Dr. Phyto

seashore paspalum

Paspalum vaginatum

Diseases & pests on this plant

• dollar spot (lawn disease)Clarireedia jacksonii

  Small, round, straw-coloured sunken spots about the size of a coin (2–6 cm) that can merge into larger bleached patches; individual grass blades show a light tan lesion with a darker reddish-brown band right across the leaf; in early morning dew a fine white cobwebby mycelium can be seen. Most common on fine turf in warm days with cool dewy nights.

• Thatch accumulation (lawn)Lawn thatch accumulation

  The lawn feels soft, spongy and bouncy underfoot, and a thick brown layer of dead stems and roots can be seen between the green leaves and the soil when you part the grass. The turf dries out quickly, water runs off or sits on top, and the grass becomes thin, pale and prone to scalping and disease.

• sheath blightRhizoctonia solani
• Pythium root rotPythium aphanidermatum

  Yellowing + wilting leaves despite wet soil (the diagnostic combination), brown mushy roots when plant is unpotted, foul earthy smell from rotting roots, plant easily pulled from pot with most root system left behind in mix, stem base softening + black at soil line in severe cases.

• Scalping injury (lawn)Lawn scalping injury

  Pale brown, almost bald strips and patches appear immediately after mowing, exposing stems and bare soil where the mower cut into high spots, bumps or slopes. The damage follows the contours of the ground and the mowing pattern, and often shows brown crowns and stubble rather than green leaf.

• Soil compaction (lawn)Lawn soil compaction

  Grass grows thin, weak and pale along paths, gateways, play areas and other heavily walked routes, with hard ground that is difficult to push a fork into. Water puddles on the surface after rain instead of soaking in, and moss and weeds often move into the worn lines.

• Nitrogen deficiency (lawn)Lawn nitrogen deficiency

  The whole lawn fades to a uniform pale green or yellow, oldest leaves first, and grows slowly with little need for mowing. The turf looks thin and lacklustre, clover and weeds (which fix their own nitrogen) often stand out greener than the grass around them.

• European mole cricketGryllotalpa gryllotalpa

  Spongy, raised tunnels just under the surface that make the lawn feel soft and uneven underfoot, very like a mole but smaller and shallower. Grass over the tunnels yellows and dies because the roots are severed; small mounds of loose soil appear, especially after warm rain. At night you may hear a low churring song from the burrows. Damage is worst in light, sandy, moist Mediterranean soils.

• fall armywormSpodoptera frugiperdaEU-notifiable quarantine organism

  Young caterpillars skeletonise leaves and make "windowpane" patches; older ones chew ragged holes and burrow into the whorl, tassel and cobs of maize, leaving copious moist sawdust-like frass; the caterpillar has a pale inverted "Y" on the head and four dark spots in a square on the second-to-last segment. Populations build explosively and "march" between crops.

• Fairy ringMarasmius oreades

  Arcs or complete rings, from under a metre to many metres across, of dark-green, fast-growing grass, often with a band of dead or thinned turf just inside, and small tan mushrooms appearing after rain. In dry weather the ring zone becomes hydrophobic (water-repellent) so the grass there wilts and browns even when surrounding turf is green; a mushroom smell and white fungal threads are found in the thatch and soil.