# Bermuda fungus? Please help!



## Razorhog (May 6, 2018)

Hi guys, this is my first post. I have a bermudah lawn that I cut at 0.75in with an Allett kenninsgton 6blade reel every five days. I would cut more frequently but growth is not that fast. In my backyard I have these circles appearing everywhere. I only water in the morning and on M/W/F schedule. I have someone that treats the yard for weeds and fertilizer. First application of fertilizer was April 12th 16-4-8. I added Millorganite setting 11 Scott's spreader two weeks later. Any idea what is causing the spots and how I can treat? See pics below. Thanks in advance.


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## jonthepain (May 5, 2018)

https://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/diseases-in-turf/brown-patch-in-turf/
https://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/diseases-in-turf/large-patch-in-turf/
https://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/diseases-in-turf/

These should help you identify what you have and what to do about it. Good luck!


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## Colonel K0rn (Jul 4, 2017)

Welcome to TLF both of you. Glad to have you here. It does appear that you'll need to treat with a fungicide. @jonthepain linked some reference material for those two diseases. If you're being treated for weeds and fert by someone else, 1. learn what they're putting down 2. ask if they can treat for either of these diseases. Depending on the cost, it might be less expensive and more hassle-free to do a pay-per-application for this treatment. Both conditions can be treated with azoxystrobin.


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## jonthepain (May 5, 2018)

Thank you.


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## SGrabs33 (Feb 13, 2017)

@Razorhog Welcome to the forum. Great to have another person from the Triangle on here!

It does look like some sort of fungus damage as @jonthepain mentioned. The best preventative measure would be regular fungal treatments. Right now I think it is best to continue with regular fert apps with water to encourage growth.


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## Razorhog (May 6, 2018)

Thanks guys. The guy treating the yard seems to think the bermudah will out grow the fungus and recommends not treating. I haven't pushed him on that yet. What are your thoughts will it get worse? How long before it would clear up naturally? I plan to aerate this weekend and apply lime and millorganite. Any issues with that. I'll ask about azoxystrobin since it works with both. What is the trade name for this? I've seen brown patch before on my previous fescue lawn but never on this bermudah lawn (3rd yes in house). It's odd but the circles have me coming back to fungus as that is not normal grew up. Thanks for your continued help and support.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

I would guess large patch based on the pics and provided info. Your temps look to be heading Northward to a point which should slow or stop the progression for the Spring. The summer heat will stop it until Fall when night time temps drop into the 60's. That is the best time to apply a fungicide app (or two). Don't apply any fertilizer until warmer temps arrive, and you should try to limit your watering to two days per week at the most. I use Tebuconazole, as is by far the least expensive, but it isn't labeled for residential use. Also, the label has warnings about bermuda sensitivity, but mine has never shown any ill effects.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

May want to evaluate your irrigation. How much water are you applying?


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## Razorhog (May 6, 2018)

Where do I buy these products at? I rather treat now than look at ugly lawn. Makes me sick. I water 3x a week M/w/f. At 6:30 start and 8am start. Run the cycle twice with 15 min zones to reduc runoff. We haven't had rain in 7 -10 days so I've been following this routine. Core samples I pull are dry so I don't think over watering is it. Also it's in full sun.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

@Razorhog domyown.com has Tebuconazole, but the label says not to apply when temps are expected to exceed 85°. You can spray late evening, allow it to stay on the foliage overnight and then water in the morning.

Personally, I would wait as the grass will start recovery when the temps climb.

Your irrigation may not be putting enough water down at one time. 30 minutes runtime could be an inch with high pressure and inefficient sprays, or it could mean .1" with low pressure and mp rotators. You will need to audit and see how much you are applying so you know how long to run the system. My rotors run for well over an hour in the summer, but only have to run every 6 days even at 100+ temps and summer drought. Train your grass now to look deeper for water and it will pay you back in the summer.


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## jonthepain (May 5, 2018)

+1 on watering deeply. Deep roots are critical in summer around here.

An easy way to know how long to run the irrigation to get 1" of water - put out a tupperware container, check the time, and then run the irrigation until there is 1" of water in it. That's how long you need to run it to get 1" of water on the lawn.

Around here, most clients that have success run their irrigation 1", once a week, or 1/2" twice a week if running a whole inch at one time leads to runoff.

Like the other members, if this was turf that I managed, I would treat with the appropriate fungicide by using the NCSU website to identify the particular fungus you have, by checking the leaves etc etc. It's tough to identify without getting up close and personal. That's why I posted all three links, to show that different diseases can look the same from a photo.

If I was stumped, which happens, I would call NCSU and have one of my old profs come out and id it for me. Most land grant universities have turf experts who love to get out into the field and help out homeowners.

I would also not apply fertilizer, especially biosolids, until I got the fungus under control.

That being said, bermudagrass can certainly outgrow just about anything. I have some clients who would prefer to wait it out, and some who can't stand seeing any imperfections, especially disease, and would want me to do something, and now.

You seem like the kind of client that would want to do something, so if I was managing your turf, I would positively identify your disease and treat accordingly. Once we had that problem solved, then we could put down the appropriate fertilizer (maybe GreenTRX, or something with SOP) or even dump some milorganite on it, if that's what you wanted. I sure would want to know if you were putting down anything on top of what I was applying, however.

Hope that helps.


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## Razorhog (May 6, 2018)

Thanks for the feedback. I've reached out to Grady Miller at NCSU pending his response.


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## jonthepain (May 5, 2018)

Cool. I didn't realize that you are in our area. By your screen name I thought Arkansas.

Dr. Miller is a great guy. They are all top of the field at State.


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