Howdy everyone, need some help identifying / treating this lawn fungus in my yard. I've got St. A. grass and the yard has been pristine all year until about three weeks ago when I started noticing some browning. I figured it to be brown patch, however some of the blades appear to have gray leaf spot on them, which I thought wasn't common this time of year. There also is some lime green blades showing up in patches too.













I follow Randy Lemmon's fertilizer schedule, using only Nitro-Phos products and applied the fall fertilizer, pre-emergent and the Eagle Turf Fungicide preventative about mid October, so I am shocked to see all these issues with fungus.

The house faces North West and this time of year the yard doesn't receive a ton of light until the afternoon. I've already cut back on watering only putting down about 1/2" a week (turned off now with all the rain) so not quite sure the issue. Image below shows the grass back in late September, so this is clearly a new issue:



Any help on identifying / treating would be appreciated!

Could be take all root rot. Peat moss the hell out of your yard. Azoxystrobin (expensive) will fight it too.

That was my next thought was the root rot, the yellow blades are squishy and pull out in clumps...

I've seen people online recommend all types of fungicides with most recommending a rotation between different groups. So expensive and can't seem to find any type of schedule online for when I need to start applying or what rotation to do between fungicide groups

I am having the exact same issue with my St. Augustine. My lawn guy told me to use this:

Same issue with my St Augustine lawn. Looks like crap.

Following for ideas. Meeting with our lawn company this week or the week after Thanksgiving.

Wife is finally willing to entertain turf...this is the 3rd time in 11 years we have had issues w/ St Augustine and always requires so much time and money.....

Cromagnum said:

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Could be take all root rot. Peat moss the hell out of your yard. Azoxystrobin (expensive) will fight it too.

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What is recommended Peat Moss product for lawn. Any benefit to do it now with winter coming or do it after winter before things start to grow again?

planoaggie123 said:

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Cromagnum said:

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Could be take all root rot. Peat moss the hell out of your yard. Azoxystrobin (expensive) will fight it too.

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What is recommended Peat Moss product for lawn. Any benefit to do it now with winter coming or do it after winter before things start to grow again?

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Whatever big orange or big blue sales in bales. It's just natural material. Spread over your yard with a rake.

I'd also recommend some Ironite Granules (contains sulfur which helps lower pH some which fungus hates). Posters on here have recommended that you put out fungicide everytime you fertilize to help fend off the fungi. I usually do Scotts DiseasEx and water it in with BioAdvanced Lawn Fungus Control.

planoaggie123 said:

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Cromagnum said:

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Could be take all root rot. Peat moss the hell out of your yard. Azoxystrobin (expensive) will fight it too.

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What is recommended Peat Moss product for lawn. Any benefit to do it now with winter coming or do it after winter before things start to grow again?

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I've been using this the past couple of years. It breaks apart pretty easy and then waters in. Lay it pretty thin and I do that in March. My lawn was trucking along pretty good but the SA full sun got to my weak area, but the rest of the yard held up well.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/S****num-Peat-Moss-3-cu-ft-Organic-Peat-Moss-Moisture-Control/50339650

Agree with using an azoxystrobin product like Scotts Disease EX or a higher end product that includes both azoxystrobin and another fungicide.

From the research I've done, I'm putting down a bag of disease ex tomorrow, that should help for now.

In the spring I will start a rotation plan between azoxystrobin and propiconazale. You can buy the liquid forms on Amazon / other places for about 80$ a bottle. Expensive, but it's a concentrate so you only put down a little at a time, each bottle should yield about 20 applications.

Apparently when the highest humidity number for the day + the days high temperature is greater than 150 combined, your yard is susceptible to diseases.

Basically April - October for Houston will require one application per month, rotating between the two fungicides so it does not develop immunity to one particular fungicide.

This was hours of research so hopefully it prevents any fungus next year. Just trying to stop the spread this year

Well....our lawn fertilizing company guy came by today and we have basically a total loss of St. Augustine in the backyard. Some disease my wife can't remember the name of. He told her there is no current treatment for it so its just a loss.

Going to spend the next month or two getting bids on backyard re-sod and also get bids on artificial turf...keep grass in front but strongly consider turf in back....

Are you sure its fungus and not just the grass trying to go dormant with a few of the recent cold fronts?

Yes, too irregular of a pattern with visible signs of multiple fungi

Cromagnum said:

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planoaggie123 said:

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Cromagnum said:

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Could be take all root rot. Peat moss the hell out of your yard. Azoxystrobin (expensive) will fight it too.

---

What is recommended Peat Moss product for lawn. Any benefit to do it now with winter coming or do it after winter before things start to grow again?

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Whatever big orange or big blue sales in bales. It's just natural material. Spread over your yard with a rake.

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if they have a rental shop see if they have a peat moss spreader. Works great!

WhiskeyBusiness said:

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Are you sure its fungus and not just the grass trying to go dormant with a few of the recent cold fronts?

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We got some heavy frost a few weeks ago. Not sure where you are but if there was heavy frost then it could have just burnt it a little.

What's the latest on the lawn?