# Weird dying spots in the lawn



## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

I noticed two or three weeks ago some weird spots that were turning brown. The area I noticed this in... is the parking strip between the sidewalk and the road. It also happened to be a very thick area due to the slit seeder dropping a ton of seed here.

The first time I inspected it, it was wet and a little sticky. The blades were kind of laying down. The blades were green, although a lighter green compared to the surrounding area.

Now it's orange/yellow and still sticky. It's kind of matted down. Is this a fungus? This is in an area I didn't water.


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

Let's back up a little. Your profile says TTTF but it looks like there's bluegrass in there. Is it a mix?

Did you spray and herbicide lately in those areas?


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## Budstl (Apr 19, 2017)

Dogs walking by urinating? Just a guess.


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

Check with a screwdriver. We had a boulder at our corner..


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## Redtenchu (Jan 28, 2017)

+1 to the past 3 posts, but my guess would be a Dog.


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

Looking at the pictures, it's very hard to tell but it kind of looks like a different type of grass. The OP indicated it was a little lighter and the blades were laying down, so I'm wondering if it's a small patch of something like bentgrass going brown due to lack of water. Or maybe Bermuda that got sprayed with 2,4D. Or it could very well be rocks, or dogs peeing.


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## lewb (Apr 13, 2017)

Usually you will have a dark green in the same circle with the dead grass with dog piss. Another possibility could be grubs, just need to pull up the turf to see if you have a large population of grubs in that area.


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## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

j4c11 said:


> Let's back up a little. Your profile says TTTF but it looks like there's bluegrass in there. Is it a mix?


Yep, it's a mutt lawn, especially these front parking strips.



j4c11 said:


> Did you spray and herbicide lately in those areas?


No, I only laid down mesotrione.



GrassDaddy said:


> Check with a screwdriver. We had a boulder at our corner..


Screwdriver test came up negative.



lewb said:


> Usually you will have a dark green in the same circle with the dead grass with dog piss. Another possibility could be grubs, just need to pull up the turf to see if you have a large population of grubs in that area.


Would grubs make it sticky though? I thought the blades would dry out if grubs are killing the turf from below.

The dog thing crossed my mind. The first time I noticed it, I touched it and it felt a little wet and thought that I just put my hand in fresh dog piss.


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

kds said:


> No, I only laid down mesotrione.


Ha, that's exactly what I was digging for because mesotrione will kill bentgrass.


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## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

So, an update... those spots did end up somewhat dying, but the healthy grass is spreading into those areas, kind of.

But down at the end of the driveway by the parking pad, the newer grass is starting to develop similar symptoms. The blades are laying down, yellowing, and kind of crusty:



The sidewalk is at the bottom of the image. At the bottom, you can see where I had the previous trouble spots.





And then in what I suspect is a completely separate issue, there is some yellowing going on in the front yard, in healthy grass.





What's going on?


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## DJT (Jul 1, 2017)

check this link out....Ascochyta Leaf Blight of Lawns

https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/ ... chyta.html


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## LIgrass (May 26, 2017)

kds said:


> What's going on?


That's fungus/disease. This pic shows lesions
https://postimg.cc/image/ceqgicve3/

What it is, I don't know. Look into Dollar spot, leaf spot/melting out or Brown Patch. Could be one of those 3 or a combination of multiple diseases.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Besides the likely fungus activity going on, I do think your lawn is too long. A long blade that flops around will retain moisture. Once you add some higher temps you will get a perfect environment to grow fungus. So i think you need a chemical control + a cultural control too.


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

Also, what is your watering schedule?


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## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

Crap, I think that's it for those dead-looking spots. Thanks, DJT. I first noticed this when I mowed after about an entire week of rain every day. Then the next week it was really hot. These spots developed not only at the end of the driveway (pictured), but also in new TTTF around my fence line and around the garden box. I have seen some recovery but I did lose some of the new grass.

I hope it's not too late to recover the rest. It's supposed to be hot this week. I'm already watering that area due to heat stress and it's new grass, should I focus on watering?

The "other" patch in the front yard in the second half does look like it might be leaf spot/melting out or brown patch. It's not a huge area, it's not round, it's not obvious.

Sounds like it's too late for fungicide now for either case.

I'm mowing at about 3" in the front and shorter in the back because dogs.

For watering I'm just hand watering the end of the driveway (first pics in my last post) and then in the back I'm watering for 10 minutes a day three times a week to help the new grass resist the hot weather.


