Prevent brown patch

This leads to improper treatment that results in even more damage. Read on to determine if what you see in your lawn is brown patch or something else entirely. Brown Patch is the result of a type of fungus known as Rhizoctonia that grows on turfgrass.

It is prevalent in the summer time affecting cool season turfgrasses, such as tall fescue. Brown patch thrives when nights start staying above 70 degrees and the daytime temperatures reach over 80 degrees with high humidity.

Brown patch has some telltale signs to help diagnose the disease. Here is what you need to do to identify brown patch in your yard correctly. Look closely at the blades of grass in the affected area. If you have large patches of dead turfgrass already then examine the blades of grass on the perimeter of the brown patches.

Look for spotting on the blades of grass, particularly towards the middle of the blade. On shorter lawns, these patches may appear to have a "smoke ring" of dark gray around the outer edge. If your lawn is wet going into the evening, the moisture can encourage the growth of the brown patch fungi. In addition, this disease can be more severe in areas which have restricted air movement, such as between houses, fences, or plants.

As previously stated, this particular turf disease will be most successful if your lawn is wet going into the evening and night. To prevent brown patch water your lawn in the early morning, preferably between am - am. Proper airflow is also crucial to preventing brown patch.

As previously stated, brown patch prefers moist areas; so if you increase airflow in troublesome areas, it will help to dry off your turfgrass. Do your best to increase circulation in these areas by removing unnecessary objects or foliage in your backyard. Call us at or request more information on our site. What is Brown Patch? What Causes Brown Patch? How to Identify Brown Patch?

How to Control Brown Patch Brown patch can kill and weaken your grass, leaving it vulnerable to weeds and other diseases. The key to getting rid of and preventing brown patch is to ensure that your grass can dry out.

Aerating: One reason that water may linger on your lawn is that your soil is compact. Compact soil occurs naturally over time from walking, mowing, and thatch buildup.

Brown patch is the first one that comes to mind. Brown patch is those brown circles that appear in the spring and the fall when the nighttime temperatures are cool, but you have the warm daytime temperatures. Brown patch usually appears in the wetter, low lying areas of your yard. They start there, then they spread out. Brown patch fungus can be controlled. The best way to control it is to get out ahead of it. We now recommend Heritage G fungicide for brown patch prevention and treatment.

We stock this product at our Arcola office, so call us at for more information. Early September you get a bag of the Scotts Lawn Fungus Control as a granule, you put it out the same way, you put out your fertilizer and your spreader and you water it in, and then about three or four weeks later, I think the bag says you follow it up with another application and that kind of keeps it at bay and does a real good job.