FUNGAL DISEASE
What Are Fungal Diseases?
Diseases caused by Mycelium or other fungus that can cause damage to the grass plant. Common diseases like Red Thread and Dollar Spot can be taken care of as long as it's caught early. For the safety of your kids and pets, please keep them away from it until it has been taken care of professionally.
How Do They Develop?
Fungal Diseases can develop in a number of ways involving an oversaturation in the soil. Overwatering, lack of sunlight, heavy rain periods, or still water can create the perfect breeding ground for Mycelium. By checking the moisture level occasionally, you can adjust the watering as needed.
Are Mushrooms Bad?
Naturally growing mushrooms and Fungal Diseases are two completely different things. Mushrooms are actually great for your lawn. They break down organic matter and help improve the quality of your soil. So don't be alarmed if your lawn has any mushrooms, you can let them do their thing.
Red Thread
(Laetisaria fuciformis)
A common fungal disease found in lawns, parks, and athletic fields, causing a reddish-brown tint to the grass. Fungal diseases occur on lawns due to oversaturation in the soil, which can kill the grass if not taken care of quickly.
Appearance
This disease is easy to spot in most cases. Its red strands (called stromata) germinate and spread through the grass, often taking over large areas of the lawn. These patches will often be irregular shapes and can spread quickly.
Signs Of Activity
Red thread thrives in high humidity and is common during the Spring and Fall, also showing up in the Summer during cooler periods. The disease will look discolored and out of place on your lawn. Pink fraying at the top of the grass plant is the most obvious sign of Red Thread disease.
FUNGI FACTS
SOME FUNGI SHOOT SPORES OUT AT 55 MILES PER HOUR.
Dollar Spot
(Sclerotinia homoeocarpa)
The name "Dollar Spot" derives from the silver-dollar sized patches left behind on the lawn. This disease is common and affects golf courses and other closely mowed grass. Most commonly caused by oversaturation and lack of sunlight.
Appearance
Dollar Spot comes in as small circular patches on the grass, combining with other spots to make an irregular looking patch. Areas affected by Dollar Spot have "burn-like" lesions on the center of the plant. It may have mycelium on it, which bares a resemblance to cobwebs.
Signs Of Activity
This disease is also quite easy to spot, but it is often mistaken for things like heat stress or dog damage. Be sure to check the spots for the "burn marks" on the center of the grass plant to confirm that it's Dollar Spot. If you're unsure, call us to have a technician come out and diagnose the problem areas.
FUNGI FACTS
UNDERGROUND MYCELIUM CAN CAUSE "FAIRY RINGS" IN GRASS.
Snow Mold
(Sclerotinia homoeocarpa)
Gray Snow Mold, or Typhula blight, is a fungal disease that occurs during prolonged periods of snow cover. This effects all cool season grasses, sometimes killing the grass plant, but will usually recover if taken care of. Pink Snow Mold, on the other hand, has a difficult time recovering. It does not need snow cover to form, and it spreads quickly making it hard to control.
Appearance
It will appear as small discolored patches on the lawn. Appearing either gray, yellow-green, or pink. The grass in these patches may look matted down and hard. Gray Snow Mold will have tiny, red-brown fungal spots on the grass called sclerotia.
Signs Of Activity
These spots will first be noticed once the snow begins to melt away. Healthy grass will come out of dormancy and begin growing, while the molded grass will stay hard and flat to the ground in irregular patches. These patches range anywhere from a few inches to a couple feet in diameter.