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Common Problems
Watering (Drought stress & shallow roots)
Water is essential to all lawns whether that be a domestic household lawn or a manicured bowling green or sports pitch. But too much or too little can harm them. Water your lawn too much wastes a precious resource and sets up the right conditions for disease, weeds, moss & worm casts. Frequent, light watering sets your lawn up for trouble during hot and dry weather due to encouraging shallow roots.
You want deep, infrequent watering that gets down into the root zone. That means at least half an inch twice a week, or one inch a week as a general rule of thumb.
Watering early in the morning is most preferred as this provides the turf adequate time to absorb sufficient moisture and yet leaves adequate time for the turf to dry out during the day, therefore not creating a damp environment which encourages mildew, fungal growth such as Red Thread, moss and weeds.
Always remember to water your lawn evenly ensuring each area receives the same amount of time.
Disease (Fungal growth)
Disease in turfgrasses, as in other plants, develops from an interaction among a susceptible plant, a disease-producing organism (pathogen), and an environment favourable (weather/ground conditioners) for disease development. Susceptible grasses and pathogens (usually fungi) are present in all lawns. Diseases occur when environmental conditions (weather/ground conditions) become favourable for the build of pathogen populations and/or cause an increase in the susceptibility of the plant.
There are a group of turfgrass diseases for nearly every environmental condition that may arise. Some diseases develop during the frigid months of winter under a blanket of snow, whereas others occur only during the hottest and most humid conditions in the spring and summer. Some diseases appear more frequently in wet soils whereas others are triggered by drought and low fertility.
red-thread-disease-300x224Red Thread is the most commonly seen turf disease in domestic lawns and can appear under a variety of weather and ground conditions from heavy snow fall, constant wet weather causing saturated soils to warm and humid weather in the spring and summer.
Early detection and treatment with a fungicide will help control turf diseases in your lawn along with the recommend cultural practises such as regular thatch control through scarification, compaction control through aeration and applying the correct balance of fertilisers.
Pests/Grubs
Grubs such Leatherjackets and chaffer grubs can cause severe damage to turf by feeding on the roots of your lawn causing the turf to die and thin and in severe cases create bare areas. Grubs and insects in your turf also attract larger animals such as badgers, foxes and even birds which will dig up areas of your turf to get to the grubs and insects in the root zone.
Treating your lawn with an appropriate insecticide will help prevent this from happening.
Leaf Damage
Leaf damage on lawns is caused when falling leaves in the autumn are allowed to remain on the lawn surface long enough to cause the grasses underneath to die back through lack of or no light and oxygen, causing thin/bare areas and encouraging disease, weeds, moss & worm cast.
It is important to gently rake off any fallen leaves on your lawn in the autumn on a regular basis.