How to Treat Fungus in Your Lawn

Fungus on your lawn is more than unattractive. When the fungus kills your Arizona sod, it creates bare spots that leave little ones prone to cuts and scrapes. Find out how to deal with lawn fungus so you can get back to backyard grilling.

Spot the Fungus

A common lawn fungus, Rhizoctonia solani, is largely responsible for the discolored, blotchy patches of dead and dying grass on your Arizona lawn. This fungus leads to various issues with many plants:

• collar rot - the fungus attacks the area between stem and root, creating a thick collar
• root rot - usually seen in indoor plants from overwatering, but seen in outdoor roots affected by the fungus
• wire stem - stems at ground level become thin and wiry
• brown patch - affecting your lawn and any turfgrass
• damping off - affecting seeds, causing them to not germinate

Not in My Backyard

Identifying this lawn fungus requires a little understanding of your turfgrass, because the symptoms appear different in different types of sod:

• St. Augustine grass - ideal for tropical to semi-tropical climates (think: Arizona!), capable of crowding out weeds with its thick, carpet-like spread
• Centipede grass—coarse - textured, warm season grass with blades three to five inches in length
• Bermuda grass - dense structure, fine leaves, and very common throughout Arizona

Look for brown patch in hot, wet weather. The fungus thrives in these conditions, and retreats in cooler weather. Brown, irregular to circular areas several feet across are common. Individual brown patches can spread because the fungus sends out thin, underground hyphae, or thread-like structures. Separate brown patches until you have very large blighted areas. The patches and the shades your individual grass leaves turn can change, too. Look out for:

• white, yellow or brown patches
• gray, black, orange, purple or red spots on blades and stems
• thin, threadlike wraps around the stems and roots
• slimy-looking, wet or greasy-looking grass

St. Augustine grass blades turn yellowish or orange before succumbing to the fungus; Centipedegrass turns reddish or purple.

Good News

If this sounds very unpleasant, take heart: fungus does not usually kill off your entire lawn, and even individual grass plants can bounce back once the fungus dies off. You can hasten this natural cycle, of course, with careful application of fungicides:

• Maneb
• Myclobutanil
• Propiconazole
• Thiophanate-methyl
• Triadimefon

These will appear under many brand names. Follow label directions carefully and with two applications, the fearsome fungus should be in full retreat. As with any chemical introduced into the environment, follow sensible safety precautions:

• Avoid using the fungicide when children and pets are present
• Control possible run-off to keep the fungicide out of municipal water systems
• Wear proper clothing to protect yourself and your lungs from lawn chemicals

Advice

Contact us if you need advice on how to treat fungus in your lawn!

Evergreen Turf is your source for the highest quality sod in Arizona. Our friendly, knowledgeable people are committed to answering all of your questions to ensure a stress-free experience with your new Arizona sod lawn. Whether you wish to sod a small play area for the family or an entire golf course, Evergreen Turf can help you make it happen.

Our team serves customers throughout Arizona, including Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe and Tucson. Browse our website for information and tips on how to create and maintain a beautiful lawn, or give us a call and talk to one of our sod specialists at 480-456-1199 if you don't find what you are looking for. Better yet, stop by and meet the team at our convenient Chandler location.