The calendar below shows the times of the year that a particular
disease might be expected to occur. Remember that for a disease to occur, a
susceptible host, a conducive climate, and the pathogen must all occur
at the same time, over a sustained period. If the climate stays
cooler than normal, you will expect to see the diseases that occur during
the cooler season last longer, and vice versa. For instance, Large
(Brown) patch in our warm season turf grasses lasted till almost the
end of June in 2004.
Look on the calendar at the occurance of Brown patch. Note that it is
a summer disease of cool season turf and a spring and fall disease of
warm season turf. The agent causing the disease is the same,
Rhizoctonia solani. The difference is the interaction between
the host and climate.
By noting the weather conditions and observing what diseases are
present on a given turf, you will soon be able to tailor a calendar of
your own.
How do I control the disease on my turf?
First of all, try to identify the disease by using the calendar, the
links to specific diseases below the calendar, and the image database. If you are unsure of your
diagnosis, please submit a sample to our Diagnostic Laboratory through
our home page, or take a sample to
your county extension office. The cost of an expert diagnosis is only
$6.00, a amount easily saved by preventing an inappropriate fungicide
application. Secondly, choose an effective fungicide by consulting
the professional turf pathologist ratings of fungicide efficacy for
management of various diseases, found
on this web site. Use the ratings to pick three or four fungicides
that work best for the disease, then consult our home owner fungicide
database linked to on the bottom left of our home page. To find a fungicides with
the same active ingredient as those you chose, click on "View
fungicide". Then select that fungicide to see what, if any turf label
it might have for homeowners. You can also ask the database directly
for fungicides that will control your turf disease. Be aware, that
different fungicides may use slightly different names for the same
disease. Check all similar disease names. Please read and follow label
directions because it is possible they may differ from this web site.
Brown Patch, Large
Patch, or Rhizoctonia Blight of Warm Season Turfgrasses (pdf)
Slime molds (rtf)
Gray leaf spot (rtf)
Dollar spot (rtf)
Take-all of St. Augustinegrass and Centipedegrass (rtf) Revised June 25, 2005
Take-all of St. Augustinegrass and Centipedegrass (Microsoft Doc format) Revised June 25, 2005