Seedling Diseases

A general term that relates to disease attacking a grass seed at different stages.
1. Seed rot, when the seed has not germinated and has rotted away.
2. Pre-emergence damping off, where internal germination has begun, but is not it has then been attacked by disease and dies off.
3. Post-emergence damping off, where young leaves have appeared but are then attacked and killed by a disease.

High humidity, surface moisture, lack of air flow, shade, high seeding rates and a poorly prepared seed bed all contribute to increasing the likelihood of an attack by a seedling disease.