By Tom Krupicka, Tom's Garden Center
You would think after applying a fall and winter-type food, lime and humates to your lawn this past fall you would have been able forget your lawn until the sun started to shine and temperatures warmed up again in the spring. But Mother Nature threw us a curve during December. Unusually warm weather, mixed with a little bit of moisture, created ideal growing conditions for a fungal infection commonly called Red Thread (Laetisaria fuciformis) which has attacked many lawns in our area.
Red Tread is common in Oregon and Washington and does not usually kill your lawn but it can turn what was a lush green stand into a slimy, brown, muddy mess.
Symptoms of Red Thread can be seen in several ways and can easily be identified and controlled if you know what you are looking for. First the lawn will appear yellow, as if the lawn might be hungry or of low vigor. Next, the tips of the grass blades will give the appearance of a light pink coloration and the grass blades themselves will be very thin and thread-like, thus the name Red Thread. If looked at closely, the infected grass blade will look like a stand of very thin red threads. As the fungus progresses and goes untreated your lawn will have the appearance of brown, water-soaked dead spots that range from 2" in diameter to sometimes 12" and larger. About this time you will be able to see little white globs of fungus spores growing within the infected areas. In the worst case that I have seen, the white globs of fungus spores were as large as a 50-cent piece and numerous throughout the lawn.
The good news is that Red Thread rarely kills a lawn. The fungus lives on the foliage of your lawn and does not attack the root systems, although if left untreated it will definitely destroy the lush green lawn that you work so hard to keep.
There are several ways to avoid Red Thread's attack on your lawn as well as control it if you find your lawn already infested. The easiest ways to prevent Red Thread is to keep your lawn mowed year round and to keep the vigor of your lawn up year round. This means keeping a good fertilization schedule, including fall and winter fertilizers, and to lime your lawn in the spring and fall. Several chemical controls are available: Daconil liquid fungicide, Consan 20 liquid fungicide, and my favorite, Liquid Systemic Fungicide by the Fertilome Company. All of these require several applications to control Red Thread.
There are a couple of very important things about the possible spread of Red Thread I would like you to remember. Red Thread spores can be spread by wind, rain, animals running across your lawn, your shoes and/or boots, and by your lawn mower. Yes, your lawn mower will fling the fungus spores back onto your lawn the very next time you use it, possibly starting the process all over again. The key to any fungal disease is prevention. Use the same fungicide spray you used on the lawn to spray the outside of your rubber boots. Clean the bottom of your mower after every mowing, then spray the underside before putting it away, as well. Remember to read all labels entirely before spraying and to wear protective clothing.
If you are not sure what is attacking your lawn, bring a sample enclosed inside a ziplock plastic bag to Tom's Garden Center for identification. While there, be sure to pick up a free copy of Tom's Garden Center's Yearly Fertilization Schedule.
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