Brown Patch Fungus
I was planning to blog about brown patch fungus in September when the nights usually cool down a little. That's when it tends to pop up in St. Augustine lawns. I have to write about it today because it popped up all over my neighborhood yesterday. We have had rain every day the last four days in North Houston. The temperature stayed in the low 80's yesterday and last night cooled down from there. These are the conditions that this disease flourishes in.
I am often asked where it comes from. Rhizoctonia is the name of the naturally occurring fungus that does the damage. When the conditions are right and the fungus is present it becomes active. In the spots I saw today the fungus was lying dormant all Summer when it was hot and dry.
If the spots look just like the photo below then you know that you have this disease. Brown patch is usually circular. It often has a patch of green grass in the center of the circle. The leading edge of the circle is kind of an orange-yellow color when the fungus is active. Be sure to never fertilize a lawn with active brown patch. The fertilizer will fuel the growth of the fungus.
If it looks different than my photo then be sure to read my blog on chinch bugs. Brown patch, left untreated, will not kill your lawn. Chinch bugs, left untreated, will kill your lawn. Both are active in the lawns at this time. If you are not sure which one you have take a grass sample(one foot square) with soil to an independent garden center. Have them show you the chinch bugs if they tell you that you have them. 
If you choose to treat brown patch organically then apply cornmeal at the rate of 20 lbs. per 1,000 square feet and dry molasses at the same rate. Cornmeal works better as a preventative so try to apply it in August before brown patch becomes active. 10% Terraclor is a great curative fungicide. The product we sell is Nitro Phos Total Brown Patch Control. Because fungicides are so expensive I suggest you treat only the areas affected. Applying a fungicide over 6,000 square feet is cost prohibitive as a prevention because the prevention will last only about a month. Brown patch is a problem for about 5 months from August thru December.
Do you recommend preventative treatment with fungicides (like the national lawn care chains promote)or should you wait until the first signs are evident and then treat? Thanks.
Reply to this
do you sell nitrophos? also the cost.
Reply to this
Jim,
Nitro-phos total brown patch control is $16.98 for an 8lb. bag. Coverage is 1,000 sq.ft.
Reply to this
Hi Victor: can you please tell me where I can buy or order the Nitro-phos?
I am here in Florida and trying to get rid of brown patch!
Thanks
Tina
Reply to this
Tina,
Nitro-Phos is a local brand and not found in Florida. I would go to an independent garden center and ask for "PCNB" granules or "Terraclor" granules. If they do not recognize those names ask for Turfcide. That is a national brand name for that same fungicide. That is what is in the Nitro-Phos Total Brown Patch Control.
Reply to this
I also have what I believe to be bp. My SA is dormant right now but when the grass is wet you can clearly see where the 2 patches are. I have read so many different articles on BP and would like to know what works. I was waiting for more concrete info before treating chemically so if I need to use corn meal I will have the bacteria in my grass that I need. Also prior to the fall my SA had tan/brown tips so my grass was never fully green. I know it is some type of fungus but I definately had two patches that stood out. Please help me. Thanks in advance
Reply to this
Mr Wilson,
When your lawn greens up this Spring the spots will become more apparent because it is damaged and will be slower to recover...but it will. By May your lawn will be back to thick and green. What I would do now is apply a layer of compost either on those bad spots or even better on the entire lawn. I would fertilize with a good organic lawn food and spray Serenade Lawn Disease control. Apply the cornmeal and molasses in early August. Be sure not to overwater or water late in the day. If the grass yellows in the summer apply Fertilome Chelated Liquid iron at 4 tbs/gal. If the tips turn brown again either bring a good sample of it to a service oriented garden center or take a photo and post it in the gardening questions at RateANursery.com. That way I can see what it is. Good luck!
Reply to this
Victor I appreciate the feedback. i thought brownspot was destroyed in cold weather? also why do you recommend i put corn meal down in the fall? i thought that could be put down throughout the year. i am glad that you think my grass will return back by the summer. With me having brown patch but the rest of my grass had brown tips giving my hard a slight tan hugh although it was still green, do you think the rest of my yard had some type of fungus? the treatment you recommended where can i buy it? also if i may ask what will the mulch do for my yard? i don't want to break the bank because of the economy but i just want my yard back. when you tell me where i can buy this product will you also tell me the price? i appreciate all of your help.
Reply to this
Mr. Wilson,
Brown patch goes dormant when the grass turns brown and there is no green growth to attack. You should put the cornmeal down 4-6 weeks before you expect the fungus season. That gives the beneficial microbes time to build up their populations to attack the brown patch fungus. I am not sure what went wrong last year. I don't have enough info and I hate to "guess". Use compost on your bad spots not mulch. Of course I have all the products but if you live in Houston, but not close, I can recommend a good nursery.
Reply to this
Victor I am in Dallas Texas. Can you recommend someone here? Also as far as the compost is concerned how much am I putting down over the spots? Also after I have put down the compost do I want to treat the rest of my yard with the fungicide? Also am I putting the compost down before my grass starts to grow or does it matter? I have relative s in Houston. How much is the product I need? Please do recommend someone in Dallas I can get quality compost from. Thanks again
Reply to this
Mr Warren,
Dallas is a big place but I would go to your closest independent garden center that is owner operated.
