If a St.Augustine lawn has developed circular patches of dead, brown areas of turf, then the most likely cause for these brown patches will be a lawn fungus disease called Brown Patch, or Large Patch Fungus.
Brown Patch lawn disease is triggered in a consistent time of year as the weather transitions from Summer to Winter or Winter to Summer (transition seasons of spring and fall).
Brown Patch will be identified by circular browning patches of lawn which will continue to grow in size from the size of a dinner plate up to a few feet in diameter. Multiple circles of Brown Patch are common on St Augustine lawns infected by the disease.
The browning leaf of the Saint Augustine grass will also pull away from the grass stem very easily. On inspection, the lower part of the dead leaf will appear as a rotting dark brown color.
Treating Brown Patch Disease in Saint Augustine Grass
Prevention is the key to stopping all lawn diseases in a Saint Augustine lawn, and many of the same preventative measures which stop Brown Patch from taking hold in a lawn will also be the cure.
Here are the key steps to treating Brown Patch:
- Water only in the morning
- Reduce irrigation as much as possible until the disease is gone
- Stop fertilization until the lawn is recovered
- Apply a lawn fungicide if necessary
Fungicides For Brown Patch
Fungicides are available for Brown Patch lawn disease treatment on St Augustine grass, and should be used if cultural management methods do not control the disease on their own, and as a complementary cure alongside cultural management.
Remember the golden rule of lawn fungicides - they are only ever to be used in conjunction with proper lawn care practices (cultural management practices such as reducing water and fertilization). Otherwise the disease will continue to reoccur under the same conditions or other lawn diseases may take a foothold at a future time.
The lawn must remain strong to help fight and prevent fungal lawn diseases in conjunction with the lawn fungicide. And unless proper lawn care practices are put into place, the Saint Augustine lawn will remain highly susceptible to ongoing infections of Brown Patch and all other lawn diseases.
Prevention of Brown Patch Lawn Disease
Prevention is all about knowing when the disease presents itself most commonly in your lawn, and applying preventative fungicides prior to it showing symptoms. This will greatly reduce or eliminate the brown patch problem in your lawn.
To learn more about our Gainesville, Fl lawn pest control service, visit our website at http://www.themasterslawncare.com