Grass has brown spots on it

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

I just moved to Texas from Wyoming. My lawn is starting to have brown spots on the grass blades. I’m guessing it’s some fungus or disease. What is it and what do I do to stop it.

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Comments (2)

javiwa
5 years ago
Someone also recently posted regarding a possible fungus on their St. Augustine. Check out their pic (and posters' comments/advice) in case this is what you're experiencing. Good luck.
dchall_san_antonio
5 years ago
Generally you stop watering it frequently. Another cause of disease in St Augustine is covering it up with just about anything, letting it sit for a day or two, and then uncovering it. St Augustine needs air to breathe. Here is a pictures I took this weekend of St Augustine sitting on a pallet at a box store (which one doesn't matter, because they are all the same).
This piece of grass had been cut several days ago and sat under other pieces of sod until this happened. Corn meal is the solution for St Augustine. Apply at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet and give it 3 full weeks to work. You will not see any improvement at 2 weeks. By 3 weeks you will have forgotten about it, but the grass will "suddenly" look very good.

Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.
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Large patch is a leaf and stem disease that occurs during warm humid periods. It usually occurs in Zoysia lawns that are over-fertilized with high Nitrogen during periods with frequent evening thunderstorms and night time temperatures over 75 degrees (evening thunderstorms lead to guttation, which gives the pathogen all it needs to spread). If you maintain weekly mowing, avoid watering in the evening, and keep a good balance of nutrients you aren't very likely to see large patch. As far as pet damage, this isn't uncommon, however the damage would have been done during the growing season, and the discoloration would have been very noticeable. Pet damage is similar to a fertilizer spill in that the urine has a high concentration of urea (nitrogen), which draws water from the root and dehydrates the plant very quickly. I am glad to hear that there is a solution, I was not familiar with dog rocks, so I'll have to look up more information to provide to customers with dogs. As for Spring fertilization, most granular pre-emergents use Potash as the dispersing agent. Potash improves the cell turgor in plants, making them more drought tolerant and less susceptible to disease. Don't begin Nitrogen fertilization until the lawn is at least 50% green. Zoysia is a low Nitrogen turf, so during the summer, avoid high Nitrogen fertilizer, especially during hot humid periods. Also, use a slow release fertilizer to avoid a burst of new growth. Too much new growth at one time is often all a pathogen needs to get into the lawn. Here is a link that might be useful: Serenity Lawn Service
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Where do you live? When do you expect frost? KBG takes 2-3 weeks or more to germinate and it is difficult to do in an overseeding as the existing grass will outcompete and shade it. When you mow you would be disturbing ungerminated seed. If you have rye, best to stay with rye. Rye germinates quickly. If you want KBG, plan to renovate (kill everything first and fallow) next July/August (July for killing and fallowing, mid to late August for seeding). It's probably unnessary to aerate and dethatch. Cut low as planned, bagging clippings. A light raking will be helpful. A pre-emergent next spring when the forsythia blooms will help prevent summer weeds.
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This question should be posted on the lawn care forum, not landscape design forum.
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I suggest that you make a solution of water and dish detergent. pour about 2 qts over the yellow area. The grubs, if they are there , and look like a white Cheeto, will rise up to the surface. You may see just a few. This is not an infestation. More than about 1 per sq. ft. is an issue. Try Grub killers
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Grass has brown spots on it

Comments (2)

javiwa

dchall_san_antonio

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