TechNotes Tips - 04.18.02

Drechslera (Helmithosporium) leaf spot and melting- out are active on Kentucky bluegrass lawns where rainfall and cool temperatures have occurred this past week. The disease initially appears as small leaf spots (bleached out center with a purple border). This disease can develop to a melting-out stage. The best means for controlling this disease is through the planting of resistant Kentucky bluegrass cultivars and having adequate, but not excessive, amounts of nitrogen present.

For more information on this disease see:

http://www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/plantdisease/g925.htm

In the northern United States lawns feel bumpy when walked across. The bumpiness of the lawns is due to earthworm activity. In lawns, earthworms are considered beneficial because they help break down thatch through the movement of soil into the thatch layer. Thus making for a more conducive environment for microbial breakdown.