Red Thread Alert!

Red Thread Alert! An increase in humidity will bring about an outbreak on most lawns this July. The rains and warm...

Red Thread Alert!

An increase in humidity will bring about an outbreak on most lawns this July. The rains and warm weather of June have created ideal conditions…

Of all the grass diseases ‘Red Thread’ lawn fungus is the most common.
The disease causes the grass leaf to die often giving the lawn a blotchy, brownish appearance. Whilst the disease is active the blotches will have a pink colouration and on closer inspection you will see 2mm long pink threads or needles. Which is why we have out out a Red Thread Alert.

The Red Thread fungus seriously disfigures lawns in the right conditions. Recent heavy rain combined with warmer weather raises humidity levels making conditions for the fungus ideal. Red Thread is already active on most lawns and any additional rainfall will increase the severity of the attack.

So what can be done?

  • Fertiliser is the main form of defence. This helps by promoting growth so that fungal damage gets mown out relatively quickly.
  • If you have received a fertilisation recently then the signs of Red Thread should be significantly reduced. We will be applying our next fertiliser treatment (R3) at the highest recommended rate.
  • For particularly bad outbreaks we will recommend and apply a specialist fungicide treatment.

Once the disease has ceased being active, we do recommend aeration and even scarification in the Autumn to improve drainage and to remove excess thatch that can harbour fungal spores. For Further information on this please visit our website or click the links above.

 

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