Disease, Pests, and Invasive Species
Bermudagrass Suppression in Fescue
Almost all good landscape horror stories seem to have Bermuda grass in a starring role. It creeps into shrub beds, grows across pavement and pathways, it creates yellow patches in fescue lawns in the winter. It even degrades the integrity of asphalt by growing in it and under it. So, what do you do? Kill it!
This grass has its place, but it doesn’t belong in the average fescue lawn. Suppression can be a lengthy process, sometimes taking several years to complete. Here are some control strategies that can be considered:
Option 1: To have your lawn in disrepair for four to six weeks begin to kill it with grass herbicides in late July and follow up the process biweekly until one week before seeding, A return of the Bermuda grass next summer is almost sure, but you will have much less of it. The process will have to be repeated.
Option 2: In late spring, early summer when Bermuda grass has fully broken dormancy begin the suppression process with grass herbicides, monitor and re-spray as needed.
Regardless of whether plan one or plan two is best for you, there are some cultural practices that should be employed.
Since herbicides are not effective when your target weed is in drought stress you should keep the Bermuda grass watered during the killing process. Use good judgment about how much to water. Don’t over irrigate, just keep it damp.
After the effects of the first spray are visible, dethatch the area and remove the debris. Re-growth (and there will be some) will be easier to see and herbicides easier to apply. Expect to re-spray on two week intervals.
Brown Patch
Brown patch disease is something that everyone with aspiring, high profile turf is familiar with. Often times this "turf failure" is not diagnosed correctly. Misdiagnosis may be drought stress or simply "my lawn burned up." Making things worse is that desperate lawn owners try anything but fungicides to correct the problem. Along with a solid fungicide spray program, cultural practices will also aid in the control of brown patch disease.
Common brown patch disease prevention practices are:
Irrigate in the morning to allow the turf to dry before nightfall.
Water deeply once per week, avoid irrigation the rest of the week. Absolutely NO every other day watering . . . NONE!
Bag the clippings to reduce thatch buildup
Mow at the proper height: 3 1/2 to 4 inches
Avoid letting your lawn to grow taller than 5 inches before mowing