Lawn tips from Syngenta

Lawn tips from Syngenta

» 30th March 2010 «

Garden owners who take pride in their pristine lawns may be interested in the latest comments from Syngenta.

According to the firm, current conditions are perfect for diseases to thrive and growers should be especially vigilant throughout spring.

Technical manager Dr Simon Watson explained to Horticulture Week that professional turf managers, such as those at golf courses and parks must be particularly careful.

These experts are likely to be cutting the grass more often, but cooler nights can slow healing in the stems and make them susceptible to disease.

He advised a temporary switch to systemic fungicides, which should help avoid contact-only protection being chopped off by mowers.

Gardeners should also check that the blades are sharp and set to the correct height to avoid unnecessary damage to the grass.

Dr Watson added that progressively lowering the cutting height can expose new parts of the leaf to infection each time.

Meanwhile, Horticulture Week has revealed that a Derbyshire garden centre has caused a stir with its "rude" advertising campaign, which includes a billboard encouraging growers to "get forking".