# This is terrible



## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

My lawn that once looks so good it's turning terribly bad. I was told it was fungus so I put a fungicide and it's not working at all. I really need help here I spent a lot of money on the sod. Anyone have any opinions? Thank you very much


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Fungicide only stops damage from spreading, it does not cure what is already damaged. If you have tttf, you can overseed as needed. If you have KBG, fertilize well this fall and it should spread into bare spots.


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

I put a fungicide down but it sure seems like it's spreading more


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## Shindoman (Apr 22, 2018)

Fungicides need to be applied on a regular basis. They usually need damp or wet conditions to survive. What is your watering schedule?


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

I'll check my watering schedule on my app to be sure. But there must be some sort of test to determine that this issue is fungus no?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

First, what fungus and what fungicide? The second floor pictures makes it very hard to id fungus.

Was that center spot a tree before the sod? If not, do an irrigation audit of that spot.


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

g-man said:


> First, what fungus and what fungicide? The second floor pictures makes it very hard to id fungus.
> 
> Was that center spot a tree before the sod? If not, do an irrigation audit of that spot.


What do you mean what fungus? I used a broad spectrum fungicide from the nursery. THat was not a tree.

I don't understand how the lawn turned so bad so quick. a month ago it was beautiful.


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## rookie_in_VA (Sep 27, 2021)

Need close-up photos of the grass blades to help you ID the issues.

Which fungicide did you apply and how many lbs per 1K sq ft of lawn?


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

rookie_in_VA said:


> Need close-up photos of the grass blades to help you ID the issues.
> 
> Which fungicide did you apply and how many lbs per 1K sq ft of lawn?


https://www.homedepot.com/p/BioAdvanced-10-lbs-Granules-Fungus-Control-for-Lawns-701230/202019115


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## rookie_in_VA (Sep 27, 2021)

How many lbs did you put down? How big is the area in sq ft?

Do you water the lawn or does it only get the rain?


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

rookie_in_VA said:


> How many lbs did you put down? How big is the area in sq ft?
> 
> Do you water the lawn or does it only get the rain?


I put thw whole bag down. LAwn is about 50x30'
I've been watering in the early AM about 4 days a week for 45 minutes each time.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

There is no fungicide that will cover all fungus.

You need to do an irrigation audit. Place two straight wall containers. One in the green area and one in the center spot that looks gray/brown. Run the irrigation for 30min and measure the inches of water in each container.

I'm fairly confident that that area is not getting enough water.


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

g-man said:


> There is no fungicide that will cover all fungus.
> 
> You need to do an irrigation audit. Place two straight wall containers. One in the green area and one in the center spot that looks gray/brown. Run the irrigation for 30min and measure the inches of water in each container.
> 
> I'm fairly confident that that area is not getting enough water.


So you think it's dead grass due to lack of water and not a fungus? Thank you


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I think you should an irrigation audit. I don't want to speculate.


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## rookie_in_VA (Sep 27, 2021)

@mstrlucky74 With fungus most often you see some lesions on grass blades. I don't see any on the close-up pictures that you attached.

In addition to the irrigation audit, can you also stick a 6" screwdriver or nail into a few of the yellow spots to check if you hit any debris underneath? One possibility is that those spots dry out because the roots are too short, obstructed by stones or construction debris.


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

rookie_in_VA said:


> @mstrlucky74 With fungus most often you see some lesions on grass blades. I don't see any on the close-up pictures that you attached.
> 
> In addition to the irrigation audit, can you also stick a 6" screwdriver or nail into a few of the yellow spots to check if you hit any debris underneath? One possibility is that those spots dry out because the roots are too short, obstructed by stones or construction debris.


Thank you. And if that's the case or the soil is extremely compact and one can;t get something to penetrate what would one do?


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## MacLawn (Oct 26, 2021)

mstrlucky74 said:


> My lawn that once looks so good it's turning terribly bad. I was told it was fungus so I put a fungicide and it's not working at all. I really need help here I spent a lot of money on the sod. Anyone have any opinions? Thank you very much


 Eh , thats not to bad. The problem is once you see a "nice" lawn any issue stands out now.
My lawn looked its best in years last fall and this spring. When "issues" hit it was almost panic.
Fungus was huge in my area.
Although I reached a point where I no longer could tell , fungus from die off to dormancy from to much to little water, bugs ectect. Seemed to have it all
Fungicide slow future spread. Season should break soon and cooler times are just around the corner. Could be worse


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## MacLawn (Oct 26, 2021)

Here is a spot that got hit with some fungus. The pictures are a week plus apart. I cant seem to find the worst pic but the blades of grass in photo are from this area. This area sees a little water each week about 1/2" . Water restrictions are making it hard to water correctly. 
Its slowly coming back


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## rookie_in_VA (Sep 27, 2021)

mstrlucky74 said:


> rookie_in_VA said:
> 
> 
> > @mstrlucky74 With fungus most often you see some lesions on grass blades. I don't see any on the close-up pictures that you attached.
> ...


