

Mowing infected areas has little impact on spreading the disease so collecting clippings during this period is not very beneficial. These threads will break off and act as “seeds” for future outbreaks of the disease. In other words, unless the weather conditions last a long time, the red threads signal the end of its activity. The affected leaves will dry out and turn a bleached straw color.Īfter it has completed its life cycle, the disease produces the red threads or sclerotia. The infection begins as small blighted areas on leaves and rapidly enlarge, covering the entire leaf blade. Red Thread will affect the leaves, leaf sheaths and stems without killing the entire plant, unless the outbreak is severe. Upon closer inspection, the sclerotia are easily visible, appearing like small, red threads protruding out of the grass blades, especially near the tip.

Symptoms are often visible from the street as circular patches of tan or pink grass about 4-8 inches in diameter. What Does Red Thread Lawn Disease Look Like? Most grass activity occurs when temperatures range 65 to 75☏ and during periods of cool, cloudy weather with long periods of evening dew.

Red Thread may develop when temperatures range from 40 to 75☏. Of the two diseases, Red Thread is the more common one seen in home lawns. Pink Patch produces tiny puffs of pink-cottony mycelium that resemble little bits of cotton candy stuck to the grass blades.

Red Thread takes its name from the red thread-like structures called sclerotia that are produced by the fungus. The main difference between the two lawn diseases are the fruiting structures. There is another lawn disease that occurs at the same time and under the same environmental conditions known as Pink Patch. It is most severe on Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass and Tall Fescue. One of the more common late spring to early summer diseases on cool-season grasses is Red Thread lawn disease.
