Once again, November has brought out the brown patch fungus. During this time of year conditions are perfect for the development of one of Florida’s most damaging turf grass disease’s. Cooling temperatures and a few foggy mornings promote the resurgence of this pathogen that exists in the soil. The only good news is, this fungus only develops in about 10% of St. Augustine grasses.
All of our known Brown Patch fungus lawns are placed in a report that generates here at our office during the 1st week of November. This year we had well over a hundred accounts with a history of this problem. Once we received the list, we checked all of the properties to catch this disease at its earliest point and gain control without suffering any significant damage.
This season, we are treating with a few new products to hopefully gain an edge over the problem. When diagnosed, your technician schedules a 3 week follow up to reassess and treat as needed. We are using 3 different fungicides in a rotation to knock out the disease but we need some help from you as well.
Here are the 2 things we need from you if your lawn has been diagnosed with brown patch fungus:
**Stop Watering**
This disease spreads rapidly with water. Without reducing the amount of water as much as possible, this disease will spread and can linger into March
**Skip Mowing**
By not mowing the infected areas, this allows the fungicides to sit on the foliage longer. Our fungicides are topical so the longer they sit, the longer the perform. Also, mowing infected areas increases the likelihood of the disease spreading.
Your technician will advise you during their follow up whether or not to resume watering and mowing of the impacted areas. With our applications and your help, we will send this devastating turf disease into remission until next November.
**Article Updated 11/9/2020
