Turf Diseases

What is a turf disease

The definition of a turf disease is anything that has a negative effect on the health of the grass plant.

There are many different types of fungal diseases that can cause problems in lawns and turf. Most types of lawns and grasses can be infected by disease, although closely mown fine turf is generally more susceptible.

Some turf disease are more active in the winter months, while some are confined to the growing months. They can be encouraged by many things such as high soil moisture, high and low temperatures, incorrect management techniques to name a few.

For a disease to become active in turf 3 main factors must be present for it to infect the grass plant. These are as follows:

• The soil pathogens - These are the fungi or bacteria that is present in the soil that cause the disease. They are often present in the soil or thatch and will become active when the environmental conditions are favourable for a disease out break. The pathogens can also be inherited from other lawns or areas of turf such as playgrounds, parks and sports fields.

• Environmental factors - The climate plays a big part in disease development as factors such as soil temperature and moisture content can often trigger an outbreak of disease. However these are for the most part out of our control.

• The host or grass species - Some grass species are more susceptible to various diseases than others, while some are more resistant to different diseases. For example; Annual meadow grass is very susceptible to Fusarium Patch, Bent grass is susceptible to Take-all patch and Ryegrass and Fescue are susceptible to Red Tread.

Common lawn and turf diseases

The most common diseases in the UK are:

Fusarium Patch

Red Thread

Anthracnose

Take-all Patch

Dollar Spot

Fairy Rings

Dry Patch

Brown patch