Experiencing lawn fungal diseases is one of the biggest nightmares for homeowners.
Not only is it a massive threat to lawn health, but also a toll on the luscious beauty of your lawn that you’ve worked really hard for.
Whether you’ve witnessed a small brown patch or your lawn has produced mushrooms lately, the chances are high that your lawn is the next target for fungal diseases.
Despite proper lawn care and maintenance, weeds can still manage to get into your lawn and harm the soil.
Therefore, a best practice is to have regular checks on the lawn and target anything that looks abnormal to you.
Once you get the culprit, look for ways to resolve that fungal disease before it spreads out to the entire lawn.
If you’ve encountered symptoms of fungal disease on your lawn, it’s high time you do your share of homework and find the best solution. So, let’s get started.
Common Causes of Lawn Diseases
As said earlier, lawn fungal diseases can wreak havoc on your beautiful, luscious, and healthy lawn, leaving harmful effects. However, there can be different causes that invite weeds to your lawn.
Identifying the right one might take you some time.
Here are the most common causes of lawn fungal disease.
1. Drought conditions
2. Improper and irregular mowing
3. Over and under watering
4. Very high temperature and humidity
5. Using an excessive chemical fertilizer
6. Having compacted soil
7. Overfertilization on the wrong type of grass
8. Lack of nutrients
How To Identify Lawn Diseases And Kill Them?
Fungal diseases can appear in a myriad of different forms on your lawn.
Sometimes there are white, yellow, and brown spots, patches, and rings, while other times, they may ruin all the beauty of your lawn.
During other times they may appear as red fray, threads, and discolored grass blades caused by improper mowing.
Usually, it’s not easy to identify a fungal disease unless it spreads to a large part, becomes visible, and disrupts the growth of grass.
Weather and the type of grass in your lawn also play a significant role in identifying the fungal disease you have.
Below we’ve listed some of the common types of fungal diseases and how to get rid of them.
6 Fungal Diseases Hiding In Your Lawn
1. Brown Patch
As one of the most common fungal diseases, the brown patch is caused by a particular group of fungi species called Rhizoctonia.
Every 1 in 10 lawns has the problem of brown spots, especially in summer when the temperature hits above 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Like other diseases, brown patches also start small but spread across the whole lawn if not treated immediately.
The easiest way to get rid of brown patches is by cleaning, watering, and mowing the lawn regularly with sharp mower blades.
2. Dormant grass
Dormancy is a widespread phenomenon in gardening and a well-known effect of fungal disease. When the grass in your lawn goes dormant, it turns brown and doesn’t turn green unless the favorable condition comes back.
To treat dormant grass, it’s essential to water the lawn regularly and take care of its health.
3. Rust Disease
Rust is another typical lawn fungal disease that results in turning the grass from yellow to orange, disturbing its health and growth.
Usually, rust develops on the lawn between spring and fall as the fungus survives hot temperatures between 68-86 degrees Fahrenheit.
Moreover, a long stay of water on the grass or wet and dampened grass encourages the growth of rust on different types of grass.
4. Thatch
Nothing hurts the beauty of the lawn more than a thatch. It occurs due to compact soil or organic matter like dead grass, leaves, and clippings.
Thatch can badly impact the health of the soil and create a deficiency of oxygen in the lawn.
To treat thatch, it’s best to remove the dead grass by raking and aerating the lawn well to get rid of compact soil.
This also dramatically helps improve the circulation of the lawn and sustain the healthy growth of grass.
5. Red Thread
Red threads are not common in every lawn, but they are one of the most dangerous lawn fungal diseases.
Due to the damaged grass blades, several red threads grow into the lawn along with the grass and spread if not controlled.
Mainly, red thread lawn occurs in the malnourished or unnourished lawn that has been through severe stress.
You can avoid red thread in your lawn by using the right amount of water to nourish the lawn.
Besides, watering less frequently and giving all the essential nutrients to the lawn is equally essential.
Aerating the soil also promotes proper drainage, so water doesn’t stay long and attracts fungus.
6. Dollar Spot
Dollar spot might sound like a funny name for fungal lawn disease, but it can be a severe concern if not solved early.
Dollar spots appear as small lesions on the lawn of approximately one to six inches.
These lesions combine and grow together in a group, forming a spider web shape that affects the neighboring area.
It appears due to the fungus Ophiospharella Korrae and is observed in the cool season.
The best and quickest way to treat dollar spots in the lawn is by applying a quality fungicide so it can kill the fungus from scratch without much affecting the health of the grass.
How To Prevent Fungal Diseases In Your Lawn?
Mowing regularly at the right mowing height is one of the easiest ways to prevent fungal diseases in your lawn.
Not only does it ensure the healthy growth of the lawn but also level the turf, which unquestionably prevents the weeds from entering the lawn.
Cutting the ragged, fraud and dull grass blades is more likely to cause fungal infections on the lawn.
However, mowing with the best lawnmower makes all the difference, so it’s always ideal to use sharp blades while cutting the grass to prevent weeds without using a fungicide.
Conclusion
Above listed are some of the commonly encountered fungal diseases on the lawn. By following the solutions mentioned in this guide, you can be on the safe side and take care of your lawn before the fungus spreads on the entire lawn.
A little bit of hard work can save your lawn from dying, so don’t hesitate to do that.
