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Brown
Patch
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Brown
Patch is a lawn condition that is the result of a fungus infection.
The visible signs of Brown Patch do not appear until about a week
after the damage to the turf has actually taken place. Brown Patch
looks like brown areas of dead or dying grass that appear in roughly
circular areas. Since many of the circles may overlap, just look
for curved edges and not actual circles. Other possible problems
that could cause similar symptons include cinch bugs or other
fungal diseases. In the Gulf Coast area of the country, Brown
Patch would be my first thought. If left untreated, the fungus
will spread to wider areas in your lawn (and you neighbor's lawn,
too).
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The conditions
that work in favor of Brown Patch are hot weather associated with
high humidity and high nitrogen content in the soil which is often
a feature in well fertilized lawns. Brown Patch is most likely
to develop in the mid to late summer period. It can become apparent
in a yard in as short a time as 48 hours.
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There
are two approaches to dealing with Brown Patch. The first is to
use Prevenative measures to keep the fungus from developing in
your yard. The second approach is to wait until Brown Patch is
present and to then cure it. Each of these alternatives has merit
depending on your situation.
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If you
have never had Brown Patch in your lawn and it is not prevalant
in your area, I would suggest that you not concern yourself with
it unless it appears. There is no reason to spend the time and
money treating an ailment that is rare in your area.
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On the
other hand, if you live in areas of high heat and high humidity
like the coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico, you should probably
be proactive. This is especially true if you or your neighbors
have suffered from Brown Patch in recent years.
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Listed
below is information broken into three categories. First is action
that is recommended for everyone. Second is action suggested for
those who need to treat active occurrances of Brown Patch. The
third section has steps for treating turf to prevent outbreaks
of Brown Patch.
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Steps
for Everyone:
Do not water your lawn in the late afternoon or evening.
By adding water during the time of day when temperatures are cooling,
the water that does not get absorbed in the soil creates conditions
in the lawn that are prime for fungul development. Water infrequently
but deeply and do so in the early morning.
Do not over fertize with high nitrogen fertizers. You may
think that is some fertilizer is good, more is better; but, this
is not the case. Too much nitrogen contributes to the growth of
fungul disease.
Do not allow a lot of Thatch buildup in the lawn. Deep
thatch creates a protected environment that encourages fungal
growth if other growing conditions exist. Mulching
mowers that cut the particles to 1/4" or less in length do
not contribute significantly to thatch.
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Treating
Active Brown Patch:
If you have active Brown Patch in your yard, you need to treat
it. Even if the symptons disappear at the end of the growing season,
the fungal spores will still be there waiting to show up the following
year. Left untreated, severe cases of Brown Patch can kill sections
of your lawn.
Liquid treatments work the best and fastest when you have active
Brown Patch. You should look for a treatment that has Chlorothanil
as the active ingredient. Chlorothanil will kill the fungus on
contact. Treat the affected areas of your yard as well as the
adjacent 5 or 6 feet surrounding the areas with Brown Patch damage.
It is important that you repeat the treatment 7 days later to
kill the 'next generation' of the fungus. The combination of the
two treatments will usually be sufficient to eradicate the Brown
patch from your turf. If you have had a very bad infestation,
be safe and apply a third time one week later. You should NOT
fertilize your yard from the time that you first notice the Brown
Patch until you have finished the final treatment to eradicate
the fungus.
Even after you kill the fungus that caused the Brown Patch, it
will still take some time for your grass to recover and grow back
in. A very light application of fertilizer may be helpful in turf
recovery but do not over-fertilize or you will be recreating the
conditions that started the problem.
If you use a mulching
mower on your yard (as we normally strongly recommend), you should
avoid this practice when you are fighting an outbreak of Brown
Patch. By returning the mulched clippings to your yard, you are
spreading the fungal spores to a wider area of your lawn. Bag
the clippings for the affected area of your yard until the Brown
Patch outbreak is solved.
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Preventing
Future Outbreaks of Brown Patch:
If you do not currently have signs of Brown Patch but have had
it in the past or live in an area where it is common, you should
probably take steps to prevent if from occurring in your yard.
In this case, you will want to use a 'systemic' treatment. This
type of treatment is absorbed by the plant and keeps the fungus
from effectively attacking the plant. Think of a 'systemic' treatment
as an innoculation.
Use Bayleton in granular form for preventative treatment
of Brown Patch. The slow release granules will give you a longer
residual protection. It does take a week or two for any 'systemic'
treatment to get absorbed into the plant and offer protection,
so be sure you apply this before the Brown Patch season occurs
in your area.
In the Gulf Coast area, you would want to apply in late June and
reapply as directed throughout the growing season.
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