Text: Turfgrass Disease Identification
Symptom: Distinct patches of yellow, light straw- or brown-colored turfgrass
Size: Patches are less than three inches in diameter
Potential Disease:
- Dollar Spot: Leaf spot lesions with tan- to straw-colored centers
- Nigrospora Blight: Tan- to white-centered lesions during warmer weather than dollar spot
Size: Patches are more than three inches in diameter
Potential Disease:
- Large Patch: Circular pathes up to several feet across, may have yellow to orage border
- Take-all Root Rot: Irregular patches, eight to 24 inches wide; mix of yellow and dead grass
Symptom: Rings or arcs of lush green to dead grass; mushrooms may be present
Potential Disease:
- Hydrophobic Fairy Ring: Rings or arcs more than 15 inches wide; may repel water and have mushrooms
- Rhizoctonia Leaf and Sheath Spot: Rings less than 15 inches wide; narrow, consistent width; doesn't repel water
Symptom: No distinct patches are present
Spots on leaves
Potential Disease
- Rust: Orange spots or blisters on leaves; orange rubs off easily
- Bipolaris: Red to purple leaf spots and and blotches widely ranging in size
- Cercospora: Narrow purple spots that turn oblong and irregular with tan centers and brown borders
- Gray Leaf Spot: Spots are oval to irregular with brown borders and tan to gray centers
- Anthracnose: Reddish-brown to brown spots with yellow halo
No leaf spots
Potential Disease:
- Slime Mold: Grass is covered with slimy or crusty growth that is easily removed
- Pythium Root Rot and/or Nematodes: Scattered yellow leaves and general decline