I have an area in the front of my yard that has always just really struggled. It is the least shade protected area of my yard. I try to compare what I see to pictures online, but I cannot tell if this is gray leaf spot, root rot, some other disease, or a combination.

I also have this other thin crappy grass you can see that grows in this area. I don't know if that is a factor or more of a symptom of an unhealthy lawn.

I have tried disease ex in the past, but haven't noticed any positive results, but that was just a few random intermittent applications. My current plan is to try to hit it with disease X every two weeks for a couple of months and see if I notice anything.

Any other suggestions?

What all has been applied to it? Any chance you've put a pre-emergent/weed-n-feed down?

I wouldn't just repeatedly apply Disease X. Need to rotate fungicide FRAC modes of action.

https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/BP/BP-71-W.pdf

I'd go to Home Depot or someplace and buy some fungicide in a bottle that screws into the end of your hose.
Spray it down and see what happens.

I actually used Bayer liquid hose-end spray about 8 days ago. I'll take the advice above and rotate the disease ex with another type of fungicide.

I haven't used any weed+feed but did put down some pre-emergent back in the early spring or late winter (probably image or amaze).

I can try to increase watering and will try to rake up some of the thatch buildup.

Thanks y'all.

Pictures look like it's not getting enough water. Get a large Phillip head screwdriver (or similar tool) and see if you can easily push it in the ground. If it doesn't slide really easy it's too dry. Aerating this fall may help loosen up the soil. If it's the "least shaded" area of your yard, are you watering it more to compensate for the direct sunlight drying it out faster?

agree on checking how hard the soil is. add some good topsoil to it and water longer but for less days per week.

I keep Spectrum Immunox on hand. I can't tell the difference early on what the problem is but it treats both fungus and insect. I found it battling webworms. I could just be having good luck though.

That's pretty far progressed and could be a combination of things. Eventually you'll need to topdress. Look at Medina soil activator and or aeroration before.

Thanks I'll probably get some of that to add to the mix. Hopefully I can knock the disease back and then get the turf grass to fill back in quickly. After that I plan to be more vigilant about signs of disease and be more proactive.

whats your irrigation schedule?

20yr licensed irrigator

In SA so I only get to water one day per week.

I do the following-

4am for a 5 minute cycle followed by a 30 minute cycle

7pm 30 minutes

If I was only able to water one day a week I'd be watering for a lot longer than 30 minutes.

Yeah once a week irrigation restrictions is not ideal. I would put out a couple tuna cans in that area and see how much water you get running that zone for an hour. Very important that you have good head to head coverage.
As mentioned previously, since that area receives full sun you might have chinch bugs so I would apply a good granular insecticide like Merit.

he's irrigating for 65min total

Right, it just doesn't seem like much for only once a week. Guess it depends on the heads.

They are rotator heads. I have not measured how much output that actually is since having these new heads installed last year.

just don't say they are mp rotators...

Rainbird is all I know

MP rotors are what I was afraid of. 30 minutes would barely get the blades wet

Ah ok I'll step it up. Thanks

Those rotors are awful if it's what you have. I have people freak out when they find out how long they have to water to achieve .5" of watering from them. Time is really irrelevant. A different head could put out the same amount of water in 10-15 minutes. In the end you're still putting out the same amount of water. That's why the tuna can test he suggested is important. If you only get one day a week I'd do everything I could to at least get .5" morning and night if you're watering twice a day. Yeah you don't want to water in the evenings, but it's better than your lawn lacking water.

I don't think it's just a watering issue though. You have fungus and a little bit of root clubbing which is why I asked about pre-emergents. I've seen a few people over-apply and it cause the lawn to look similar to a drought stressed lawn. It basically closes up the roots so they can't take up any nutrients.

But I like the cool swirly motion they make. It's mesmerizing.

Yup. This is what I have and I water for 75 mins two to three times a week. You wave to water so long with MP Rotators.

I even stop the car and make my kids verbally acknowledge how cool the new sprinkler heads are before I'll continue on with them to school in the mornings on Thursdays. Not sure I can give that up just for some healthy grass.

I'd think that the mp rotator style is preferred. All the same output per hour and don't need to try and match nozzles like standard rotors. The rainbirds put down .6" per hour so adjust accordingly. I'd try to start early morning hours like 3am to get it all watered in the AM. Don't water at 7pm. That's just an open invitation to fungus.

I love the MP Rotators, especially for hard soil when set to cycle and soak. Yes, they put out less water, but with hard soil it absorbs slower and you have less runoff. I run my rotators typically twice a week. Cycle and soak. There will be 20-30 minutes of soaking before they run again in that zone. My watering starts around 4am and I have it set to be complete by 630am.

You might want to also consider raking in some quality compost. I agree with the hard-pan soil comment above.

For those with MP Rotators do you have constant issues with them no longer rotating? I have 2 or 3 every year that stop ralotating. Cleaning them out doesn't help and I have to buy a new head.

Not every year but occasionally one will bind up a bit. You can grease the inside or just replace. Just replace the nozzle not the whole head.