Lawn diseases: recognizing 13 damage patterns

A beautiful, poet race For many people, a garden is like a well-tended hedge or a garden pond with lively residents. Numerous lawn diseases can cloud the green area with unsightly spots or, in the long term, even lead to the loss of entire sections that have to be re-sown. If the lawn is sick, you need to look at the damage to identify the disease in question and then take measures to treat it.

Lawn diseases from A - Z

Recognize and take action to treat

If your lawn no longer looks appealing and does not improve even after intensive maintenance measures, it could be sick. At first glance, diseases cannot be distinguished from classic deficiency symptoms such as yellow-brown spots or bald spots. On closer inspection, however, the damage picture helps to identify the diseases more precisely in order to be able to take appropriate treatment measures. The big advantage: lawns usually suffer from a manageable number of diseases that are easy to spot. Below is an overview of the typical lawn diseases that are difficult to manage on your lush lawn.

tip: Of course, you shouldn't be surprised if you, your children or pets use it for playing or for sports when the lawn is exhausted. The grasses of a useful turf often look a little drained, but withstand the stress sufficiently.

Lawn diseases from A - D

Anthracnose

This disease appears from spring to autumn, which occurs due to thatch, overload, nutrient deficiency, drought or permanent wetness. In addition to the red-brown spots, the anthracnose can be recognized by outgrowths that resemble thorns and are very noticeable. At first glance, the disease appears like drought damage, and for this reason, many gardeners give too much water. However, you should take the following steps to counteract the anthracnose:

• mow thoroughly
• Increase soil permeability
• absolutely avoid dryness or waterlogging

Avoiding thatch is very important. This can be combated through intensive care of the lawn. After mowing, you should compost the clippings and, apart from this maintenance step, regularly work the lawn area with the rake.

Leaf spot disease

This fungal disease is one of the more harmless lawn diseases and is mainly triggered by poor conditions. Here small spots appear in white or yellow color at 10 ° C to 30 ° C. Above all, waterlogging or mowing too deeply are among the causes of the disease. Regular mowing of a maximum of a third of the length of the stalk, good lawn fertilization and watering are possible measures. Be sure to remove the clippings after mowing to prevent thatch from forming.

Dollar Spot Disease (Sclerotinia homeocarpa)

This disease is similar to snow mold, but only occurs at temperatures above 25 ° C and comparatively cool nights. The reasons for this are usually a lack of nutrients, drought and high stress from humans and animals. The symptoms are:

• Straw-colored spots with a diameter of up to ten centimeters
• when damp, a fungal network forms

Again, you should be on the right one fertilization respect, think highly of. Lawns are very good at surviving dollar patch disease if they are restored to adequate nutrients. The soil here is usually too dry and needs to be regularly supplied with sufficient water. Nevertheless, this should be permeable. If necessary, improve the soil permeability, which is made possible by scarifying or aeration.

Lawn diseases from E - H

Real onemildew

Even powdery mildew is one of the lawn diseases and can be recognized by the typical floury surface. Lawns become sick due to a poor location in the shade, waterlogging or incorrect maintenance. It can occur all year round as long as the temperatures are between 0 ° C and 30 ° C. The only thing that really helps here is to improve the lighting conditions and the soil permeability. Alternatively, you can add shade-resistant species to your lawn.

Fusarium

This fungal disease is known as the summer fusarium, as the typical half-rings made of light-colored stalks are only formed at temperatures above 25 ° C. The cause is either thatch, waterlogging or neglect of maintenance. The worse the infestation, the more reddish or brownish the color of the stalks. Adjust the maintenance of the lawn to get rid of these deficiencies. No worries. Fusarium is one of those lawn diseases that can be treated quite easily.

Witch rings

Witch rings are among the diseases of several types. However, they have one thing in common: all three types of witch rings have hat mushrooms that are clearly visible. The symptoms of each type are as follows:

• 1. Type: rings in dark green, followed by fungus formation and dying grass
• 2. Type: rings in dark green, followed by fungus formation on lush lawns
• 3. Type: mushrooms in rings are formed, lawn is not damaged

The ring-shaped mushrooms are triggered by organic residues in the soil, which decompose and at the same time form a solid network of mushrooms. If it is now dry for a longer period of time, cap mushrooms develop from the fungal network in the soil, which mainly develop on soils with a lot of sand and without nutrients. Water the lawn extensively and remove the fungus by replacing the soil.

