Norfolk Lawn Care
Norfolk Lawn Care
& Fine Turf
Mobile: 07799 411707
Lawn Diseases and Preventing Them
Lawn diseases are almost always a fungus. If the fungus is not correctly identified and treated it will spread and damage your entire lawn. Norfolk Lawn Care can provide an accurate diagnosis to ensure the correct lawn treatment is applied. Some of the more common diseases are listed below.
Red Thread
Red thread is a common cause of patches of dead grass on lawns during wet summers and in autumn. Red thread will rarely kill the grass completely, and the patches will recover with appropriate remedial action.
You may see the following symptoms:
Patches of affected grass with a reddish tinge at first, later becoming light brown or almost bleached in appearance.
Patches vary in size from 7.5cm (3in) to 25cm (10in) in diameter but can be much larger.
Two types of fungal growth may be seen on the patches, particularly under wet or humid conditions. Both are visible to the naked eye. The first takes the form of small, pink, cottony flocks. The second is specific to red thread, and gives the disease its common name. Pinkish-red, gelatinous, thread-like structures are produced on the leaves and may bind them together.
Fusarium A.K.A Pink Snow Mould
Fusarium is often found in fine turf situations, such as bowling greens, but can appear on lawns, particularly after prolonged snow cover. In such instances it may be known as Pink Snow Mould.
Good soil fertility is the key. High levels of nitrogen can increase incidence and this is one reason that Norfolk Lawn Care use Autumn/Winter fertilisers containing low quantities of nitrogen in the spring and autumn periods.
The conditions during which the disease is most vigorous are high humidity, surface wetness alongside cool temperature.
Disease symptoms can appear as small circular patches which first appear as water-soaked spots under 5cm across.
Grass colour will change to orange – brown, moving on to a darker red-brown which sooner or later becomes a tan/straw colour. If the disease goes unnoticed it can start to spread in lines because spores can be spread by mowing. Spots of Fusarium often merge to form larger areas of disfigurement.
After snow cover, the fluffy white mycelium fungus can be found on matted grass leaves and the affected grass looks straw coloured with a pink tinge.
Fairy Rings
Fairy Rings can be common on lawns and rough grass areas generally appearing more or less in circles. There are three types to be aware of.
Fairy Rings - Type 1
These can be identified as a ring of dead turf bordered on the inner and outer edges by fast growing, deep green, healthy looking grass.
This damage occurs because Mycelium on the inside of the ring, drains the nutrients present in the soil, then dies causing the area to become hydrophobic. The soil is depleted of nutritional content and water starving the grass plants.
Fairy Rings - Type 2
Fairy Rings are visible as very dark circles of healthy looking grass. It is rare that excessive damage is caused to the turf but, the presence of fairy rings spoil the uniform look of the lawn.
The ring of enhanced growth is probably due to the release of nitrogenous compounds cause by fungal breakdown of organic matter.
Fairy Rings - Type 3
These have no noticeable effect on the growth of grass itself, but mushrooms and toadstools grow on the surface. These normally appear in the Autumn.
Picking the mushrooms and toadstools before mowing helps prevent the spread of the fruiting bodies.
To deal with your garden diseases, contact us for help where we can
use an Integrated Disease Management Program to help heal and repair your lawn.
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