Leaf Blight

Leaf blight is very common in the UK but will only occasionally cause serious damage.

The affected area is slightly yellow or brown and on close examination the leaves have yellow, brown or red spots on them. The grass will also appear thin. It is most prevalent under warm, humid conditions.

This disease is caused by fungi that attack and kill the leaves of lawn turf.

In general, leaf blight does not kill the entire grass plant, and once the disease stops developing, the lawn turf will recover.

However, when wet weather persists for weeks at a time and your lawn turf is under fertilised, leaf blight can become so severe that it can kill your lawn turf.

The methods used to control leaf blight are quite simple:

• Keep your lawn turf fertilised properly. Too little or too much fertiliser will increase the severity of leaf diseases.
• Mow your lawn properly. As the turf grows tall, it stays wet longer during the day, and this allows leaf blight to develop.
• Water your lawn properly. If you irrigate your lawn turf, do it during the morning or early afternoon. This will give the lawn turf enough time to dry off before the night.

There are fungicides approved for use to control leaf blight. Fungicides should only be used after the other suggested methods for controlling leaf blight have failed to produce satisfactory results.