Lawn diseases from K - R

Crown rust

This is one of the diseases that is triggered by two different rust fungi:

• Orange rust fungus
• Brown rust fungus

According to the name, the crown rust can be recognized by the spore beds on and between the stalks, which are kept in the corresponding color of the mushroom species. In addition to these, there are also light yellow spots. You have to be especially careful over the summer, as the mushrooms get onto the lawn as spores and spread there. The lawn will recover from mid-autumn if it has not been badly worn by then. High stress and drought stress can also lead to this. The following measures will help fight the rust fungus:

• Rake the lawn thoroughly
• Dispose of raked grass in household waste
• reseed of the bald spots
• mow at regular intervals
• Let the lawn rest
• fertilize effectively

Red tipped

Another disease, called red tipped skin, occurs due to too much moisture and a lack of nitrogen. Laetisaria fuciformis and Corticium fuciforme are the fungi that ensure that your lawn becomes sick and immediately indicate the red tipped skin through characteristic symptoms:

• Culms brownish or straw yellow in color
• Formation of a red fungus lichen
• this resembles antlers in shape

You can fight these fungi particularly effectively if you give a little more nitrogen and reduce this amount from autumn onwards. This prevents the plants from consuming more nitrogen than is necessary and thereby leaching out the soil. It is essential to water sufficiently so that the plants do not suffer from drought stress.

Lawn diseases with S

Slime molds

Slime molds are formed in the same way as witch rings, only the mushrooms stay in the ground. They can only rarely be recognized superficially by drops on the stalks in the following colors:

• violet
• yellow
• orange

A soil exchange and a good supply of nutrients are also recommended here.

Snow mold

Snow mold is a disease caused by the fungus Microdochium nivale. This can be recognized by the following Symptoms:

• brownish spots about three centimeters in diameter
• can reach up to 30 centimeters in diameter
• gray-white to pink-colored fungal network on the edge
• Stains appear slimy and damp

In extreme cases, the spots overlap and thereby cover large areas. Snow mold is triggered by over-fertilization with nitrogen in autumn, waterlogging, or damp layers of leaves, mulch or snow. The necessary temperature is between 0 ° C and 8 ° C, but can even arise at -20 ° C to over 30 ° C, i.e. all year round. As soon as you notice the stains, consider aerating or aerating the lawn scarify. You should also mow at regular intervals, remove the clippings and fertilize with more potassium and less nitrogen towards autumn.

Black-leggedness

The damage pattern of black-leggedness is as follows:

• brown to black roots
• spots about ten centimeters in size
• Spots are yellow, orange, or reddish
• can overlap
• Period: spring to autumn

If you discover spots on the lawn that appear in the colors mentioned above, you should carefully pull some grass out of the earth at the infected areas. Next, check to see if the roots are black or brown. In this case, it is black-leggedness, which is caused by excessively high pH values, lack of nutrients, dryness and waterlogging. Take appropriate measures based on the nature of your lawn. If you want to lower the pH value, preferably below 7.0, the following means are available:

• Oak leaf compost
• Coniferous earth
• Softwood mulch
• Coffee grounds
• sulfur

Lawn diseases with W

Root burn

Root burn is one of the diseases that often occurs in newly laid lawns, as they are heavily polluted in the first few weeks. Root burns can only occur in well-established areas with extremely poor care. Symptoms are bright spots with slimy stalks that can be easily pulled out of the ground. When pulling out, pay attention to the neck of the roots, because they should be dark in color. Here good care of the lawn with sufficient nutrient supply and good irrigation helps. High quality seeds also work well against root burn.

Neck rot

The neck rot is very similar to the snow mold, but the damage is much more pronounced and can affect the entire lawn within a short time. The root neck rot, which is triggered by the pathogen Typhula incarnata, can be recognized by light brown to brown spots with a diameter of up to 50 centimeters.

Even 100 centimeters under layers of snow or permanently damp mulch. These can overlap. The disease strikes especially in autumn or at the beginning of spring at temperatures around 0 ° C. The big difference to the snow mold are the stalks, which are not slimy and damp, but dry like paper. Neck rot is treated the same way as snow mold.

tip: Root neck rot is just one of the names for this disease. It is also listed under the term gray snow mold or typhula rot.