Red thread lawn disease

The wet spring of 2016 has helped keep many lawns across the Antioch-Lake Villa-Gurnee-Waukegan area well watered, growing and green.  However, water can also bring some unwanted issues along with the hydrogen to the lawns across Northern Illinois.   Excessively wet leaf tissue can be a welcome mat for unwanted disease issues as temperature ranges fluctuate.  Lawn diseases need three parts to develop in the lawn.  A susceptible host plant (grass in your lawn), pathogens (spores in the air) and favorable conditions (wet and ideal temperature ranges).  Just like weeds popping up after a favorable rain or temperature change, diseases also pop up quickly in the lawn.  Cool and wet generally lead to the development of dollar spot and red thread while summer patch and pythium prefer the higher temperaures and moisture.

This early summer has brought on cooler and wet conditions leading to the development of red thread on many lawns across the Lake County, IL area.  We have seen several cases of red thread on our lawns in the last week.  Red thread appears as small brown spots or patches in the lawn from a distance.  When looked at up close these spots can be seen as red or bright pink on the tips of the grass blades causing a browning of the leaf from the tips down.  Red thread is a minor leaf tissue lawn disease that can affect the leaf tissue by discoloring it but does not cause long-term damage to the crown or roots of the plant.  It generally grows out of a properly fertilized lawn in a week or two as the leaf tissue grows out and the lawn is mowed.  Often times a delayed mowing event (mowing the lawn too low) exposes this disease and can bring awareness of the disease to an on-looker.

  The first attempts to prevent the disease come from proper mowing and watering, preventing drainage issues in the lawn, removing excessive brush to improve air flow and planting disease resistant grass types.  A pre-planned fungicide application to the lawn is the only way to chemically prevent the development of the disease from a service provider.  This is often not ordered until the disease has developed and therefore only assists in preventing further daamage to the lawn.  If you would like to know more about preventing lawn diseases in your lawn this season please contact us at Lawn Doctor of Antioch today.

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