How To Patch Bare Spots With Sod
For a quicker fix than reseeding, try using sod. Sod is a fairly inexpensive way to repair bare spots of dead grass.
Similar to reseeding, remove any leaves, dead grass, weeds, or debris from the brown patch area before getting started.
Using a garden hoe or rake, till the soil a few inches deep to break up the solid pieces of dirt.
- Measure the Area of the Brown Patch
Use a tape measure to evaluate the width and length of your brown patch. Then, purchase a piece of sod from your local gardening store that will fully cover the area.
- Select the Right Turfgrass
Be sure to select the correct turfgrass sod for your lawn, identify the grass you have growing, and try to match this when buying pieces of sod.
Using a sharp shovel or garden tool, cut a piece of sod that is slightly larger than the area you are covering.
- Lightly Fertilize
Applying a small amount of fertilizer to the soil before laying sod will encourage the roots to establish and anchor down the sod piece.
- Firmly Place the Sod Piece
Place the sod on top of the brown patch matching the shape as best you can. Compress the sod down into the lawn by tamping it down with a rake and then immediately walking on it.
- Water the Sod Immediately
The sod will need more water than regular seed grass. Keep the area moist by watering two to three times a day if needed. Monitor the edges of the new sod they will dry out first.
- Hold Off on Weed Control
- Assume Regular Lawn Treatment
How To Get Rid Of Brown Patch Disease On Grass
Kelly Burke is a professional turf manager for a manicured corporate campus in New England. He is accredited in organic land care and is a licensed pesticide applicator. He formerly managed the turfgrass as a golf course superintendent and has held several senior management positions at private country clubs overseeing high maintenance lawns.
The Spruce / K. Dave
- Working Time: 1 – 3 hrs
- Total Time: 1 hr – 1 day
- Skill Level: Intermediate
- Estimated Cost: $10 to $200
Many conditions can cause patches of brown, dead grass on your lawn, but only one gets the official name “brown patch.” Brown patch disease is a condition caused by a Rhizoctonia fungus, usually Rhizoctonia solani. The fungus often appears in mid- to late-summer when the weather is hot and humid. Brown patch is a foliar disease, meaning that it harms the blades of grass but not the crown of the plant or the root system. Grass plants affected by brown patch may recover on their own, without chemical intervention.
Rhizoctonia can affect all cool-season lawn grasses, but it is especially harmful to ryegrass and tall fescue. Kentucky bluegrass and fine fescues can occasionally be affected, but the damage is usually minimal in these species. Brown patch can also affect a variety of warm-season grasses, including St. Augustine grass and zoysiagrass.
Causes Of Brown Patch
Brown spots shouldnt ruin your chance at having the lawn you want. In order to identify whats at play on your turf and figure out the best plan of attack for treating any discolored areas on the lawn, you must first pinpoint what could be causing the issue. Take a look at the top three culprits behind brown spots below:
1. Turf Disease
There is a long list of turf diseases that can turn an otherwise green lawn off color. These diseases are caused by fungi that live in the thatch and soil, often activated by high moisture, humidity, or mowing the lawn when it is wet. Brown patch, dollar spot, leaf blight, and necrotic ring can all cause areas of the lawn to turn brown. Although these diseases may sound serious, the majority will disappear on their own with improved environmental conditions. In some cases, an application of fungicide may be required. If you arent sure if turf disease is affecting your lawn, its best to contact your Weed Man team for verification. We will provide you with a proper diagnosis and advise you on next steps.
2. Shade
3. Insect Damage
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Brown Patch Fungus Treatment
If your lawn is plagued by brown patch lawn disease, youll want to avoid using nitrogen fertilizer for the time being. Brown patch control is easy to manage with the use of a good lawn fungicide such as Azoxystrobin or Propiconazole. Prevent brown patch resistance by rotating these fungicides every 1-2 applications.
Pro tip: Apply a liquid iron to your tank with fungicides. Chelated iron product is a surefire way to make your grass pop if your lawn is turning yellow from an iron deficiency.
You should also aerate the soil in the early fall, overseed with new grass species, and attempt to improve the air circulation. Dont water in the evening instead, water in the early morning hours. Treating brown patch, especially in the early stages, can sometimes be accomplished successfully by taking the same measures you would in order to prevent the disease.
How To Identify The Type Of Fungus On Your Grass
The fungal organism is in the soil. Right now. Every soil, everywhere. There are a variety of reasons why your St. Louis neighbor may have brown spots in their lawn from disease and you dont. They may have a different species or variety of grass, different soil or moisture levels, or a different climate due to other natural or man-made landscapes.
There are three things to consider when trying to determine if a disease is causing the brown spots in your yard. It is very important to identify the specific type of disease. Correct identification is required before you can develop a treatment plan.
1. Identify the type of turfgrass
Its important to first know the type of turf species you have because different types of grass are more susceptible to different diseases as shown in a University of Purdue Extension article on turf disease identification. In the Midwest, the two most common types of cool-season grasses used in home lawns are tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass. The most common diseases we see are brown patch, dollar spot, and pythium blight. But other diseases do show up in our region from time to time.
