Symptoms and Signs Disease Cycle

These common leaf spot diseases encountered in New York are most destructive during cold, wet, overcast weather such as occurs during spring and fall. They are also common where turf is sprinkled with water frequently. Leaf spot fungi cause gradual browning and thinning or melting-out of grasses and, if severe, the entire turf plant may be lost. Crown and root rotting often follow leaf-spotting as the season progresses and temperatures rise. Diseases caused by the species of Drechslera and Bipolaris were formerly grouped together as Helminthosporium leaf spot, crown rot, and root rot. Now, however, they have been segregated into several genera. Many species of Drechslera cause what is known today as Drechslera leaf spot, crow