yellow grass

ace-em – posted 07 September 2001 17:07

The st. augustine grass in my backyard has been yellow for the past 2 years. It also has some brown spots on the leaves. I have tried fertilizers, fungicides, and ironite to get it looking healthy again. Nothing has worked. It has started spreading towards the front yard as well. The worst areas seem to be in the shade. Any ideas on what it is or what to do?

Wes – posted 30 July 2002 11:37

I have the exact same problem. Did you ever find a cure?

PLCAA certified turf pro – posted 30 July 2002 22:13

The spots on the turf sound like a disease called grey leaf spot. First make sure that the mower blade is sharp. If it is not the leaf tips of the grass will be ripped and not cut, it will look jagged. Second reduce watering down to a bare minimum, for excessive moisture can encourage this. Be careful of adding alot of fertilizer, because it also can encourage this disease. However a light dose of fert will help the grass. It’s a difficult disease to deal with. Fungicides will not kill this disease, only protect the healthy grasses from getting it. Only time and cultural practices can help in the long run.