Brown Spots - Dry Crunchy Grass

[mcnutter1]

Hi All,

I live in Central New Jersey (Cream Ridge /Farm Country) and have been battling quite a few lawn issues for some years but as of late an onslaught of brown spots all over. A little background... My house is 4 years old, new construction and I dont know the quality of what the builder backfilled the land with before hydroseeding. I had some work down in my hard and when the contractor tore up the lawn I had them replace about 15K square feet with Kentucky Blue sod so my lawn is a mix of builder grass, NJ Blend KB Sod. My soil also seems to do a terrible job at absorbing water, lots of run off and standing water after heavy rains / etc. To add insult to injury I also have lots of Dallis grass in the front which I've been treating with the Ortho product with some minor results. All around I have issues but I assume there is a common root cause that can help make the lawn healthier which is why I'm making this post. A few more details...

I have irrigation, about 22 zones and I water frequently.
My entire lawn is about 40K square feet and comprised of Sod and various other grasses in sections.
I use one of the brand name fertilizer companies who seem to just spray and fertilize with a standard blend on a seasonal schedule.


Attached are some pictures of the brown spots.

[turf_toes]

I lived in Cream Ridge. Nice area.

Those photos aren’t going to help much. Try taking a closeup pic of the grass itself.

Those spots could be caused by a lot of things. A closeup of the grass blades could help determine if it is a fungal problem.

But as noted, brown spots can be caused by a lot of things.

(Dog urine spots, lack of water/buried rubble, grubs)

The pics posted confirm your account of problems. But there’s not enough there to help determine the cause.

I’d start by looking at the grass blades. Try finding some that are at least partially green. Do you see any spots on the blade?

Have you used a screw driver to test for buried rock or hard soil?

Do you have a dog who peed regularly in that area?

You say you water frequently. That might lead to fungal problems. Deep and infrequent watering is better.

Is that the area closest to your home?

The reason I ask is that some builders will just bury leftover wood and concrete in the soil near the home.

That debris heats up the soil when it gets hot outside and causes stress for the grass in the area.

But that’s just a wild guess and not a diagnosis that you should go on without checking the other possibilities.

You also should read the labels on those weed killers. Most warn against applying during times of high heat (over 80 degrees F)

Applying during hotter periods can harm your lawn.

[mcnutter1]

I attached more pictures... I have dogs but they only go in the fenced in yard, the brown spots appear throughout all of the lawn, front and back (where the dogs go).

I don't think its a lack of water, I water quite a bit, I just walked out there and and the soil is still moist... I think i have lots of clay because drainage is a big problem but thats just a guess. We've also had lots of heavy rain recently.

I just did the screwdriver test, no rocks or anything.

[turf_toes]

How often and how long each time do you water?

It sounds like you are loving it to death.

I water once a week for about 90 minutes at each zone.

Constant watering leads to fungal issues which can lead to a brown lawn.

[mcnutter1]

Every other day, each zone runs between 45-90 minutes depending on size / sun. I have the irrigation on a Rachio and it goes by the weather forecast so on cooler days it will skip. I can certainly water less, but I was under the assumption that grass likes lots of water.

[mcnutter1]

More pictures

[turf_toes]

The goal should be 1-inch per week. Put an empty tuna can out and time it until it fills the can to 1-inch of water.

That’s how long you should water per zone, per week. (Assuming you have the same type heads on each zone. If that’s not true, you’ll need to run the test again on that other zone)

Some find it helpful to break that apart in two sessions.

But too much moisture can cause fungal problems.

[mcnutter1]

OK, so I adjusted my schedule to longer runs once a week. Any other recommendations? I put down some diseaseex about 2 weeks ago at the curative rate but no real change.

[turf_toes]

You’ll want to examine your grass blades for signs of fungus. See posts above.

The stuff that’s brown, if caused by a pathogen, aren’t going to one day turn green.

The grass has to grow out of it, assuming the plant isn’t already dead.

So, assuming it is a fungus, you may need another application within 2 weeks of when you previously applied.

I do wonder though, what indication did you have that you had a lawn fungus that caused you to apply fungicide?

Your original post made it seem you had no idea what was causing the problem…

[MorpheusPA]

Seconded, if you need a second opinion. I actually don't see any signs of an active fungal infection (which for every other day watering with the summer we're having is a minor miracle). But those brown tips aren't a sign of a healthy lawn, which should actually be looking really nice right now. Still, treating it once isn't going to hurt, and I agree that something is going on here.

Definitely cut back watering to, at most, every third day and preferably less often. Current temperatures are reasonable, although the next two weeks look to feature little rainfall. Your lawn, even with its current short roots, still shouldn't have too many problems moving to half the watering with more water delivered at one time. But if it starts to wilt, let us know.

[mcnutter1]

Thanks for the replies... I assumed fungus based on some research and what looked like dollar spot originally. Second I thought Grubs but checked and there was no signs so I went for a Fungicide and then DiseaseEx a few weeks later.

I plan on doing the soil test but figured I would first start with some photos incase anything stood out as obvious.

Outside of the lawn, I have a few trees and bushes that seem to be half dead or unhealthy looking... Dry branches that crack off or just very thin on leaves. I had 2 Coral Bark Maples which died of Bacterial Blight, also a few Crepe Myrtles that just died off also... So wondering if there is something going on all round, not just the grass.

I cut back watering, should I do another application of a fungicide or something else?

[turf_toes]

I would only apply a fungicide if I was absolutely certain the lawn had a fungal problem.

Check the grass blades. If you don’t see signs of fungus, don’t apply.

[NutterButter]

How about as a preventative?

[MorpheusPA]

Yeah, if you did it once, you stopped whatever was there. I don't see anything there, so a second shot isn't necessary, worth it, or going to help. Quite the opposite, in fact.

"Bacterial Blight." That's not a fungus, so it sounds like there are a couple things going on here. Crepe myrtles can suffer plenty of diseases (I have one).

For right now, I'd ride the lower watering levels and keep an eye on it.