Dr. Phyto

Tufted hair-grass

Deschampsia cespitosa

Diseases & pests on this plant

• crown rust of oatPuccinia coronata

  Bright orange-yellow pustules on leaves with characteristic crown-shaped teliospores in late season, severe infection causes premature leaf death + lodging, kernels do not fill properly leading to shrivelled grain, in epidemic years 50%+ yield loss with poor grain quality.

• pink snow mouldMicrodochium nivale

  Patches of dead seedlings emerging after snowmelt, pinkish-white fluffy mycelium covering plants in cold humid mornings, surviving plants are stunted with brown crown rot.

• ergot of rye + cerealsClaviceps purpurea

  Hard purple-black curved sclerotia (5-30mm long) replacing kernels in cereal heads (very distinctive — looks like a black banana stuck in the head), honeydew (sticky yellow exudate) on flowering heads during infection phase, sclerotia drop to ground at harvest + survive winter, contaminated grain dangerous for human + animal consumption.

• Grey snow mould (Typhula blight)Typhula incarnata

  Circular bleached, straw-grey to silvery patches up to about 30 cm across that appear as snow melts in late winter and early spring. Leaves within the patch are matted and water-soaked, often with a greyish-white fungal felt; the diagnostic clue is tiny hard reddish-brown to dark resting bodies (sclerotia, pinhead-sized) embedded in the dead leaves and crowns. Damage is usually to the foliage only, so affected lawns commonly recover as growth resumes.

• red thread (lawn disease)Laetisaria fuciformis

  Irregular patches of bleached, straw-pink grass from a few cm to ~25 cm across; close up, tiny coral-pink to red gelatinous threads and branching needles bind the dead leaf tips together — the diagnostic sign; in damp weather a faint pink cotton-wool web may show. Grass is killed only at the leaf, not the root, so the lawn recovers.