# Kentucky Black Grass??



## AndyS (Jun 13, 2020)

My neighborhood is beset with disease right now, but thanks to azoxy and propi my main yard is fending off the invaders.

The exception is the little triangle of hell strip between ours and the neighbors.

They have every issue known to man, but up until now I've survived OK. Now that little patch of turf is black… and I mean visually looks like charcoal dust has been poured on it.

Closer inspection shows die-off and a blackening that starts at the tips for the rest of the blades.

Diagnosis? Solution? Should I 'wash' it in detergent? Wash it in propi? Burn it?


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

Did you apply any foliar iron to that area? Do you use plant growth regulator?


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## AndyS (Jun 13, 2020)

No PRG and very little iron in the last month or so. The only patch that's like this is this little tree lawn patch between the two driveways. Definitely a bunch of die-off in this area, so whatever it is ultimately kills the grass plant.


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## LeeB (Jul 1, 2019)

Smut?

If you usually have trouble in that one spot you may want to do a soil test, being next to a driveway you could have problems with salts or pH that cause the grass to be more susceptible to diseases.


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## AndyS (Jun 13, 2020)

LeeB said:


> Smut?
> 
> If you usually have trouble in that one spot you may want to do a soil test, being next to a driveway you could have problems with salts or pH that cause the grass to be more susceptible to diseases.


Interesting - never heard of smut. I mean, I have... but not as a lawn disease :nod:

My guess is that little island of grass is sitting in 50% clay and 50% rocks given what I've seen coming out of the rest of the tree lawn. That's probably a factor.

I'll try to give it another propi bath to see if that helps. It's hard to get granular azoxy to cove that spot well, because it's just a 3x2 patch.


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

If it does have rocks under the soil that could very well be the issue. Possibly heating up and frying the roots of the grass.


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## AndyS (Jun 13, 2020)

SNOWBOB11 said:


> If it does have rocks under the soil that could very well be the issue. Possibly heating up and frying the roots of the grass.


That's a good point. It's a very small area and is completely surrounded by concrete. It's probably a fairly hostile environment for my poor KBG.


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## LeeB (Jul 1, 2019)

One thing you can try for difficult spots is Miracle-Gro. Buy the regular formula, mix one big scoop with a gallon or two, and give it a good drenching (don't go overboard) with the sprayer once a week until it looks good. If that doesn't work then it's either water or bad soil under that needs fixing. Builders slap sod over rocks, concrete, and sand all day long.


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## AndyS (Jun 13, 2020)

LeeB said:


> One thing you can try for difficult spots is Miracle-Gro. Buy the regular formula, mix one big scoop with a gallon or two, and give it a good drenching (don't go overboard) with the sprayer once a week until it looks good. If that doesn't work then it's either water or bad soil under that needs fixing. Builders slap sod over rocks, concrete, and sand all day long.


Thanks - I can see the logic of giving it a boost. Never heard of the Miracle Gro trick :thumbup:


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## Lawn Whisperer (Feb 15, 2021)

Also looks like a tire track, the direction of the leaves.


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## AndyS (Jun 13, 2020)

Lawn Whisperer said:


> Also looks like a tire track, the direction of the leaves.


It actually does from that picture.

In reality there's no tire track and the black is fairly uniformly spread.

I just looked at it again. Some of the grass blades are fine, some have black tips, some are half black/brown, and some are completely dead. I've gotta get ahold of this thing.


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## situman (Nov 3, 2020)

Looks like brown patch. Check out Pete's latest vid gci turf.


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## AndyS (Jun 13, 2020)

situman said:


> Looks like brown patch. Check out Pete's latest vid gci turf.


It's definitely more of an irregular shape and a blackish hue. At this point most of the grass may be too far gone to recover. All over maybe 1 in 10 grass blades is at about 4 inches, which mean they've grown normally since the last mow. The other 90% is infected to one degree or another and it's still at 3 inches, so it hasn't grown at all.

Never seen anything have an effect like this, or be more resistant to fungicide. I tried the Miracle Grow trick yesterday, so we'll see. I don't k ow what else to do other than pound it with propi or maybe dethatch to pull out the diseased stuff.

I also took a core sample this morning. I got down a good two inches before hitting gravel. That sounds bad, but for my yard that about meets expectations.


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## AndyS (Jun 13, 2020)

Props @LeeB - the diseased grass seems to be stunted, but the plants that are still healthy seem to be pushing through with that little shot of Miracle Gro


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I think you should send a sample to a turf lab. I see *** growing but not the PRG. I think OSU has one.


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## AndyS (Jun 13, 2020)

g-man said:


> I think you should send a sample to a turf lab. I see KBG growing but not the PRG. I think OSU has one.


You have a good eye for this stuff, for sure. I'm 100% KBG so seeing some good plants make it though is a great sign. I may send this to a turf lab though, just because it's been so difficult to deal with. It's pure evil.

The great news is that the next door neighbors that had all of the weed and fungus just had their entire lawn replaced yesterday with fresh (and very nice) KBG sod. My greatest threat has disappeared from the neighborhood!!


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## ergray3 (Jun 2, 2020)

I had a similar looking black/brown triangle in my hell-strip. I realized from the door bell camera that it was where a delivery guy's truck exhaust pipe stopped when he parked for a while to bring up a big box. It went from blackish to needled and brown like advanced drought stress, then new blades grew up. I don't know if that's the same for you but given the shape and position, maybe?


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## AndyS (Jun 13, 2020)

ergray3 said:


> I had a similar looking black/brown triangle in my hell-strip. I realized from the door bell camera that it was where a delivery guy's truck exhaust pipe stopped when he parked for a while to bring up a big box. It went from blackish to needled and brown like advanced drought stress, then new blades grew up. I don't know if that's the same for you but given the shape and position, maybe?


Interesting. We do have more than our fair share of delivery trucks, and for both us and the neighbor they stop in that one area


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## AndyS (Jun 13, 2020)

A quick update and a call for help…

This black, hazy grass now covers the first 2 feet of about a 40 foot run of tree lawn… it all starts by the road, like it's being blown in. It's a slow killer, but a killer, and I can't stop it.

Propi, azoxy, and now Howler, and I'm getting absolutely nowhere.

In the original patch the KBG is so weakened that tall fescue has he turned and taken hold, but even that is taking a beating from this stuff.

Ideas? Anywhere I can send it for ID?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

The Ohio State University.


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## AndyS (Jun 13, 2020)

They advise not to send in before a weekend, so I'll have to wait patiently…


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