Do you ever find something like a spider web on the lawn? If you have a turf lawn, I am sure you often see this kind of implication. However, if you think it’s just the spider web by any chance, I need to introduce you to the thing particularly. Anyway, it is pythium blight on the lawn that you see, and it’s a common lawn disease.
Those, who ignore this disease just because of failing to identify the disease, have to suffer a lot because of the unhealthy lawn. It can be a fatal lawn disease if it spreads all over the lawn and weakens the lawn’s disease-resistant capabilities.
However, if you don’t like to fall into the trap of Pythium Blight and wish to identify and cure it as soon as you find it, make sure to spend a few minutes here. Today, we will discuss this disease and share all its information. First, we’ll briefly introduce the disease, and then I’ll tell you about how to identify, cure, and prevent it.
What is Pythium Blight?
Pythium Blight is a very common and dangerous turfgrass disease. Initially, it has a very negative impact on the growth and health of turfgrass. But you may not always find this disease with the name pythium blight. In many areas, it is called by different names, like grease spots, cottony blight, and spot blight. Mostly, it plagues athletic fields, golf courses, and residential landscapes.
Pythium Blight is common in both cool season and warm season grass. This disease attacks the lawn in summer, especially when the humidity and temperature are high. The warm season ranges from late spring to early summer as it needs moderate temperatures to spread and destroy your lawn.
Most often, Pythium Blight attacks cool-season grass, including annual bluegrass, creeping bentgrass, and perennial ryegrass. In addition, grasses such as tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and Bermuda, which are commonly known as the warm season grass, can also get infected by this disease. But in this case, this disease causes a little less havoc.
How to Identify Pythium Blight on the Lawn Grass?
Pythium Blight is considered a less severe disease for your lawn, yet people find it hard to detect in the first phase. It’s because there are many similar diseases, and they need different treatments. So, it is essential to identify Pythium Blight to ensure the right treatment. Here are some common symptoms that might help you to detect this disease.
- Oftentimes, This disease comes into sight as cobwebby, white, mold-like growths of fungus on blades of grass and leaves.
- Patches are common for this disease, and it suddenly propagates on concise notice.
- If this disease attacks the lawn, the turf comes up with dark green color slime and is wet with dew.
- It starts to wilt when the sun goes up and turns brown.
- Even before the grass dies, the infected area dries out.
- Turfs that are suffering from Pythium Blight will start producing fungal infections. So many other fungal diseases like anthracnose on the lawn can appear with Pythium Blight.
- While rubbing the turf grass between your fingers, you will see the surface is a little oily.
Remember that identifying Pythium Blight is essential, especially to find the right ways to cure this disease. So, not just seeing implicating things is enough to find this disease on your lawn. Indeed, you have to examine the place around it.
Common Causes of Pythium Blight on Your Lawn
It is very important to know what actually causes Pythium Blight. The damage takes place during June, July, and August. Once you know the causes, it will be helpful to prevent the disease. However, we’ll take about the preventing ways as well. First, let me share the key points that usually cause this disease to happen.
- If your lawn soil contains poor air circulation and drainage, then it may cause Pythium Blight.
- Lush green fields and high-nitrogen fertility are most prehensile to this disease.
- The temperature is not beneath 20 degrees celsius, and more than 90 percent humidity levels favor this disease’s growth.
- Lawns with high-cut turf are most susceptible to the brown patches caused by Pythium Blight.
- Pythium Blight generally comes up with multiple Pythium diseases, including Pythium Ultimum, Pythium graminicola, Pythium Vanterpoolii, and Pythium Aphanidermaturm.
- If your lawn is over-fertilized and the alkalinity level of the soil is high, low calcium and high nitrogen are the most suitable conditions for the growth of this grass fungus.
So, you have to be careful when choosing the right Fertilizer for your lawn. We suggest testing the lawn soil pH level before you choose the Fertilizer. Also, you should be careful about the summer lawn care schedule, as pythium blight commonly appears in summer.
Ways to Getting Rid of Pythium Blight from the Lawn
To get rid of Pythium Blight, first, you need to detect how much this disease has developed in your lawn. This fungus disease can eventually result in patches of diseased grass. Therefore, choosing a fungicide that will help you get rid of Pythium Blight is important. However, the entire process is critical. So, we divided it into simple steps so that you can understand them easily.
Step 1: Select Fungicide for the Affected Area
First, you must select the right fungicide to kill the fungi that cause pythium blight. You can use Mefenoxam 2AQ, a well-recognized fungicide, to treat Pythium Blight. It has active elements, Mefenoxam, which work effectively and cures Pythium Blight from the outset. However, in place of this fungicide, you can use any product that is able to kill the spore of this disease.
Step 2: Determine the Amount of Fungicide to Use in the Affected Area
Before applying it to the lawn, you need to determine the amount of the fungicide. If you use Mefenoxam 2AQ, you need to check the measurement for every square foot on the bottle of this fungicide. Then you have to measure the affected area. Next, you have to multiply the affected area’s length and width to know the total dimension of the affected area.
Step 3: Mixing the Fungicides with Water
You cannot use this fungicide directly on the lawn. Eventually, if you use any fungicide, you have to mix it with water. However, if you will use Mefenoxam 2AQ, you will need to apply in around o.49 to 0.98 fl. oz. for every thousand square feet. And you need to mix the solution with up to 5 gallons of water.
Step 4: Apply the Fungicides
After measuring and mixing the fungicide with water, you have to take the solution in a sprayer. Then you can spray it on the disease-affected area. In this case, you should follow the instruction properly. If applicable, you can reuse them until the fungi disappear. You can spray this fungicide every ten days until the affected area is fully recovered.