2. Observe the pathogen at work
3. Consider the environment
The environment is the third component of identification and time of year must be considered. In the Midwest locations of Ryan Lawn & Tree, the warm temperatures, high humidity and soil composition including fertility and pH all play a role in the growth of various lawn diseases.
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Prevention And Control Tips
The best defense against Brown Patch and other turfgrass diseases is a healthy, hardy lawn. Weed Mans granular, slow-release fertilizer applied at the right time will strengthen your lawn and help it fight off common stressors. Core aeration will also help. Aeration improves soil drainage, relieves compaction, and reduces thatch .
If brown patch is already present on your lawn, try the following techniques:
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Withhold water from affected areas until the soil dries. Then, practice deep, infrequent watering rather than frequent short periods of watering.
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Water in the mornings ONLY. This will allow the grass and soil to dry before the sun goes down.
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Mow frequently at the highest setting.
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Mow with a razor-sharp blade.
Brown patch can also be controlled with the application of fungicide. To ensure continuous control, fungicides must be applied every 21 to 28 days . Your local Weed Man professional can help you create a disease control program that is right for your lawn.
Dont let your brown lawn make you blue this summer. Effective disease management and the lush, healthy lawn that comes with it are only a phone call away.
Brown Spots In Grass: Causesidentification And Prevention
Brown spots is a fungal disease caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia that leaves large circular brown patches on lawns. Brown spots attack grass that grows in the fall when the weather is cooling down.There are several reasons your lawn may develop a brown patch, including high heat and humidity, moisture, poor soil damage, excessive nitrogen, too much thatch, and compacted soil.
Grass cutting taking up all your time? Call us, and we will do it for you!
To prevent brown spots you should water your lawn on schedule, mow high, reduce thatch, fertilize properly, and make efforts on maintaining a healthy lawn. You can identify brown spots by observing yellowish-brown irregular circular patches in your lawn, surrounded by a smoke ring border.
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Prevent Brown Patch Chemically
If youre looking for a different, often more aggressive method of brown patch prevention, try a chemical fungicide. Here are a few tips:
- Dont wait: Fungal diseases usually start in the summer, so treat your lawn with fungicide starting in the spring.
- Do some investigating: Not all fungicides are created equal. Some treat only certain pathogens, so make sure youve identified the fungus affecting your lawn before you head to the store.
- Fungicides can be expensive: Like most non-natural lawn care methods, they can be pricey, so expect a little sticker shock.
- Read the label: Read the labels to be sure it treats brown patch, and how the herbicide should be safely applied.
- Fungicides wont solve all your problems: If youre already seeing brown spots in your grass, begin treatment plans instead of prevention methods.
- Regular application: Although no method is guaranteed, regular application will increase your ability to prevent brown patch.
What Is Brown Patch
The humid climate of North Carolina can be a breeding ground for lawn diseases, the most common of which is known as Brown Patch. As a fungal lawn disease, Brown Patch is caused by a specific type of fungus named Rhizoctonia solani. This fungal disease causes circular patches of browning turf to plague your lawn, and it spreads rapidly once these patches begin to emerge.
Brown Patch affects the leaves, not the roots, of your turfgrass, meaning that it will not necessarily kill your grass. However, Brown Patch loves to spread across already-weakened lawns, and its damaging effects can lead to other harmful factors that will kill your turf. It mainly affects cool-season grass types, such as tall fescue, ryegrass, bentgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, and more. If left untreated, Brown Patch can overtake an entire lawn, and the disease will always spread without curative treatments.
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Preventing Brown Patch Lawn Disease
A healthy lawn is your best defense against brown patch development. To that end, perform the following prevention steps:
- Use a moderate amount of nitrogen fertilizer
- Water your lawn during early morning hours never in the evenings
- Ensure good air movement
- Correct soil compaction
- Stick to an optimum mowing height
- Bag your clippings when fungus is present
- Improve soil drainage
- Incorporate other grass species into your tall fescue lawn
- Rotate fungicides and apply preventivie applications
Learn About Brown Patch And Large Patch Lawn Disease
Allyn HaneNews
Its called Brown Patch disease when it infects cool-season lawns, and its called Large Patch disease in warm-season lawns but both diseases are caused by the pathogen Rhizoctonia Solani.Here is a video I made this weekend showing its effects on St Augustine and Zoysia:
The times it shows up are during seasonal transitions. In south Florida, its coming out of winter into spring, or like now, fall into winter.Here in my St Augustine and Zoysia, we were in the 80s with mild humidity and in the last 2 weeks have fallen into the upper 60s, no wind and no humidity. Rhizoctonia thrives when outside temps are in the low-70s consistently overnight – night time is also when dew forms on the ground keeping things wet.How many of you remember when we talked earlier this year about the disease triangle?
