Red thread extends to fertile turf
Volume 1, Issue 3 - August 2007
With the recent warm, wet weather, red thread is now widespread on many grassed areas.
Click here for GreenCast details of red thread
Red thread is most common on low nutrition areas such as golf fairways, lawns and parkland. However, more recently it has been affecting areas normally considered to have sufficient fertility - such as football pitches, golf greens and bowling greens.
Close inspection pf suspected red threat infection will reveal pale pink to red needle or horn-like outgrowths. Pink flocks of mycelium (resembling candyfloss) may also be present in conducive conditions. |
As red thread is traditionally associated with low fertility situations, the most common recommendation for control is an application of 8.0.0 (N.P.K) fertiliser.
With so much rain through June and July, it is possible that swards are suffering from lower fertility than would be expected, due to previous fertiliser applications quickly being leached through the rootzone. This would be especially true in sand dominated rootzones. The addition of an extra fertiliser application may be sufficient to suppress the attack.
Symptoms of red thread create small, mostly circular, patches of dead leaves interspersed with live plants. |
However, red thread infections have been increasingly occurring in areas considered to have sufficient fertility. It is possible that L. fuciformis is adapting to the surrounding conditions and becoming more aggressive. In this situation, especially if the grass sward is thinning, Daconil Turf should be applied to control the outbreak.