Fend Off These Common Lawn Fungi With A Fungicide Application

In the height of summer, it’s hard to tell what’s causing the brown patches in our lawns. Could it be that turfgrass needs more water? Or could it be something happening on a microscopic level? Today, we’ll explore some of the most common lawn diseases we see here in New Hampshire and how a fungicide application can restore your lawn to health.

Lawn Diseases Treatable With Fungicide

Red Thread

Red thread is interesting because it doesn’t actually hurt or choke the grass blades or roots. It will create red, vine-like growths that resemble antlers. These red antler-like growths will make for a good eyesore and ruin the appearance of your lush, green lawn. It’s produced by the fungus (Laetisaria fuciformis). The appearance of red thread in your lawn could indicate that nutrient levels are low, as this fungus thrives in nutrient-poor, slow-growing turf.

Brown Patch

As the name undoubtedly implies, brown patch is a fungal disease that creates brown spots in your turf grass. It’s caused by the Rhizoctonia fungus. Usually, it won’t show up until the middle of summer when conditions are hot and very dry. These brown patches appear like symmetrical circles, and the grass in the diseased area will have tan irregularly shaped lesions. It can also manifest as white mycelium. It can be tricky to diagnose at first. When it first appears, you might think that you just need to water more or increase your fertilizer levels. If you suspect you have brown patch on your lawn, don’t hesitate to give us a call. The experts at Alliance Landscaping are trained to identify the problem and get your lawn on the path to recovery.

Dollar Spot

Like brown patch, dollar spot creates circular areas in your lawn that look like white lesions on the blades of your turf grass. These white spots are roughly the size of a silver dollar coin, which is where the name is derived. A brown border will often surround the white spots. Individual blades of grass may have one large lesion or many lesions. In more advanced cases, the entire blade may appear brown and straw-like. As the fungal infection progresses, the infected area will appear sunken. As the dollar spots expand, they will coalesce to form larger blighted patches.

Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is so named because when it infects your lawn, it will seem as if someone has dumped baby powder or flour across your lawn. These are actually the fungus spores. Powdery mildew likes areas that get less sun and manifests on the leaves and leaf sheaths. When the leaves of your grass are infected, they will begin to yellow and eventually die off. Grass that does manage to survive will be weakened. Thankfully, fungicide for powdery mildew is something we treat your lawn with as part of our fungicide control application.

Summer Patch

This highly destructive fungus creates wilted grass with irregularly shaped straw-colored patches that will expand over the summer if left untreated. Summer patch kills the grass by destroying the root system. It can actually survive in plant debris, and it can spread undetected until the damage is severe. As the turf grass roots are destroyed, they will lose the ability to absorb water and nutrients. Effectively, it will starve your plants to death. As the patches grow larger, the edges might be a bronze color. If you look closely, you’ll see that the infection starts at the tips of the grass blades.

Fusarium Blight

Fusarium blight first appears as small, circular, grayish-green areas. They could be just a few inches across or up to a foot. In some cases, grass in the center of the circles may survive, giving the patches a donut appearance. The crown area of the dead blades will appear reddish and hard. You might notice a layer of pink fungus if you examine the soil line. The fungus can even survive in the thatch layer of your lawn. That means, if you haven’t dethatched your lawn recently, it could use this thatch layer as a germ highway to spread to all parts of your lawn fast. 

Find Professional Lawn Care Near Concord, NH

Don’t let microbes ruin the look of your lawn! The experts at Alliance Landscaping have helped New Hampshire homeowners with fungal problems in their lawns for over 20 years. Our fungicide application for lawns removes many common problems like the ones listed above and many more. If you’ve got a fungal issue in your turf grass, or think you might have one, give us a call at (603) 704-4230 or leave us a message online. We’re happy to answer your questions and discuss your concerns. You can also connect with us through our monthly blog, where we post articles about other lawn care and pest control topics.

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