Spring Dead Spot (SDS)

bwmaier – posted 15 April 2005 21:03

Help!!!!!!!!! Bad news…Looks like I have spring dead spot. I’ve been researching it and it looks like all I can do is wait . Here is my situation:

I have circular spots that appear bleached…the color of the dormant grass. I will take pictures later and post them if it will help.

Douglasville/Dallas, GA area(Paulding Co.) west of Atlanta419 Bermuda (one of most suseptible breeds)pH level 5.9using 16-4-8 fertilizer at 8#/1k for initial spring green upP – 29# per acreK – 91# per acresoil is adequately drained, as it is on a hilllawn is 70% green right now

The soil does not have a lot of thatch, definitely not .5″ and is not too compacted. Has anyone had any problems with this fungus? The lawn was laid in fall 2002 by the builder. It sounds like my only hope is to core aerate the yard and perhaps apply some kind of fungicide such as Rubigan. I will make sure not to apply more than 1#N during the active growing season.

I am not a pro, just a concerned homeowner who loves to be outdoors and in the yard. Lesco is down the street from me.

I appreciate any ideas anyone has!

seed – posted 19 April 2005 06:57

The images has been placed here:

https://turfgrass.com/puzzlers/sds.html

Phil

ted – posted 19 April 2005 11:35

your ph is too low- could be the “root” of your problems….

bwmaier – posted 19 April 2005 13:01

What should the ideal pH be for hybrid bermuda?

ted – posted 19 April 2005 15:56

you could look at your soiltest results, but at least up in the 6.5 -7 range i would think. depends alot upon your soil type.

turfie – posted 20 April 2005 09:55

Generally, ted is right in that a pH around neutral is optimum for plant growth. However, a pH of 5.9 would not present a problem for bermudagrass. When pH gets below 5.5, you may start to have problems with aluminum toxicity.

A little acidity can be good in that it can ward off certain fungal pathogens….not in this case. It could be brown patch. I would recommend sending a sample to a diagnostic clinic to be sure.