate, the fungus will resume its spread.
Once you detect white fungus on your grass, you must take action as soon as possible to avoid damaging your lawn.
Treat The Fungal Pathogen
Though the existing damage to the grass cannot be un-done, a fungicide can stop the blight from spreading further. Informed by the results of the laboratory analysis and visual inspection of the turf, your arborist will recommend a well-timed treatment that will be most effective against the specific fungus in your turf. To keep the disease from returning, they will likely recommend a preventive disease program.
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Fungus On Grass: What It Is And How To Treat It
White fungus on grass is similar to dandruff on the scalp. It looks unpleasant and doesnt go away on its own. If left untreated, it can spread further and infect your whole lawn.
The good news? Powdery mildew is relatively easy to deal with. In this article, well share some effective methods to get rid of powdery mildew. Well also walk you through some preventive measures to stop it from making a return.
Lets get started!
Causes Of Brown Patch
The Rhizoctonia fungus may be present for some time in the soil before it manifests as brown patch disease. The fungus overwinters in the lawn grass or soil beneath in the form of fungal bodies known as sclerotia, and it can survive for years until conditions are right. Rhizoctonia is most likely to cause brown patch during the periods of high temperature and high humidity in mid- to late-summer when night-time temperatures remain above 68 degrees F and daytime temperatures are routinely in the 80s or above. Periods of rainy weather when the air is saturated with moisture also promote the appearance of the disease.
In addition to heat and humidity, the main factors inviting brown patch are excessive nitrogen and irrigation, which means that very lush and green lawns can be susceptible to brown patch. Other causal factors include lack of air movement, poor soil drainage, excessive thatch, and compacted soils, which means that poorly maintained lawns can also be prone to brown patch disease.
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How Do You Detect Red Thread Lawn Disease
Red thread lawn disease is easily identified by its red and pink threads. The development has two stages.
The first stage is called stomata, which involves thin, red, and needle-like strands on the grass blades. This symptom can last up to 2 years.
The next stage involves the growth and spread of the pink and cotton wool-like mycelium. The red thread lawn disease affects only the leaf blades and not the roots, so it does not kill the lawn.
Although it is not a good sight, it will recover after proper maintenance and remedial action.
S To Help Take Control Of Fungal Diseases In Your Lawn:
Did you know? Scalped lawns are more vulnerable to fungal disease.
Wild Horse Turf can help guide you through the process of finding the right variety for your specific growing conditions and climate, so shoot us an email with any questions you might have.
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Red Thread Lawn Disease
The red thread is a common lawn disease that occurs during the late spring to early summer seasons.
It primarily affects cool-season lawns such as Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, Bermuda grass, creeping bentgrass, and perennial ryegrass.
This type is caused by corticoid fungus called Laetisaria Fuciformis.
This fungus lies in the thatch layer and soil which eventually comes out during the spring and autumn seasons, when nitrogen level is low, inadequate fertilization, and drought.
It thrives in a moist environment and with temperatures around 15 to 25 degrees.
How Effective Are Fungicide Treatments
There is no permanent cure for lawn diseases, but some can be controlled or prevented by modern fungicides. In most lawn environments, good horticultural practices can prevent severe fungal attack or long-term problems. Making sure there is sufficient light and airflow across the lawn, reducing thatch levels and reducing compaction will all increase the overall health of the lawn and reduce the risk of diseases developing.
Sports turf and intensively managed grass areas may require a regular fungicide programme to prevent disease outbreak. There are not many products available commercially for the average consumer so you may need to get a gardener or lawn care company involved.
However, considering that many of these diseases will grow out, and given the difficulty of being able to control the environmental conditions that encourage disease flare ups, we wouldnt advise immediately reaching for chemical treatments and instead look at any lawn issues that can be addressed instead.
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Black Spots Lawn Disease
Diplocarpon rosae, popularly known as black spots disease, is a lawn eyesore. It may rarely kill the lawn, but it does weaken the structure and health of your lawn which will eventually die if not treated.
This disease occurs due to the fungal infections called Pythium blight, leaf spots, leaf smut, and slime mold.
It is a common disease during spring when the lawn and soil are continuously wet for 9 hours or more.
How To Treat Lawn Fungus
Choose the Correct Product
Some lawn fungicides are broad spectrum, meaning they can control the spread of many diseases while others are narrow spectrum, meaning they only affect a few disease.
Choosing the right product is where disease identification is important. Using the wrong product for a disease that was misidentified may have no effect on the disease at all.
Carefully read the product label to make sure you are choosing the right fungicide for your needs.
Apply Fungicide
Lawn Fungus can be tricky to cure and may need more than one application of fungicide. Most fungicides can be reapplied every 14 28 days, but be sure to read the product label.
If you apply the same fungicide many times, your lawn can build up a resistance to the active ingredients. Due to this resistance, fungus may appear in your lawn even if you put down a preventative treatment.
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How To Identify Fungal Infection
- Brown Patches or colonies observed
- Powdery or threadlike coatings on a leaf or stem blades
- Dead and rough grass
- Enhanced rings and spots
- Various colors association visible
Now let us see specifics about identifying the patches and the fungus associated with them. We will talk here about the most commonly observed fungus that you can observe easily.
- Brown patches
- Red Thread
