Did you know lawn is vulnerable to disease and that lawn disease varies from the super obvious to the almost impossible to detect? If you’re concerned your lawn is affected by disease, we’ve put together a handy guide to the most common lawn diseases found here in Australia. See our informative excerpts from Lawn Solutions Australia’s ‘Loving Your Lawn Guide’.
First the good news: by selecting a lawn variety that is suitable for your environment and conditions, keeping it well maintained, and knowing what symptoms to look for and in what conditions they’re likely to be seen, the chance of lawn diseases will be significantly reduced!
So here’s a guide from Lawn Solutions Australia on some of the most common lawn diseases...
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Athracnose
Affects: Wintergrass, Bentgrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, RTF Fescue, Nullarbor Couch Description: A fungal disease likely to strike during warm, humid conditions. Infected areas are reddish/brown turning to yellow and light brown and occur in patches. Control: Spray with Mancozeb fungicide. |
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Fusarium Patch
Description: A fungal disease occurring in warm and wet conditions. Warm/brown patches appear in the lawn. Control: Remove thatch and use a balanced, high nitrogen fertiliser. Avoid late afternoon/early evening watering. Treat with Mancozeb fungicide. |
Brown Patch
Affects: Wintergrass, Nullarbor Couch, Bentgrass, RTF Fescue, Kentucky Bluegrass, Ryegrass, DNA Certified Sir Walter Buffalo Description: A fungal disease found in warm, wet conditions which produces brown, circular patches ranging in size from very small up to a few metres in diameter. The patches are sometimes surrounded by a grey, smoky outer ring, or sometimes just this outer ring surrounds green grass in the middle. This ring is caused by mycelium fungus. Leaf blades have thin brown edges and yellow spots and lesions. Control: Avoid evening watering. Remove thatch and use moderate amounts of a balanced fertiliser. Treat with Mancozeb fungicide. |
Fairy Ring Affects: All turf species Description: There are three types of this fungal disease that can kill or badly damage the lawn, usually in circular patterns or arcs containing mushrooms and puff balls, dead, wilted or dark green, stimulated grass. What mycelium fungus may also be present. More prevalent in lawns with low nutrients and low moisture. Control: Keeping your lawn healthy and well maintained is crucial. At the time of writing there was no effective fungicide available, but fairy ring will eventually go away. Removing all of the affected soil is a possible option. |
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Powdery Mildew Description: Fungal disease, where the leaves are covered in a white powder. Control: Treat with fungicide. |
Pythium / Drop Off Affects: Cool season grasses Description: Fungal disease occurring in hot, humid conditions where poor drainage and air circulation are an issue. Brown, dead patches become larger very quickly. Control: Improve drainage and air circulation. Treat with fungicide. |
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Dollar Spot
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Red Thread Affects: Cool season grasses Description: A fungal disease that often occurs during humid conditions, usually warm to hot. The first signs of this disease are small yellow/brown patches with small red threads or needles and pink soft mycelium fluff. The disease spreads to form larger areas. Small water soaked patches in spring are another symptom. This disease is common in lawns low in nitrogen. Control: Use a nitrogen based fungicide that is specifically for use on red thread. Then apply a nitrogen based fertiliser. |
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Source with thanks: Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA)'s 'Loving Your Lawn: Your Guide to the Perfect Aussie Lawn'.
For more amazing lawn care tips from Lawn Solutions Australia’s ‘Loving Your Lawn – Guide to the Perfect Aussie Lawn’, plus your essential winter lawn products, get our Winter Package offer below:
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