Wish I could be more specific but I have only been to two nurseries in Dallas but I don't know their inventory or how close they are to you. Dallas is typically 3 weeks behind Houston. If you apply compost wait until the middle of April. Figure your square feet and if you have over 200 square feet of bad spots then go to a bulk soil yard and get a fine soil with compost. Apply about a 1/2 - 1 inch thick. Don't worry with the fungicide this Spring. If you have more questions call my nursery. I speak faster than I type! LOL
Reply to this
Victor may i get your shop # so I cal call you please?
Reply to this
Warren,
281-376-1646. Tomorrow is Saturday and will be very busy. I may not be able to nurse the phone BUT you never know... give me a call and see.
Reply to this
Victor, I live in Rockport and have had a worsening brown patch problem for the past 3 years. I have floritam which I was told is resistant but many in this area are now having my problem. I have done pretty much what you have suggested with the cornmeal, composting and fungicides. (although I have used fungaway and immunox (myclobutinil)brands only. The condition improves for about 2 weeks post treatment and then resumes. It is so bad this year that I have had to dig up the dead stolens with a shovel so adjacent live grass can fill in: the root systems are in tact in the dead stuff. This is sandy/alkaline soil....any suggestions other than burning it off?
Reply to this
Floratam is claimed to be resistant to chinch bugs. I have never read that it is resistant to brown patch. That said, I had a neighbor ( directly across the street) that had Floratam and they never had brown patch for 20 years. I know because I was the lawn care guy who would have treated it. Brown patch does not kill the stolons.
I am not as confident in my suggestion because of the distance and lack of ability to see your lawn. Sandy soil is OK but an acid soil 6.0pH-6.8pH is better. It really does not sound like Brown patch. Could it simply be too dry?
Go to rateanursery.com and post a pictute of your lawn. I will check it out. If I can't... I need to go to Rockport for a visit. Don't burn your grass off.
Reply to this
Victor,
Thanks for your reply regarding the Brown Patch problem in my Floritam grass. I am not very computer savy as to how to post the pictures you request,etc but I will look into learning how to do this.
You mention that Brown Path does not kill the stolens and that perhaps it is just too dry. It is dry here but the grass puts forth new growth which is healthy, then the grass blades are attacked at the nodes and all the grass leaves fall off the stolens and the stolens eventually die. Even when all the blades are gone (and the stolens are still green), if I dig up the dead stuff the roots are very healthy. As the stolens eventually die and turn brown, the roots remain intact but they too atropy and turn brown at this point. Only if I dig this dead stuff up(stolens and roots) will adjacent grass spread back into the dead areas.
In my amaturish web research I can only match the symptoms with Brown Patch. I have no chinch bugs or worms or insects of any kind ( only a mole problem which does spread the disease). I have read that as the fungi feed at the nodes they secrete a poison which accumulates and can kill the grass.
The healthiest areas in the yard are where the grass butts up to a driveway or sidewalk. This grass is trying to grow away from the source of the attack. Being somewhat more moderate here (Rockport) than in Houston the healthy floritam grass remains green pretty much all year long. The Fungus is worst in November but really only seems to go completely dormant in July, August, and January thru mid February.
I only fertilized once last year and with a time release since I read the nitrogen feeds the fungus but as I am worse off than the year before this has not benefited. I water sparsely but deeply and in the mornings as recommended.
I really hope your huntch that I might not have Brown Patch is correct but In perusing the web nothing else comes close to all my symptoms. If you could see the yard there are classic strips of the disease, not so much circles as in take all root rot.
I am just plain frustrated and decided not to waste any more money on fungicides. Thanks for your kind attention.
Maybe if I talk nicely to to tne nature spirits??
Reply to this
i was reading your thread and i was in the same situation. last fall i had two brown patch spots that i was afraid would come back this year. i did the compost treatment recommended by victor and of all the yards in my n/hood with st.augustine mine was the first to come out of dormacy and it is the greenest. quit using the fungucides because it kills the organisms your grass needs to stay healthy. i would do the compost treatment. ask victor when is it too late to do it. also where my patches use to be is the fullest spots in my yard. i am keeping my fingers crossed that the spring is not fooling me.
Reply to this
Thanks for the compost feedback. In 2007 I used a sphagnum/humus/top soil mix which did not help much. In 2008 I added a cotton burr compost which did help a lot but then the fungus came back with a vengence in the fall. Is there a better compost for adding acid to an alkaline,sandy,coastal terrain?
In taking photos of my dead areas last week, as Victor said, the dead stuff is primarily in circular patterns. What I said in a previous post about the patterns being more streak-like referred to newly appearing diseased areas in early fall and early spring; the totally dead areas are now predominantly circular. My apologies for being misleading. Perhaps the streak-like origination patterns are indicating that I was spreading the fungus via my lawnmower. I have since learned not to mow if the grass is damp.
Reply to this
Will high rates of mancozeb kill my turf?
Applied thur a back pack sprayer.
Thanks
Reply to this
Chris,
I believe mancozeb would be best for gray leaf spot disease. Not the best fungicide for brown patch. If you did spray at a high rate already you will see damage, if there is any, within 2-3 days. If you haven't sprayed yet then only go by the directions.
Reply to this
I am here for the first time and like what and how you write. Hope to hear from you soon and something new )
http://www.rapidsharemix.com
Reply to this
Thanks for your timely brown patch article. I just commented to my wife this weekend that despite the drought, our yard looks better than last year. I went to the front door this morning to find brown patch as pictured in your blog and following conditions described.
Reply to this