Brown Patch Lawn Disease

Brown Patch Disease

Brown Patch Disease is a turf fungal disease which creates brown circles in lawns which will quickly spread if left untreated. Brown Patch begins as a small circle, or several small circles a couple of inches in diameter, the small circles will continue to grow in size up to a few feet in diameter over many months. Often the inner circle can begin to repair itself even though the circles keep spreading. This is because the active part of the fungal disease in Brown Patch is always at the outer edge of the circle. This often leads to an appearance of rings on the outside of the circles.

Turf Grasses Affected

It is most evident in regions where there is high humidity and most often affect grass types such as Bermuda Grass, Saint Augustine Grass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Bentgrass, Centipede grass and Ryegrass.

Treatment

To treat Brown Patch, you will need to use a Brown Patch fungicide which is readily available for purchase at the local garden shop. The fungicide should be mixed with water from it's concentrated form, and then sprayed onto the lawn as per manufacturers recommendations on the product label.

In most cases, treatment for Brown Patch disease in turf may require several treatments over a month or two.

Prevention

To prevent Brown Patch Disease from occurring in turf, there are several practices which should be implemented into routine lawn care, lawns should be aerated regularly to create greater drainage so water doesn't continue to sit on the turf surface for too long. The next best thing is to ensure there is as much direct sunlight to the lawn as possible, this can include pruning surrounding bushes and trees, and finally, it is always best to follow the golden rules when watering lawns;

• water only in the mornings to prevent moisture from staying in the sod overnight
• water more deeply - water lawns for a longer time at each watering
• water less often - reduce the number of times lawns are watered each week