Fungus affects many types of grasses, with St. Augustine and Zoysia grass being no exception. Patches or rings of tan, yellow or brown grass that seem to spread almost always indicate a fungus. Upon further inspection you may notice, with some types of fungus, spots on the grass blades. Other times, blades will uniformly lose color. If you don't treat fungus on your Gainesville lawn program, the disease may take over the entire area, killing it. So decide whether you want to treat it yourself or hire someone else to, and then act very quickly.
What casues fungus and disease in turf? Typically, it's overwatering - whether natural or through your irrigation system. Water sitting in the turf and not drying out gives the fungii a chance to really fester and damage your turf.Management plays the most important part in controlling fungus. Don’t apply excessive nitrogen. Use only enough to maintain a reasonably green and attractive lawn. Water only when the soil is dry and then soak the soil to a depth of 5 to 7 inches. Water between 10 pm and 10 am.
Despite our best management practices brown patch may appear. Sometimes a fungicide may be needed to suppress the fungus growth and protect the grass from attack during periods when conditions favor disease development. If you prefer to do it yourself, below are the steps we recommned to treat the disease. If you want to call a professional lawn company, call 378-LAWN.
Step 1
Rake thesod to remove debris, including loose grass and leaves. Consider all debris you rake up as potentially contaminated with the fungus and seal it in garbage bags (don't throw it on your compost pile). Do the raking either the night before or in the early morning the day of applying the fungicide -- apply the fungicide in the morning or late evening (this gives the moisture some time to evaporate, so sunlight does not burn the grass blades).
Step 2Put on rubber or vinyl gloves. You may also wish to wear a dust mask, especially if you use fungicide granules or are mixing a fungicide powder.
Step 3Prepare the fungicide solution. If you use granules, the best way to apply these is a broadcast spreader -- adjust spreader settings according to the label directions on the fungicide. If you are using a liquid or powder, these often come with a sprayer you simply attach to your garden hose. If not, you'll mix these in a sprayer, according to the label directions.
Step 4Apply the fungicide. When using either a broadcast spreader or a sprayer, cover the entire lawn to spread granules as evenly as possible. When using a sprayer, your arm should be moving constantly so you are fanning the spray over the lawn and not concentrating the fungicide on some areas at the expense of other areas (it's also a very good idea to choose a non-windy day to spray).
Step 5Water the lawn thoroughly, if you've applied fungicide granules. The granules aren't very effective unless they are watered in. Reapply the fungicide as often as the product label indicates (this varies by product). It's important to follow directions with this -- like all fungus, grass fungus can be tough to kill unless you continue using fungicide for as long as the label indicates.
Step 6
Control your Gainesville irrigation to keep it out of your lawn. Fungus is typically caused by overwatering or watering at the wrong time of day. Watering in the evening or late afternoon causes moisture to sit on the grass all night and allowing the bacteria to infect your plants. Step back your watering and change your start times to an early morning schedule if this was the cause.
If these steps do not work or you prefer to use a licensed and trained professional, call us at 378-LAWN (5296) or contact us via our website. We can treat your lawn for fungus as a one-time treatment, or we can get you started on our Lawn Fertilization and Prevenative Program to keep your turf healthy.