Is this red thread in my lawn?
Hey team, I’ve started seeing these pinkish-red stuff all through my lawn over the last week or so, and patches that look a bit bleached from a distance. What is it, and what do I do about it?
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This is red thread, most commonly a result of low nitrogen or a nitrogen imbalance. It's common with people who use fast release fertilisers, which cause spikes and dips. From a distance you'll see circular or irregular patches with a pink or red cast. The pink you're seeing up close is typical for red thread, and as it progresses you'll see more of a thin straw like appearance that people often call red thread scarring.
Red thread mostly shows up when grass is growing slowly, from low temperatures, drought or inadequate fertility. It thrives between 15°C and 24°C, with more than 10 hours a day of foliar wetness over several consecutive days. Make sure you're not watering in the evenings or at night so the canopy can dry out during the day.
The disease rarely kills the crown or roots and usually only affects the leaf tissue. In nearly all situations it can be fixed with a feed of nitrogen. I would move away from fast release fertilisers if you're using them, go with a quality slow release like NZLA All Seasons N+ (depending on the time of year, heading into late autumn the standard NZLA All Seasons is a better choice so you don't push excessive growth).
If you're already running a slow release, worth checking how long it's been since the last application. Our application guide on the website has the timings.
All Seasons alone pushes most red thread cases out in two weeks as the grass outgrows the infection. If you want something faster, NZLA Liquid Boost is a foliar option that picks the lawn up within days.
Fert: https://www.newzealandlawnaddicts.com/product-category/granular-fertiliser/nzla-all-seasons/
Boost: https://www.newzealandlawnaddicts.com/product-category/liquid-fertiliser/nzla-liquid-boost/
@Jonny Hicks Thanks Jonny, I will get some all seasons down and give the liquid boost a go.
@Jonny Hicks In most cases, red thread isn’t bad enough to justify using a fungicide. You’ll occasionally see it get pretty bad on perennial rye in sports turf especially during wet periods. In those situations, a fungicide like Azoxy can help clean it up and reduce the symptoms.