What’s causing the tips to lose color like this???

Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, Centipede, Bahia, Paspalum, etc
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Spacklerstyle
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Joined: January 20th, 2019, 9:50 pm
Location: Dripping Springs, TX
Grass Type: Bermuda Tiff 419
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What’s causing the tips to lose color like this???

Post by Spacklerstyle » August 10th, 2021, 9:14 pm

Hey Guru’s

I need some help figuring out what’s going on here. My normally and otherwise pristine Bermuda lawn looks lime green from a distance… but that’s a result of the clear/brown appearance of the grass blade tips. Please take a look at these photos. I cut with my TruCut reel 2 days ago, and the tips have already done this. I just had the reel sharpened and aligned last month. I also have treat d for army worms without the last month (I got them bad and applied 2 rounds of bifenrin already - haven’t seen any sign of them for weeks now however).

Any ideas?
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MorpheusPA
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Re: What’s causing the tips to lose color like this???

Post by MorpheusPA » August 10th, 2021, 11:03 pm

I sometimes had this problem if I oversharpened my blades. I have sharpeners from bastard to 15,000 grit.

(Not to go into too much detail, but I shine epoxy and also resharpen my razor cartridge blades; rather than lasting a week and hating it after Shave #3, plus costing a fortune, they last up to 4 months and are always as sharp as the north wind).

Mower blades do best if not sharpened too much past 400, tops, and I really don't even bother going that far. Speed on a reel also matters; try moving a bit faster.

Spacklerstyle
Posts: 92
Joined: January 20th, 2019, 9:50 pm
Location: Dripping Springs, TX
Grass Type: Bermuda Tiff 419
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Experienced

Re: What’s causing the tips to lose color like this???

Post by Spacklerstyle » August 11th, 2021, 12:10 am

Interesting… Max I’ve used is 120 grit… although fascinating concept - I ever would have guessed too sharp is a bad thing. Seems weird though. Would overly sharp blades do this?
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pristinegreen75
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Re: What’s causing the tips to lose color like this???

Post by pristinegreen75 » August 11th, 2021, 12:18 pm

I also think Morph is correct. I have an older set of Quad Cut blades for my Honda and just picked up a new set. I just filed off the black paint on the new set. Didn't put a edge on them. I had a pretty good edge on the old set and noticed the brown tips on my KBG. I thought the edge wasn't sharp enough so I put a sharper edge it. No help. When I put the new set on guess what? Yeah, very little brown tips. Then the light bulb went on! It seems weird but butter knife sharp is better than razor sharp. (as far as grass goes)

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MorpheusPA
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Re: What’s causing the tips to lose color like this???

Post by MorpheusPA » August 11th, 2021, 1:07 pm

They shouldn't, no. The super-closeup is symptomatic of a fungal disease that's attacking the tips. What, I can't tell you.


Spacklerstyle
Posts: 92
Joined: January 20th, 2019, 9:50 pm
Location: Dripping Springs, TX
Grass Type: Bermuda Tiff 419
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Experienced

Re: What’s causing the tips to lose color like this???

Post by Spacklerstyle » August 16th, 2021, 9:38 pm

MorpheusPA wrote:
August 11th, 2021, 1:07 pm
They shouldn't, no. The super-closeup is symptomatic of a fungal disease that's attacking the tips. What, I can't tell you.
Could that be army worms? They are back…had to reapply some bifenrin.

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MorpheusPA
Posts: 18129
Joined: March 5th, 2009, 7:32 pm
Location: Zone 6 (Eastern PA)
Grass Type: Elite KBG
Lawn Size: 10000-20000
Level: Advanced

Re: What’s causing the tips to lose color like this???

Post by MorpheusPA » August 17th, 2021, 4:56 pm

If so, that's a rather light level of damage that's extremely consistent across the lawn. Usually it's patchier and you can see the movement patterns--but I'm not a direct expert. We don't get them up here, except the Yellow Striped on potatoes and the like.

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