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## DJT (Jul 1, 2017)

KDS
I went from this:










to this:










in one week while I was on vacation......it is coming back


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

My sense is that it is not getting enough water. You should water until a 6" screwdriver easily penetrates the soil all the way to the handle. 10 minutes 3 times a week is not going to cut it, unless your sprinklers put our 1/3" of an inch in 10 minutes.


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## ales_gantar (Apr 13, 2017)

[inserts tuna can test thread]


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## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

I'll check that out.

DJT, are your grass blades laying down too or are they pretty much upright?

The thing that confuses me is the grass blades are laying down. Not sure if it was a combination of Ascochyta plus long blades plus me watering, or if it's something other than Ascochyta.


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## DJT (Jul 1, 2017)

kds said:


> I'll check that out.
> 
> DJT, are your grass blades laying down too or are they pretty much upright?
> 
> The thing that confuses me is the grass blades are laying down. Not sure if it was a combination of Ascochyta plus long blades plus me watering, or if it's something other than Ascochyta.


KDS...they are straight up


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## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

I found the NCSU disease ID tool in another TLF thread, and I came across pythium blight. This seems a lot like what's happening with those yellow matted-down spots at the end of the driveway. It does say there are no symptoms with the root/crown so should I assume it will grow back? What should I do, not water the area?

Damping off may also be a suspect since this has occurred all in areas where it was new turf. There is one area where it was growing really well then it yellowed and matted down like the rest of the spots, but in this spot it's just dirt now.

The yellowing in the front yard might also might be dollar spot based on what I'm seeing/reading on the NCSU site.

Grassing is hard, you guys :-\


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

kds said:


> Grassing is hard, you guys :-\


Tell me about it. :?


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## vanawesome (Jul 17, 2017)

I am having very similar/exactly the same issue in my front yard. Which is Perennial Ryegrass. I'm at the first phase where i am having fairly small patches go yellow and dye. I figured it was probably some sort of fungus so I ordered Propiconazole and will apply. I tried reseeding the spots that have completely died out but I think it's been too hot, as I got some germination, but the seedlings quickly died as well despite regular watering of the areas (3 to 4 times a day with the hose to keep the areas damp)


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## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

vanawesome said:


> I am having very similar/exactly the same issue in my front yard. Which is Perennial Ryegrass. I'm at the first phase where i am having fairly small patches go yellow and dye. I figured it was probably some sort of fungus so I ordered Propiconazole and will apply. I tried reseeding the spots that have completely died out but I think it's been too hot, as I got some germination, but the seedlings quickly died as well despite regular watering of the areas (3 to 4 times a day with the hose to keep the areas damp)


How hot has it been? Perennial ryegrass goes dormant about this time of the year. You definitely won't want to re-seed until fall, since it will be too hot and dry to germinate.


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## vanawesome (Jul 17, 2017)

kds said:


> vanawesome said:
> 
> 
> > I am having very similar/exactly the same issue in my front yard. Which is Perennial Ryegrass. I'm at the first phase where i am having fairly small patches go yellow and dye. I figured it was probably some sort of fungus so I ordered Propiconazole and will apply. I tried reseeding the spots that have completely died out but I think it's been too hot, as I got some germination, but the seedlings quickly died as well despite regular watering of the areas (3 to 4 times a day with the hose to keep the areas damp)
> ...


It's been in the mid-80's Is it possible to keep Rye green through the summer or should i just expect a brown lawn at this point?


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## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

vanawesome said:


> kds said:
> 
> 
> > vanawesome said:
> ...


If you let it go dormant, it will come back in the fall and next spring.


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## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

Just wanted to follow up for anyone that might be checking out this thread. I e-mailed Iowa State Extension and here is what I got back:



> I think you have brown patch along your driveway. It should clear up with a change in weather. If it continues to get worse you can get a fungicide to use on it. If you have an irrigation system I would turn down the run time and that would help slowly clear it up. Next year your turf will be more mature and shouldn't be as succulent to get the disease. The damage should heal in the fall.
> 
> The other spot looks like red thread, again if you can lessen how long the leaf tissue is wet will clear this up. The damage will heal in the fall or with some cooler less humid days. This year has been prefect weather for red thread.


I have reduced watering, so we'll see what happens next. I don't really want to use a fungicide at this time in the season.


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