# Fungus or Heat Stress ?



## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

Cool season (Canada).

Was very humid with mid to high 80s for 4 weeks straight. Yesterday was the first rain we got in 4 weeks and got about 1/4 inch. I had been irrigating every 4 days, about an hour per zone (30 min cycle twice). I though that was adequate but now I'm left wondering if that was too much or not enough. I can't tell at this point if I've got drought stress or fungus or maybe it's both. Lots of mushrooms not sure if that is relevant. My yard is full sun from 10am until sun down.

Here is what I've applied thus far this year and I've attached my soil test also that was done in May.



April 30th 
Spread 35-0-5 5% iron @1bs per 1000

May 6th
Sprayed Par 3 herb (2-4d Dicamba MecaP)

May 17th 
Slit seeding completed

May 23rd 
Sprayed humic and kelp

June 2nd 
Spread 4-4-0 biosolid fert @.5lbs per 1000
Spread 10-10-10 @.25lbs per 1000

June 21st 
Sprayed humic and kelp

June 28th 
Sprayed Iron Max 9% cheated iron @4oz/1000sq


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Looks like heat stress to me. You need to get on those rain gauges or tuna cans!


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

What did you seed with I think I see alot of fine fescue that doesn't take heat well at all


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

M32075 said:


> What did you seed with I think I see alot of fine fescue that doesn't take heat well at all


GreenXtreme contains:
80% No Net Turf-Type Tall Fescue
20% CSI Turf-Type Perennial Ryegrass


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

@Cancop1 As you suggested, you may have drought induced fungus. At your CEC of 17, you can water 2 times a week deeper, 0.7''. Reduce fungus pressure, but still get enough water down.


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## KBfromLINY (Jul 26, 2019)

I'm getting the same exact issue on my tall fescue. Being that I put fungicide down twice in 3 months, fertilized, used humic 3x, lime in the fall, and a soil conditioner im leaning towards irrigation. I even cut out a piece of soil in the affected area and there's were no grubs and the soil looked pretty healthy. It must be a drought issue, for me at least.


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## SantiCazorla (Sep 2, 2018)

Another vote for sprinkler coverage. In your fourth pic, the one of the side yard, is there a sprinkler head located in the middle of the green patch surrounded by the brown grass along the driveway?


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

SantiCazorla said:


> Another vote for sprinkler coverage. In your fourth pic, the one of the side yard, is there a sprinkler head located in the middle of the green patch surrounded by the brown grass along the driveway?


Yes there is. In addition after running some tests I noticed that the brown spots surrounding the green are not getting good coverage and noted that I have the wrong size nozzles in the other 6 heads in that zone. I upgraded the nozzles and will see what occurrs. Furthermore, in the 2nd last picture, if you look at the 2 green utility boxes. I have 1 sprinkler that butts up against the lighter green tall box. Then there is a sprinkler at the corner by the road and another in the center of the yard about 10 feet diagonally from the tree towards the house. The two sprinklers both at the corner and beside the green box do not adequately cover the large Brown patch that is in front of the square green box and the tree blocks the center sprinklers coverage from also hitting this area. So what I'm going to do is setup an additional sprinkler to my hose and place it between the 2 boxes and ensure it covers that area and see what occurrs.


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

Babameca said:


> @Cancop1 As you suggested, you may have drought induced fungus. At your CEC of 17, you can water 2 times a week deeper, 0.7''. Reduce fungus pressure, but still get enough water down.


@Babameca

What does CEC stand for?


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

Also my other concern for Fungus over Hest stress is I'm getting these things popping up in areas.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Those look like spider webs.


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

@Cancop1 
http://nmsp.cals.cornell.edu/publications/factsheets/factsheet22.pdf


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

Harts said:


> Those look like spider webs.


Lol def not spider webs


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

Babameca said:


> @Cancop1
> http://nmsp.cals.cornell.edu/publications/factsheets/factsheet22.pdf


 :? I think I got most of that. Is this relevant to susceptibility of fungus ?


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

@Cancop1 Most of what? No, CEC and soil strucure define your nutrients and water holdin capacity.
The higher the CEC the more of each your soil can hold, but the longer it takes to saturate it.
I was refering to your water practices. With higher CEC, you can water longer, but less frequently, allowing the grass canopy to stay dryer longer, which helps with fungus suppression.


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

Babameca said:


> @Cancop1 Most of what? No, CEC and soil strucure define your nutrients and water holdin capacity.
> The higher the CEC the more of each your soil can hold, but the longer it takes to saturate it.
> I was refering to your water practices. With higher CEC, you can water longer, but less frequently, allowing the grass canopy to stay dryer longer, which helps with fungus suppression.


