Lawn Fungus Treatment

Lawn fungus is a common problem and a headache for many home owners. It grows in a variety of colours, under varied environmental environmental conditions, and attacks different types of grasses. Knowing how to identify lawn fungus early, before it becomes a major problem, will save both time and money.

Causes and Signs

Lawn fungus materializes as a variety of rings, spots and patches. In the summer it will appear as brown patches, called rhizoctonia blight, which are one to three feet wide and show up during hot weather. If the weather is both hot and humid, the patches may have gray or purple tinged rings around the edge.

Patches can also appear in the winter after the snow melts or during long periods of cold, wet weather. These patches are referred to as grass snow mold and are most often pink or gray.

Pink snow mold, a variety of lawn fungus, produces roughly circular bleached patches up to 60 centimetres in diametre. It may initially look white and mature to a faint pink or salmon color. Pink snow mold can invade the crowns and roots of grass, causing serious injury.

Gray snow mold seen in similar-sized patches as pink snow mold, but in a light gray or white colour. It is unsightly but less serious than pink mold. It rarely damages more than the grass blades and if it has not spread extensively may disappear once the affected lawn has had time to dry thoroughly.

Disease Management

The best way to manage grass snow mold is to prevent it from attacking your lawn in the first place. Be aware of what your grass looks like and don’t ignore the possible signs of disease. It is generally more cost-effective to prevent fungus growth than cure areas where it has become established.

Certain actions may help ward off outbreaks of lawn snow mold. Avoiding excessive nitrogen fertilizers, cleaning up leaves, managing thatch and mowing the lawn until it stops growing are all simple ways to prevent outbreaks of lawn fungus.

Choosing a good fungicide is an effective way to both treat outbreaks of grass snow mold and prevent them from reoccurring at a later date; however, many people nowadays are hesitant to treat their lawn with chemicals due to health and environmental concerns. Thankfully, products are available which both safe and environmentally friendly.

A fungicide like ZeroTol (commercial) or ZeroTol Ready-to-Spray (home & garden) is recommended for curing existing outbreaks of lawn snow mold in addition to other diseases like moss and algae infestations. ZeroTol will leave grass unharmed, killing only what it should. It is highly effective, often producing results in less than 48 hours, yet is non-toxic and produces no run off or residue.

For those who are concerned about the health of their grass or having a picture-perfect lawn, it is imperative to monitor it for signs of disease, prevent outbreaks where possible and treat any emerging diseases quickly and effectively.

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