Common Types of Lawn Diseases in Georgia

Are you noticing patches of discolored grass? What about patches of thin grass or no grass at all? You could have a fungal lawn disease negatively impacting your grass health.

Several lawn diseases affect homeowners and property owners across Middle Georgia. Some of the most common fungal lawn diseases we see on a regular basis include:

Brown Patch – Rhizoctonia solani

Brown patch is one of the most common diseases affecting lawn and field grasses worldwide, including Georgia turfgrasses. It develops on cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass, fescues, ryegrass, and bentgrass.

How It Looks

Brown patch disease appears in circular, light-brown patches that can range from a few inches in diameter to a few feet. In some patches, the affected grass only appears discolored. Some patches of grass may look thinned out, and other patches can completely die off, leaving you with patches of only dirt.

On dewy mornings, you can often see the mycelium (the cobweb-like network of threads that fungi produce) on the affected grass leaves.

How It Develops

Brown patch’s life cycle begins in the winter with the sclerotia (hardened masses of the mycelium) that rest among the grass or soil. Rhizoctonia solani does not flourish in the cold and is most active when temperatures reach 80°F or higher. So, from fall to late spring or early summer, Rhizoctonia solani takes the form of sclerotia until conditions are ideal for germinating, reproducing, and infecting again.

Once daytime temperatures rise to 80°F or higher, the fungus begins germinating and producing its mycelium. This mycelium infects grass leaves and spreads from leaf to leaf, creating new patches throughout the summer season.

Dollar Spot – Clarireedia jacksonii (Formerly Sclerotinia homoeocarpa)

Dollar spot is another common turfgrass disease in Georgia that affects several species of grasses, including bentgrass, annual bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass, and bermudagrass.

How It Looks

Dollar spot discolors patches of grass, turning affected grass blades brown and straw-like. Each patch is usually small, only a few inches in diameter, but the patches form in clusters and can affect an entire field if not treated or managed. In the early stages, a dollar spot may look like grass affected by animal urine or something else harmless. However, it can quickly spread to surrounding grasses.

One way to determine if discolored grass is due to dollar spot is to look for mycelia, which are most apparent in the morning before sun exposure. Also, look to see if the affected grass is purplish or light brown in color.

How It Spreads

Dollar spot thrives in hot temperatures but can still germinate and spread in temperatures as low as 56°F, making it a frustrating nuisance from early spring to late fall. It spreads through its mycelium, which grows from grass blade to grass blade.

Gray Leaf Spot – Pyricularia grisea

Gray leaf spot affects a range of grass species in Georgia, including tall fescue, bermudagrass, ryegrass, St. Augustine, and more.

How It Appears

Gray leaf spot presents differently on different grass and plant species. In general, the grass blade will develop one or several tan or gray spots that have a dark brown or purplish border. Over time, these spots will grow and spread on the blade, becoming less circular and more rectangular or misshapen. Eventually, the grass will develop a dehydrated or sun-scorched look and can ultimately die off if the fungus takes over too much of the blade.

How It Spreads

Gray leaf spot is most active in hot and moist environments and in daytime temperatures between 77°F and 86°F. Like all fungi, it spreads through mycelium growth between grass blades or spores that travel when disturbed by foot traffic or wind.

Large Patch – Rhizoctonia

Large patch is caused by the same fungal genus as brown patch. While brown patch affects cool-season grasses at the height of the summer, large patch affects warm-season grasses (like bermudagrass, St. Augustine, centipedegrass, and zoysiagrass) in fall and spring.

How It Appears

Signs of large patch include big patches of discoloration in the grass in both the fall and spring. Patches can appear light green, yellow, or orange in the fall before the turf enters dormancy for the winter. Once the turf reemerges in the spring, the affected grass will likely appear as large, brown patches on the lawn or field.

How It Spreads

While Rhizoctonia solani thrives in hot, humid weather conditions, other species can affect warm-season grasses once temperatures drop to 70°F or lower. It stops being active once temperatures become too cold but will reactivate once temperatures start to rise again in the spring. It spreads through mycelium growth between grass blades.

Leaf Spot – Helminthosporium

Similar to gray leaf spot, Helminthosporium leaf spot produces discolored spots on grass blades, especially on grasses like bluegrass and bermudagrass. Helminthosporium is not a single fungus but includes a variety of fungi called bipolaris, drechslera, and exserohilum.

How It Appears

Instead of appearing gray, the spots appear reddish, purplish, or tan. As they spread on the blade, a spot can transform into a yellowish-brown color and grow alongside the blade’s vein or spread into a large, elongated, rectangular shape.

How It Spreads

Leaf spot tends to occur in the spring, summer, and fall when temperatures are warm and conditions are humid. When the fungi are active, they will produce mycelium that will grow from blade to blade and spores that will spread when disturbed.

Spring Dead Spot – Ophiosphaerella

Spring dead spot is a common disease for bermudagrass and is caused by soil-dwelling fungal species that belong to the genus Ophiosphaerella.

How It Appears

Spring dead spots present as patches of grass that look as if bleach has been poured over them. Each patch of grass develops a white discoloration, and the blades become dry and withered. Patches are usually small or medium-sized, ranging from a few inches in diameter to a couple of feet wide. Patches tend to grow in clusters and can spread across an entire lawn or field if not treated or managed. The patches are most defined in the spring when healthy grass grows in bright and green while the affected grass “grows” in white and withered.

How It Spreads

The fungi that cause spring dead spots are active in the fall when soil temperatures are below 70°F and will become inactive when temperatures reach 50°F or lower. They will reactivate when temperatures begin to rise again in the spring. When active, the fungi will produce mycelium and spores that grow and spread from blade to blade.

Do You Notice Lawn Diseases Affecting Your Yard or Field? Talk to Mid Georgia Turf Solutions About Our Effective Lawn Treatment!

Our lawn care experts treat lawns and fields across Middle Georgia with disease control solutions that eliminate fungi and restore healthy, lush, and even grass growth. We’ll evaluate your yard, determine the disease(s) affecting your grass, and create a treatment plan that is right for you.

Schedule a lawn disease control evaluation today: 478-992-5705

Mid Georgia Turf Solutions provides essential lawn care to homeowners and property managers throughout the Middle Georgia area. We service customers in and around:

• Barnesville, GA
• Bolingbroke, GA
• Bonaire, GA
• Byron, GA
• Centerville, GA
• Covington, GA
• Eatonton, GA
• Fayetteville, GA
• Forsyth, GA
• Fort Valley, GA
• Gray, GA
• Griffin, GA
• Hampton, GA
• Jackson, GA
• Juliette, GA
• Kathleen, GA
• Knoxville, GA
• Lizella, GA
• Macon, GA
• Manchester, GA
• McDonough, GA
• Milledgeville, GA
• Monticello, GA
• Newnan, GA
• Perry, GA
• Sparta, GA
• Stockbridge, GA
• Thomaston, GA
• Warner Robins, GA
• Zebulon, GA