Fungus and Lime

bwmaier – posted 01 July 2004 10:51

I live in Paulding County, GA (30 mi. NW of Atlanta) and have hybrid bermuda. It’s been real muggy and we’ve been having a lot of afternoon pop-up thundershowers. My grass is starting to develop what looks like a fungus or disease in some spots. I’m not real good with colors, but it appears that the blades are a light brown or gray with some dark splotches on them. Is there a chemical I should use or should I just let it be? I’ve read on the forum a suggestion for Immunox. I am not in the turf management business, so anything I get will have to be from a feed and seed, hardware store, or Home Depot. I have been cutting the yard at 2″ and mostly bagging, but I like to leave the clippings on the yard when not too tall. I’ve been fertilizing about 35# of 16-4-8 once a month.

Second question…the county extension soil analysis results from Jan 04 told me to put down 120# of lime (7800 sq. feet of yard). I did this early spring. Without testing, would it be safe to put another 40# down, or should my yard not require it? I have GA red clay.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

ted – posted 02 July 2004 19:01

i don’t think it’s the fertilizing. you’re putting down less than a pound of nitrogen per month during the growing season of a warm weather grass. however, i don’t like the leaving the clippings on the lawn. this can definitely affect the air flow, and along with your frequent rains, can help cause fungus. the soil test said to put down 120 pounds for the entire lawn? or did they specify per 1000 sq. ft? either calculation seems a little unusual…

bwmaier – posted 02 July 2004 21:57

Ted,

The recommendations were for 15# per 1k square feet. The results came to 117# of lime, so I just put down 3 40# bags. After speaking to someone with the county extension agency, they suggested not to lime for another two or three years, depending on what the next soil analysis said. I can handle that.

I went ahead and put down two 10# bags of Scotts Fungus Control. Hopefully, this will do the trick.

–Brian

ted – posted 04 July 2004 16:18

yeah, 15 pounds of lime isn’t hardly worth doing- you must have not been too low. also, try testing with a turf company as opposed to a county extension agent- alot more specific, indepth test results and recommendations. since you seem to be fairly handy, you can also buy better quality products at a ag supply store. without getting into labels, etc. you can buy ag products that are identical to professional turf products. but of course, read the label and follow all instructions.