Ok I understand now. With that in mind, i guess its possible that I've over watered. Over 4 weeks of 85-90 degrees, full sun and no rain

This was my log during that time

Friday June 12th= .25 inches rain 
Monday June 15th= 25 mins x2 (per zone)
Thursday June 18th= 30mins x2 (per zone)
Sunday June 21st= 30 mins x2 (per zone)
Wednesday June 24th= 30 mins x2 (per)
Saturday June 27th= 30 mins x2 (per zone)
Wednesday July 1st= 20 mins x2 (per zone)

Sunday july 5th is when I returned to find this discolored turf.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Cancop1 said:


> Harts said:
> 
> 
> > Those look like spider webs.
> ...


I'm going off other users who posted the exact same thing. Also based off these pictures. @g-man can you chime in on this, please?

For reference, @Cancop1 found this in his lawn:




These are photos I have pulled from other posts for mycelium:


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@Cancop1 those are spiderwebs.

@Babameca CEC does have a relationship with water holding capacity, but not always. There are areas with clay soils with low CEC.


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

g-man said:


> @Cancop1 those are spiderwebs.


@g-man upon further review you are 100% correct!

Based on the photos at the beginning of this thread, and the other data I've presented, i.e. water log etc, are you able to weigh in whether you feel this is fungus or heat stress?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

The water log doesnt tell how much water you applied. 25min x2 can be 0.2in of irrigation or 2in.


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

g-man said:


> The water log doesnt tell how much water you applied. 25min x2 can be 0.2in of irrigation or 2in.


When I did a tuna can test the cans all varied but averaged 1/8 of an inch in a 15 min period. This is why I went 2 cycles of 30 minutes, giving me presumably .25 inch of water each cycle and .5 each watering day. Now, whether i did the test correctly or not is another question.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

You should not use the average. You should use the least amount or adjust the system to get you even distribution. If you use the average, the worst spot gets less than ideal amount of water.

You also seem to have fine fescue. In my experience, there is no amount of water to keep the thin blades from fine fescue to go brown once the sun/heat shows up.


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

g-man said:


> You should not use the average. You should use the least amount or adjust the system to get you even distribution. If you use the average, the worst spot gets less than ideal amount of water.
> 
> You also seem to have fine fescue. In my experience, there is no amount of water to keep the thin blades from fine fescue to go brown once the sun/heat shows up.


Yes there is definitely creeping red and chewings fescues in my blend.


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## Doug E Dee (Oct 19, 2017)

Maybe go stick a trowel into those areas and check for moisture?


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## M32075 (May 9, 2019)

g-man said:


> You should not use the average. You should use the least amount or adjust the system to get you even distribution. If you use the average, the worst spot gets less than ideal amount of water.
> 
> You also seem to have fine fescue. In my experience, there is no amount of water to keep the thin blades from fine fescue to go brown once the sun/heat shows up.


I agree I definitely see fine fescue that won't look good to the fall.


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

M32075 said:


> g-man said:
> 
> 
> > You should not use the average. You should use the least amount or adjust the system to get you even distribution. If you use the average, the worst spot gets less than ideal amount of water.
> ...


Any way to get rid of it? Here are some updated photos after 2 days of hard rain.


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)




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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Cancop1 said:


> Any way to get rid of it? Here are some updated photos after 2 days of hard rain.


Yes. Round up.


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

g-man said:


> Cancop1 said:
> 
> 
> > Any way to get rid of it? Here are some updated photos after 2 days of hard rain.
> ...


Sorry I meant is there anyway to eradicate the stuff that's already dead/ dormant and seemingly ain't coming back ? Dethatch? Power rake ? Low mow ? I dont think I can handle that reddish brownish tinge until september


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I think you first need to fix the watering problem. I can see the sprinklers pattern. Then maybe some nitrogen to encourage new growth.


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

g-man said:


> I think you first need to fix the watering problem. I can see the sprinklers pattern. Then maybe some nitrogen to encourage new growth.


I laid this on Tuesday night before the rain Wednesday. 


As for the watering, I've added a sprinkler with a #4 nozel, between the two utility boxes and it covers that whole area between the tree and the boxes. This weekend I'll do another tuna can test for all zones and dial it all in.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

The options are to deal with dormant grass that will eventually wake and green up, or get rid of it and deal with bare patches until you can re-seed which is still 4-6 weeks away.

The truth is your lawn still looks significantly better than any of your neighbours.


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

Harts said:


> The options are to deal with dormant grass that will eventually wake and green up, or get rid of it and deal with bare patches until you can re-seed which is still 4-6 weeks away.
> 
> The truth is your lawn still looks significantly better than any of your neighbours.


Good point. Btw I owe you an apology on the spider webs 😆


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

Cancop1 said:


> Harts said:
> 
> 
> > The options are to deal with dormant grass that will eventually wake and green up, or get rid of it and deal with bare patches until you can re-seed which is still 4-6 weeks away.
> ...


No worries man. Truth is I always used to think that was fungus when I saw it in my lawn. That's why we're here!


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## Cancop1 (Mar 24, 2019)

Thank you everyone for the help. Moral of the story, stop putting fine Fescue into my lawn !


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