One way to deal with it would be to dig up those rocks / debris, fill in with sand, then overseed the spots. Labor intensive, yes, but it would help in the long-term for longer roots to develop and survive brutal summers. Fall is the best time for overseeding and there is a guide for it on the forum.


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## MacLawn (Oct 26, 2021)

mstrlucky74 said:


> rookie_in_VA said:
> 
> 
> > @mstrlucky74 With fungus most often you see some lesions on grass blades. I don't see any on the close-up pictures that you attached.
> ...


Simple step is to aerate
50x30 is only 1500 sqft you could do that with a hand core aerator. This will also help you find spots that are more compact.
My yard is large diversity of soil types and conditions.
Toss in any buried utilities/leaching fields or retention tanks and it becomes a lot of fun.

For Entertainment Purposes only


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

MacLawn said:


> mstrlucky74 said:
> 
> 
> > rookie_in_VA said:
> ...


I just looked up those aerators. Seem like it would take an awful long time since there are only 2 "prongs" on them and you step on it to aerate.

https://www.thespruce.com/best-lawn-aerators-4153550


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

What was the result of the irrigation audit?


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

g-man said:


> What was the result of the irrigation audit?


I haven't done it yet I'm going to do tomorrow.


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## MacLawn (Oct 26, 2021)

mstrlucky74 said:


> MacLawn said:
> 
> 
> > mstrlucky74 said:
> ...


There are all sorts of manual aerators. 
For 1500 sqft maybe one of these SunJo electrics might do? 
It cost me $75 to rent a commercial unit. I do 18k sqft.
1500 sqft should not take long even if your just driving a pick fork in every few inches. 
Maybe see if your neighbors want to fo in on aeration and find a local lawn care company to do them all?


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

Well I penetrated the dirt with some probes in all areas and it went in fairly easily and about a foot may be a little less


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

Ok I did irrigation audit. SO I have rectangular lawn with 3 sprinkler on each side acrodd from each other.

I put one side on 45 min and the other for 30 minutes. I put 2 cup in dead spots and 2 in green spots.

dead spot #1 - .3-.4 inch
dead spot #2 - .3- 4 inch
green spot #1 - ,65-.75 inch
green spot #2 - ,65-.75 inch

I will do more tomorrow. Not sure if the difference in water is enough to cause dead spots.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It likely is. The dead spot is getting half the amount of water.

Can you draw up your irrigation in a piece of paper and take a picture?


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

THe circles are the sprinklers


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Do all 6 turn on at once? Or just a row? Does the water from one row reach the sprinkler across from it?

Do you know what type of sprinkler head?


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

g-man said:


> Do all 6 turn on at once? Or just a row? Does the water from one row reach the sprinkler across from it?
> 
> Do you know what type of sprinkler head?


No, only a row(3) at a time. I only have head to head coverage for the ones in a row. The ones across from each other dont reach each other. If they did then the ones in the row would overshoot. Not sure of tyow of head. Its hunter though. Too early to tell if this is fungus or lack of water?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Based on your description, lack of water.

45min per row and you get 0.3in in the center spot. You will almost need to water every 2 days to keep that area ok.


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

g-man said:


> Based on your description, lack of water.
> 
> 45min per row and you get 0.3in in the center spot. You will almost need to water every 2 days to keep that area ok.


I'm watering 3-4 days a week.
If it happens to be dead grass wiuld thst green up on iits own with proper water?


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

So I'm going to send a few samples out for testing. Attached is their sample testing sheet.
Any suggestions on what I should test for to help identify all these yellow spots? Thanks.


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## EdenMd (7 mo ago)

Bad year for fungus. Dollar Spot and Brown patch are two of the most common. Disease-ex by Scotts is a granular product which has azoxystrobin as the fungicide and is effective against a wide variety of fungal diseases. Fungi can become resistant so you need to alternate so propicanazole is a popular choice and is usually a spray application and works well with a hose end sprayer. You can go with just assuming you have one of the more common fungi and use the common products. Fungi are everywhere waiting for the optimal conditions. High day time temps, night time temps in the 70s, heavy dew formation that hangs around for many hours, wet soil from rains and soils that don't drain well. Some fungi will not kill the grass to the root and the grass will recover when cool weather returns. Others like Pythium will cause root rotting and you will have to reseed the damaged turf. Fungicides can be expensive especially since you need to get ahead of the problem and then be doing applications about every 21 to 28 days over about 3 months a year when the environmental factors are optimal. The fungicides have rates for preventing and for active disease so once you have active disease it will arrest the progress but to totally reverse the damage done is not my experience. I got hit with Pythium this year or at least I believe its pythium affecting betwen 4000 to 5000 sq ft. I'm in the process of learning how to collect samples and where I can send them. Many state cooperative extentions do testing so that might be something to consider if you want confirmation. You can look for mycillium in the early morning that is another way to tell its fungus disease. It is visible when there is dew on the grass and looks like a cotton web like in appearence. I use a cheap moisture meter to determine if I am watering to much or little. I like the ones that are single probe and only do moisture -- you want it to read moist not wet. Mowing height can contribute to fungi development as well. My brother is on Long Island and ran a turf management business for 40 yrs. He says fungus diseases are everywhere on the east cost and is getting worse with climate change.


