Red Thread Disease attacks Britain's lawns
It is fairly easy to prevent an outbreak of this lawn disease. The majority of lawns were fertilised in the spring months and now the benefit of that feed is wearing off. Add into the equation that some of the nutrients in the turf grass plants end up in the mower box as grass clippings and you can soon build up a picture as to why the grass may become weak and susceptible to an attack of Red Thread Disease.
The presence of the Red Thread pathogen is
unfortunately within some grass species and purchasing good quality
certified grass seed is important as these are usually the top ten
cultivars for a specie where everyone in the supply chain has tried hard
to improve the rating for 'freedom of Red Thread'.
Red Thread Disease does not kill the turf grass plant but it will kill
affected leaves. The biggest problem is the unsightly post disease
scaring which is not very pleasing on the eye. You will see areas of
about 10cm in diameter that can join together to form larger areas. If
you cannot see the 'Red Threads', then the disease has been and gone
before you noticed it. Some times you will not see the little red
threads poking out of the turf grass leaf, just some pink mycelium
deposits in the crown/middle of the plant. In time, the natural growth
cycle of the grasses will encourage the straw like leaves to fall off to
be replaced hopefully with new green leaves.
The most cost
effective remedy is to notice the signs that the previous fertiliser
application is wearing off and feed the lawn again before you see signs
of this disease. The biggest failing of UK lawns is the fact that they
are often mown too short and not fertilised sufficiently. Both are easy
to remedy and your lawn will thank you for it.
Good healthy desirable turf grasses tend not to get diseased so if your lawn is showing signs of disease, it is quietly telling you that it is hungry - so fertilise it! Simple.....
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