What is Red Thread and What Causes It? During June and July, we often see the return of warm days followed by cool evenings that can cause the right conditions for red thread to invade your lawn. The warm days and the cool nights with moisture can cause favorable conditions for fungi to grow throughout your lawn. Red thread often appears in lawns that are affected by drought stress, making it vulnerable to disease. How Can I Spot Red Thread? Red thread fungus appears as circular patches, from a few inches to 2 feet in diameter in your lawn. From a distance, these patches may have a tannish-red appearance due to the red color of the fungus growing. When inspecting the grass blades up close, affected areas will be bleached or yellow. What Can It Do to My Lawn? A quickly spreading fungus; red thread can quickly spread throughout your lawn, causing an unsightly appearance. While the fungus will not kill your lawn, it will make it susceptible to other disease and insects, which may permanently damage your lawn. How Can I Get Rid of Red Thread? To help control the spread of Red Thread, a suppressant (fungicide) can be applied to the area but usually is not necessary and it will grow out over a week or two. Red Thread Often Indicates a Deeper Issue A fungicide can suppress the spread of red thread, causing it to grow out naturally. However, the presence of the fungus may in fact indicate a deeper issue with your lawn. Red thread can only grow and thrive when your lawn is experiencing stress brought on by drought like conditions or another issue. Soil testing is recommended in areas that experience multiple cases of red thread to identify deeper problems. Poor or compacted soil often makes it harder for moisture to reach your turfs root zones, leading to drought stress even if watering regularly. A Core Aeration performed once or twice a year can help relieve compressed soil and allow moisture to reach your grass root system
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 19:01:29 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015