Black Layer: A Symptom - Not the Cause of Anaerobic Soils

When soils become anaerobic (oxygen-free), turf roots “suffocate”, leading to wilting, yellowing, and death of the foliage above. Soil chemistry and structure also becomes damaged from a build-up of toxic materials, the generation of polysaccharide slimes, and sometimes by the development of a black, awful smelling slime known as “black layer”. Because black layer is easy to identify by color and by smell, it receives a great deal of attention. Unfortunately, by the time black layer is detected, low oxygen…