PITIUM
The Pitium is a parasite plant of the family of fungi.The fungi live in the soil and on infected leaves for the whole year, obtaining from the lawn with the nutrients they need.
During the colder periods of the season, the fungi grow slowly and generally do not infect foliage.
Some species cause the roots to rot during the cold periods and rainy.
When the temperatures get hot and humid, the mushrooms develop in a extremely fast resulting in a few hours the infection and discoloration of the lawn.
The Pitium is mainly developed on land a little draining with a pH higher than 7.0 and with a high concentration of nitrogen.
HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE PITIUM
The symptoms of Pitium include:
HOW TO TREAT THE PITIUM
The Pitium is very difficult to treat because it develops quickly.
The best defense is a good lawn care with appropriate techniques that promote healthy growth.
These techniques include:
The symptoms of Pitium include:
- The initial symptoms appear as small spots reddish-brown that vary in size from 3 to 15cm with a structure of viscose or fat, which rapidly increases in size. If the temperature and humidity remain high, the spots may join together and large areas of turf can be infected in a few hours
- During the humid period, which on the first morning, the leaves impregnated with water they sink together and turn into in the matter by the mass of blue-grey or white cotton called mycelium. While the grass dries, the mycelium disappears and the leaves are damaged they start to brown.
HOW TO TREAT THE PITIUM
The Pitium is very difficult to treat because it develops quickly.
The best defense is a good lawn care with appropriate techniques that promote healthy growth.
These techniques include:
- Reduce shaded areas and increase air circulation by pruning the trees that obscure your lawn
- Fix all the drainage problems of the soil in your lawn as this is the primary cause of the spread of the Pitium. A good aeration helps to relieve soil compaction and improve water absorption and air circulation to the root zone
- Make watering rare and abundant making sure that your lawn receives on a weekly the right amount of water
- Avoid watering or mowing during the period in which the disease and active. The spores of the disease can be spread from falciaerba or simply walking across the lawn
- Avoid watering and mowing at night. This causes the leaves to remain wet and create favourable conditions for the spread of the spores. Water early in the morning so that the leaves of the plant to dry at sunset
- Provide the right amount of fertilizer. Too much nitrogen can encourage the development of the Pitium
