Essential Brown Patch Lawn Care Tips
Brown Patch On Warm Season Grasses
Brown patch is a serious turfgrass disease occurring on most lawns. It may be particularly damaging to St. Augustine and Zoysiagrass and will also damage Bahiagrass, Centipede and Bermudagrass. High Temperatures and high humidy conditions will initiate disease problems.
Symptoms
The overall sysmptom on a lawn will usually appear in a circular pattern. Individual leaf blades first appear water soaked then soon dry out withering and turning light brown to straw colored. Infected patches cause the diseased grass to be closely pressed to the soil surface creating a sunken or “pocket” effect.
During humid weather and early morning, a dark grayish-purplish cobweb-like ring may be evident in the border areas of the disease activity, especially if dew is present. St. Augustine grass growing in shady wet areas is especially susceptible to large areas being thinned out by Brown Patch and possibly even killed out in the area.
In less severe cases, only the grass leaf blade may be killed and the lawn area will recover in 2-3 weeks. Bermudagrass recovery oftentimes comes from underground rhizomes (part of the root system) and will give the appearance of a small fairy ring or “doughnut” showing healthy new turf in the center and infected areas along the outer ring.
Brown Patch disease services from year to year and will begin to grow when air temperature reaches 64° F. Infection is slow below 75° F, buy may be very rapid when temperatures reach 80° – 85° F. High humidity and free moisture from rain and/or irrigation will cause rapid disease development.
Control
- Proper Mowing height is critical so turf is not put under unnecessary stress. Mow St. Augustine at 3 inches, Zoysia at 1 1/2 – 2 inches, common bermudagrass at 2 1/2 inches, and Hybrid Bermudagrass at 1 1/2.
2. Do not water the lawn area lightly and frequently as this type of practice will cause disease activity. Water infrequently (usually once a week) and deeply (approximately 1 hour in each area). Allow the turf area to dry completely before rewatering.
3. If excessive thatch exists, removal or core aeration will reduce disease occurrence. Please call your local NaturaLawn® of America franchise office if you suspect a problem.
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At NaturaLawn of America, our environmentally friendly approach to lawn care has been creating green lawns quickly, more naturally, and with fewer weeds since 1987.