Brown Patch
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RHIZOCTONIA (BROWN PATCH)

- Affects mostly tall fescue;
seldom blue rye
- Most common during July thru
September (higher humidity and warmer weather)
- Main cause — Keeping the leaf
surface continuously wet (daily watering)
- Symptoms — Roughly round areas
ranging in size from several inches to 3 feet in diameter — at times, the outer
edge may develop a one to two inch “smoke ring” caused by cobweb threads of fungus
that grow among the base of the leaf blades.
- Cultural Practices — to minimize chances of disease:
- Avoid applying high
rates of Nitrogen, particularly in late spring and summer
- Water during early AM hours to
allow grass leaves all day to dry off
- Avoid frequent irrigation that
keeps the leaf blades wet and that
results in water logged/compacted soils
- Mow at the upper end of
recommended mowing heights (but not above recommended mowing heights)
- Spray on a fungicide labeled
for Brown Patch if symptoms appear … repeat every 10 days until symptoms
are gone...ALWAYS READ & FOLLOW LABELED DIRECTIONS!