Unfortunately, it still looks like root rot. It won't hurt to use that systemic fungicide, but it may not save it. Once the bark starts peeling, the cambium layer is damaged, and the tree may not be able to transport food from the roots upward. Did you solve the wetness problem?

No, I don't think I solved anything, but I do think the suggestion of pulling the grass away from the tree is helpful, it was a mat of dead wet grass right up against it and the one side of the trunk base (the north side) had some green algae. I had some copper fungus spray I had just bought and sprayed that on the green and today the green is gone! when I pulled up the grass on the ground I was able to see some of the tree's thick roots so letting it breath a little more will hopefully be good while we head into our rainy season. (it has rained twice today). I

I am not going to put any mulch down now since I am trying to see if letting the ground breath and dry more is helpful plus with it being summer I think trying to get rid of the grass by hand would be a losing battle, I'll keep raking the area trying to get a little more dirt away from the base and then in the winter I can put down newspaper and mulch, just hope we don't have a wet winter like last year.

Trees are often much tougher than we think. It can't hurt to try. I'd drench the area with a systemic fungicide, and keep it clear like you said. As long as it hasn't been girdled it might heal.

Were you able to finally get all of the soil out from around all of the trunk? Part of it still looks buried to me.

Leave the tree alone for a couple of weeks. Don't spray anything on it, don't fertilize it, don't water it - let the rains feed it. Remove another foot of grass, all the way around, and dump a couple of bags of large river rock on the soil.

Agree 110% with Fawny-please don't assume that applying something will do one bit of good-it usually won't. And the types of fungi responsible for crown rot-(Base of tree crown-not the crown that is the upper portion) are not touched by fungicides. Same with heartrot fungi and so on (I know, not what we're discussing here) where so often, peeps be wanting to "spray something" but it's simply impossible to apply a spray and in any way affect these kinds of things. Fungicidal soil drenches are for such maladies as damping off, etc. and are used on tiny seedlings, not large plants. Likewise, foliar fungicide sprays are for foliar diseases and are nearly 100% preventative, not curative.

I do like that you cleared stuff away down at that base though. Good deal.

Maybe I'm just seeing something that I expected, but it appears as though there's weed-wacker damage. That's why you NEVER sod up to the trunk of a tree.

Would something like fosetyl-al help?

No weed wacker damage, I scratched away the soggy bark, and higher on the tree the neighbor cat uses it as a scratching post. I have a weed wacker, but I dont have it strung, so for at least 3 yrs no weed wacker has been near the tree.

I have ants all over the tree so I gotta get them under control, I have ants all over the yard on all kinds of plants and I have several different kinds of ants. I need to get some of that dusty earth stuff. Other ant stuff has not worked well. I have pest control for the house but they dont treat the yard.

The ants are a vector for all types of scale. Amdro will kill some of them, especially the red ants. I use Hot Shot at full strength once a year for the house and hit some of the more scale-prone Crotons with whatever is leftover.