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

EdenMd said:


> Bad year for fungus. Dollar Spot and Brown patch are two of the most common. Disease-ex by Scotts is a granular product which has azoxystrobin as the fungicide and is effective against a wide variety of fungal diseases. Fungi can become resistant so you need to alternate so propicanazole is a popular choice and is usually a spray application and works well with a hose end sprayer. You can go with just assuming you have one of the more common fungi and use the common products. Fungi are everywhere waiting for the optimal conditions. High day time temps, night time temps in the 70s, heavy dew formation that hangs around for many hours, wet soil from rains and soils that don't drain well. Some fungi will not kill the grass to the root and the grass will recover when cool weather returns. Others like Pythium will cause root rotting and you will have to reseed the damaged turf. Fungicides can be expensive especially since you need to get ahead of the problem and then be doing applications about every 21 to 28 days over about 3 months a year when the environmental factors are optimal. The fungicides have rates for preventing and for active disease so once you have active disease it will arrest the progress but to totally reverse the damage done is not my experience. I got hit with Pythium this year or at least I believe its pythium affecting betwen 4000 to 5000 sq ft. I'm in the process of learning how to collect samples and where I can send them. Many state cooperative extentions do testing so that might be something to consider if you want confirmation. You can look for mycillium in the early morning that is another way to tell its fungus disease. It is visible when there is dew on the grass and looks like a cotton web like in appearence. I use a cheap moisture meter to determine if I am watering to much or little. I like the ones that are single probe and only do moisture -- you want it to read moist not wet. Mowing height can contribute to fungi development as well. My brother is on Long Island and ran a turf management business for 40 yrs. He says fungus diseases are everywhere on the east cost and is getting worse with climate change.


Thank you so much. I do remember this happening last summer but not at all to this extent. The grass did come back green so maybe it is one of those types of fungus. I think I will try another fungicide. Maybe the scotts you mention or a spray application. THanks again.


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## 440mag (Jan 29, 2018)

Hope it's just a matter of irrigation but, if not, start boning up on knowledge and prepare a Plan of Action AHEAD of next Spring!

TLF Fungus ID thread: https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4167

TLF Fungicides Guide thread: https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4042


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## SnootchieBootchies (Mar 23, 2021)

MacLawn said:


> mstrlucky74 said:
> 
> 
> > My lawn that once looks so good it's turning terribly bad. I was told it was fungus so I put a fungicide and it's not working at all. I really need help here I spent a lot of money on the sod. Anyone have any opinions? Thank you very much
> ...


Rough year here. Had fungus in the spring in my back yard, which I got under control. Then came the drought and watering bans. Less than 2 inches of rain from Feb-Aug 22. Hoping the storms this week at least give it a pick me up so I know what I'm dealing with. Abandoned back yard reno plans and just going to overseed and wait till next year.


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

I don't know what to do. I out down scotts diseasex and a fungicide a few weeks later and its getting worse.


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Is it possible you over applied something? In any case, you need to be looking into overseeding asap. Here's the guide to overseeding:
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=6250


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## 7824 (Oct 23, 2019)

Nice screen!

Your issues are brown patch, drought, and on a side note...nutsedge. It also looks like you overapplied something at some point.

The "lawn" across from you is drought stressed also.


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

Virginiagal said:


> Is it possible you over applied something? In any case, you need to be looking into overseeding asap. Here's the guide to overseeding:
> https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=6250


I can overseed in September?


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

Virginiagal said:


> Is it possible you over applied something? In any case, you need to be looking into overseeding asap. Here's the guide to overseeding:
> https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=6250


If I oversed it I'm still not getting rid of the problem


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Yes, seed in September, the sooner the better. Mid to late August would have been better but there is still time if you get it done soon, You will have new grass to fill in the dead spots.


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## mstrlucky74 (Jun 4, 2020)

Virginiagal said:


> Yes, seed in September, the sooner the better. Mid to late August would have been better but there is still time if you get it done soon, You will have new grass to fill in the dead spots.


But whatever cause the dead spots Will happen again correct? Unless identify the problem and correct it


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## Virginiagal (Apr 24, 2017)

Not necessarily. The old grass was stressed by something and checked out. The new grass won't necessarily have those same stressors. Fall weather is conducive to good grass growth.

Another thing you could do is cut pieces of sod to fill in the bad areas.


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