Help! My Bermuda grass is dying!!!!

Ric Swanson – posted 02 June 2004 17:33

I sodded 10,000 sq. feet of hybrid bermuda last year at our new house in central Texas. I took great care last year to insure that it ‘took’ well…and it did. After it’s dormant period this winter, it also came back very nicely this spring. Now, suddenly within the past week , whole patches of it are dying!

Since we’ve had our first really hot days this week, At first I thought it just needed more water (I have an irrigation system), so I soaked it thoroughly the past couple of days.

Today I notice that the dead spots are spreading! This must be a disease??

Please help if you can. I’m losing my beautiful lawn quickly.

I will post some photos after my dig. camera finishes charging.

Thank you in advance for any advice you can provide…

Ric

ted – posted 02 June 2004 19:56

need some detailed measurements on your watering amounts.

tommy – posted 06 June 2004 19:07

Sod webworm or Grubs can also destroy patches of bermuda! Probe around with a shovel on the edges of the dead spots…peel away the turf and see if you can find any of those “puppies”. If you find worms,(that are not earthworms), apply any insecticide labeled for turf. There are usually a few to choose from at your local garden center. Disease is not common on hybrid bermuda unless the weather is hot& humid…. combined with poor soil drainage.

ted – posted 06 June 2004 19:35

texas is hot and humid with poor drainage to many of it’s soils! grubs are c-shaped white worms- you would have to have a population of around 20 or so per sq. ft. to cause any major damage. store bought insecticides won’t touch them. Pro products like Oftanol or Merit are your choice.

Ric Swanson – posted 07 June 2004 14:12

I water thoroughly (40 minutes per section) 2-3 times per week when the summer heat is on. drainage is very good on the entire lawn.

There are no visible grubs or any other visible creatures on a sample section I dug up.

The brown spots have now (overnight) begun to spread to my backyard, which was ‘perfect’ yesterday morning.

Here’s what I’ve done since initially posting this thread:

1. mowed.2. aerated.

3. treated with thiophanate-methyl granules (Scott’s lawn fungus control) per instructions.

4. Fertilized.

I have not noticed any visible improvement yet.

Here are some photos….

lawn 1 lawn 2 lawn 3 lawn 4

[This message has been edited by Ric Swanson (edited 07 June 2004).]

[This message has been edited by Ric Swanson (edited 07 June 2004).]

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cohiba – posted 07 June 2004 14:32

Ric,It’s really hard to tell from the pics what is wrong. Almost looks like you have a few things going on. Lawn 1 looks like it has to be a disease or dog urine spot? Lawn 2 is a bazarre shape, no idea. Lawn 3 and lawn 4 almost appear as though the lawn was mowed in wilt stage. Or under drought stress. Did you do any spot spraying for weeds? Did you have any unordinary amount of traffic on the lawn? Big party? If you did put a fungicide down it may only stop the disease not cure the turf that is effected. Also i think the fungicide you used is a systemic. Which will take a few days to go through the plant. A contact type of fungicide, possibly Daconil, may also be helpful.

Grasping at straws……..Good Luck.

ted – posted 07 June 2004 20:10

really interesting. did you spot spray anything? also look at the leaf blades- do they have spots on them? dark spots are an indicator of fungus- if you have closeups of the leaf blade we could get really accurate on the diagnosis. the spots are so perfectly edged it doesn’t look like fungus- most fungus is roundish. try to find another type of fungicide- ag supply store or co-op or something. hardware store stuff won’t touch it. we have enough trouble with the golf/pro versions.

tommy – posted 07 June 2004 20:11

It kind of looks like- Bermuda scale,(insect). This problem is commonly confused with disease. I believe liquid ‘Diazinon’ insecticide is the control…….but you should probably check out Texas A&M turf dept.(web site) for confirmation.

ted – posted 07 June 2004 20:13

whoa! i think i might have it. you said the recent hot temps have been the first this year. do these sections look like bermuda?- it almost looked like they were a different kind of grass, maybe a cool season grass or poa annua???- kinda hard to tell without closeups but i have a feeling……

Ric Swanson – posted 08 June 2004 19:13

Thanks for all the help, guys.

We have 3 dogs. Will dog urine damage hybrid bermuda to this extent?

No extraordinary traffic, besides the dogs, and they have their ‘paths’ that they travel which are clearly depressed (but very green) areas along the fence.

I haven’t spot sprayed for anything.

So…Diazinon for insects, daconil for spot fungus control. got it.

I don’t think the affected areas are a different grass, though it’s possible.

I don’t see any spots on the dead leaves.

I’ll try and get some good closeups posted.

The good news is we’ve had a ton of rain the last 2 days and there’s new GREEN grass starting to come up in the dead spots.

Thanks a million for taking the time to comment.

Ric

cohiba – posted 11 June 2004 20:43

Ric, I seem to agree with Ted. I think you may have HAD some Poa Annua in there and lost it when the heat and dry started in. The good news is that the Bermuda, if treated right, should help fill in those spots. Poa Annua is a grasslike weed that has a short(less than 1″ deep) root system that cannot handle heat and/or drought stress.

Good Luck…….

Alex_in_FL – posted 12 June 2004 11:34

You probably can’t get diazinon. Try a product with bifenthrin or permethrin.

Also, if you really think it is fungus then don’t fertilize until you have it undercontrol.

Good luck!

Alex

Bermuda Destoryer – posted 22 June 2004 19:22

I’ll trade lawns as I cannot get this crap to die no matter how many chemicals I use…including the stuff that makes cars go.

SNeely – posted 28 July 2004 06:20

This site has pictures of all the different kinds of fungi.

http://herbi-systems.com/FAQ_s/Lawn_Diseases/lawn_diseases.htm

Some look like the pictures you posted below.