Step 5: Remove the Thatches of the Affected Area
After all the fungi are gone, you need to make a suitable environment for the affected grass to heal. First, you’ll need to destroy the place where Pythium Blight has appeared. This type of fungi normally grows in the layer of thatch. So, you have to remove the affected thatches. No doubt, it will bring the health and lushness of your lawn again.
Step 6: Wipeout the Soil on the Affected Area
Pythium Blight disease-affected areas should be free from foot traffic. Most of the time, the shoes, blades, and tools get wrapped with the soil on the disease-affected area right after aerating. And when the owners use them again, it invites the fungus once again. Therefore, to cure your lawn, you must wipe them off with the necessary herbicides.
These are the ways you can get rid of Pythium Blight from your lawn. You only need the right fungicide and the thatch-removing tool. You can use a dethatcher; if you don’t have one, you can also use a garden fork.
Ways to Prevent Pythium Blight on the Lawn
Preventing this disease from attacking your lawn is the easiest way, instead of curing it with fungicides. And when it takes less effort to prevent it, why do you wait for it to attack your lawn and then try the curing suggestions? Here are some workable preventative actions that will hopefully help you keep your lawn safe from this disease.
1. Soil Drainage
Turf grasses in low-lying areas often consume additional water. And extra moisturized soil brings a risk of getting infected by pythium blight. However, a good soil drainage system manages water supplies and diverts additional water back to the stream. So, there is no chance left for extra moisture that can cause Pythium Blight in the future.
2. Never Water the Lawn Too Much
Especially light watering in the mid hour of the early day ought to nourish the lawn. And you should avoid watering during nighttime and humid weather at all costs. Besides, if you water the lawn too much, it will end up getting extra moisture. And that can welcome the germs of Pythium Blight. So, you should water the lawn moderately.
3. Applying Nitrogen Fertilizer in a Moderate Amount
High nitrogen fertilizers will only make your lawn more prone to Pythium Blight. Applying this in a measured amount during summer heat will help to prevent this fungus disease. So, you should use the right Fertilizer for sure. Testing the lawn soil is the best way for that.
4. Ensures Better Air-Circulation
Increasing air circulation is an effective way to prevent Pythium Blight, and you can do this by pruning shrubs and trees. The process is simple, and it needs a clean surface. Moreover, reducing shade and humidity levels in your lawn are also workable solutions. If the thatch level is thicker, you should reduce it as well.
5. Applying Fungicides Frequently
No wonder this disease is hard to cure if you can not prevent it in the first place. Hence, you can apply fungicides, including ethazole and chloroneb, for 5 to 7 days, maintaining an appropriate timetable. You should use fungicides regularly to save your lawn from many other diseases, like fairy rings on the lawn.
However, the fungicide must be applied as a preventative method, especially where you suspect that the disease might develop. Some other fungicides, such as fosetyl Al and propamocarb, can be used for 10 to 14 days to keep your lawn free from different diseases.
So, these are the easiest ways you can use to prevent Pythium Blight on the lawn. For sure, you should occupy these tips as your regular lawn care schedule. It will help prevent pythium blight and let your lawn have a healthy condition.
FAQ
Q: How long does Pythium Blight take to spread on the lawn?
A: Pythium Blight normally takes one to two days in humid summers to create and spread on your lawn. If the turf grass is moist and there is no sunlight, it can spread more quickly. It appears as a circular spot and in dark-green wetted blades.
Q: From where does Pythium Blight come and attack the lawn?
A: Generally, pythium blight is created from the mycelium of the infected turfgrass foliage. Especially when the leaves are wet during a whole night of rain, the conditions become most suitable to germinate this disease. Then it spreads over a larger circular space and makes the place affected.
Q: What are the effective ingredients to spray on Pythium Blight?
A: Primarily, some store-bought chemicals like Banol and Stressgard work quite effectively to fight Pythium fungus diseases. Some of the home remedies also work on this disease as well. Generally, horticulture vinegar, baking soda, and dish soap water are well-known as the home treatment of Pythium Blight.
Q: Is Pythium Blight a threat to domestic animals?
A: Yes. Pythium insidiosum can lead your horses and dogs into a life-threatening situation. And it is contagious and spreads through water and other mechanical things. Therefore, lawn owners should clean every material that is used regularly in the infected lawn.
Q: What is the best fungicide to destroy Pythium Blight on the lawn?
A: Generally, Oxy-Plus is known as the most effective fungicide to destroy Pythium Blight. You can use this fungicide as it will certainly kill Pythium spores and growth. But this fungicide has some side-effect too. I sometimes kill plants, too, especially when you will overuse them. And it will lose its effectiveness if you add this nutrient solution daily or too often.
Final Verdict
Pythium Blight is not a deadly lawn disease. But it can welcome many other lawn diseases that can be the cause of a dead lawn. So, preventing your lawn from getting affected by Pythium blight is always a good idea instead of waiting for it to grow and then cure.
Honestly, the mentioned prevention tips are essential to prevent many other lawn diseases. You can always remind yourself of the watering factor to save your lawn. Excessive moisture can cause various problems, and Pythium Blight is one of them. Just remind this information, and it will be enough for sure.
Now, let us know if you ever face Pythium Blight on your lawn. Please share with us how you treat the lawn to get rid of it. Also, inform us if your lawn is suffering from any other disease so that we can help you learn about the specific disease and find out a way to save your lawn from it. We’ll wait for your response. Thank you.