Our Treatment strategy utilizes products found at any local big box store. I am using a twist on my bullet-proof strategy which is meant for prevention but also works for curative applications.The reason I call it bullet-proof is because we are using 2 different classes/groups of fungicides in our attack.Think of these classes or groups as modes of action.
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How Long To Recover From Damage
The first thing I recommend you do after you apply your fungicide is taking pictures. Note how large the spots are and where they are.Then take a picture a week later and compare has the disease spread or have the spots gotten bigger?If so, consider another application of the Group 3 propiconazole. Keep taking pics – if its still spreading a week after that, you can apply the Group 11 Scotts DiseaseEx again.For me, it all stopped after the applications you see me doing in the video. We are also getting cooler temps which stops the disease naturally .Either way, its going to take a few weeks for the damaged sections of the lawn to recover.For one, growth is slow right now due to the cold and secondly, shorter days mean less sunlight which also slows growth.Mowing will help to take away dead stuff and Im also going to hose the area down with Air8, RGS, and D-Thatch this weekend. I plan to do a SUPER HEAVY soaking just because I have not sprayed hard in a while and Im due.In all seriousness, the humic acid in ALL of the N-Ext products is great for keeping soil life active which in turn supports more roots growth and can significantly speed up repair time.Thats one more reminder too – often times people ask me, Allyn can you show us the Ortho Dial-n-Spray John Perry mod again?Watch this “Weed Wack, Front To Back + Lawn Spraying Tests” video right here and it works great!
Brown Lawn Got You Down
A brown lawn may be the one thing standing between you and a summer full of fun. Since the beauty of a lawn is largely dependent on its healthy, green hue, anything other color tends to stand out like a sore thumb. Brown spots or patches can be an ongoing source of frustration for homeowners seeking a lush, uniform landscape. Dont let those ugly, straw-colored patches get you down. Fight back against turf diseases and reclaim the healthy, green lawn you deserve!
Rhizoctonia Blight commonly known as Brown Patch is a hot weather turf disease caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani. While it can occur on all types of turf, it is most damaging to tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, creeping bentgrass and annual bluegrass.
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What Causes Brown Patch Lawn Disease
Hot weather and high humidity are often the culprits for triggering brown patch lawn disease to erupt in cool-season grasses particularly tall fescue. However, other factors are frequently present too. For instance, the disease is more likely to develop in lawns with excessive nitrogen. Soil compaction, poor soil drainage, and reduced air circulation can also cause brown patch lawn disease to develop. The fungus that causes the disease thrives in these conditions, but unlike many lawn diseases, this one can erupt and spread with extreme rapidity.
Faq About Brown Patch
What are some common mistakes when dealing with brown patch?
The biggest mistake is waiting too late to start getting a handle on a fungicide regimen. Homeowners may want to go ahead and get a preventive schedule of fungicide applications in place before the weather turns because it just takes one change in the weather and its too late. Normal fungicide only lasts about three to four weeks depending on the product, so your fungicide application schedule could stretch into July or even August. It wont be just a one-and-done.
What are other common summer lawn fungus diseases?How long does it take for brown patch to go away?
It depends on the method. If youre using a natural technique, it could go away as soon as the fungus has dried up and died, or it could last for years, laying in dormancy for the right conditions to reemerge.If you choose a chemical method, the application of fungicide lasts about 14-28 days. Severe cases will likely need more than one application.
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What Is Brown Patch Lawn Disease
Brown Patch lawn disease is a common and widespread fungus that, like Dollar Spot, can infect a variety of common turfgrasses and cause brown patches on your lawn. Brown Patch thrives when hot weather and high humidity settle in during the summer months. Uncommon in arid regions such as Southern California and the Mountain States, Brown Patch is a problem for yard-lovers in every other part of the U.S.
Seeing brown patches on your lawn? If you live in a region with hot temperatures and high humidity, you may find your lawn has been infected with Brown Patch lawn disease.
Read below for answers to frequently asked questions regarding the lawn intruder and tips to get your lawn healthy again.
When Should I Treat Brown Patch Pythium Or Other Diseases
Does every yard have to be protected from fungus? It really depends upon the level of maintenance and expectations of the lawn. A mid-level lawn without an irrigation system may get some brown patch, and minor damage. If it gets bad enough, those damaged areas could be seeded in fall. You may want to consider treating your lawn disease if you:
- Seeded your yard in the spring. The young seedlings are more susceptible to fungus. Fungicide can protect baby seedlings.
- Have invested a lot in your lawn and love it very much.
- Have in-ground irrigation and water regularly in the summer to maintain good color and appearance.
- Seeded last fall. These lawns are usually thick and dense and the grass has not been through a hot summer phase, so it is typically more susceptible than mature lawns.
- Have a lawn seed that is a variety of Kentucky bluegrass that is notoriously susceptible to dollar spot and summer patch. RYAN Pros recommend using a fungicide until the variety can be switched over to other more resistant species or varieties.
RYAN Pros are experts at distinguishing one lawn disease from another one of the keys to treating your lawn with the correct type and rate of fungicide.
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