Mid 40s here in NJ on Saturday, January 21. I got out in the yard today to pick up some sticks, and was overcome with disappointment; my lawn looks terrible. I know that there's nothing I can do about it now, but I'm way too impatient to be on the sidelines for another 6-8 weeks. So I figured I'd circulate a few photos from today to the experts. My lawn looked perfect in October following my annual renovation in early September. I learned about disease products last year, but I over did it with Scotts DiseaseEx; before learning from TLF that applying the same fungus product more than 2x in a row is a "no-no". My plan for the spring is to spray a couple applications of Subdue Maxx, spread some stress mix seed (60% Tall Fescue & 40% Ryegrass) to fill in the bare spots, and I should probably do a soil test. My lawn always come back strong in the spring (see 4th picture of my lawn in April of 2022), but the rollercoaster ride is frustrating: looking great in spring, slow decline over the summer but still decent, renovation in early September, looking perfect in October, and then the severe decline in late November... Repeat...
Impatiently awaiting the spring in NJ to stage a comeback for my lawn
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This is a typical pattern except for the last part about the severe decline in November. I think I remember seeing these pictures on a different thread. It's very odd to have a strong stand in October and have it fail in November. The only thing I know that does that is gray leaf spot. Those pics don't really look like it though.
The pics you show in April makes sense as that is a time of year where cool season grass is near its peak. What about pics from October before the Nov decline?
Also, the label says you can go 3X with the diseaseX before rotating (pythium is 2X). It's really hard to believe that's pythium hitting you in NJ in November. You are saying this happens every year (i.e., health overseed/reno result in Oct followed by widespread disease in Nov)? Or, this year is the first time?
Did Scotts finally update their label to mention rotating products? Last time I saw the DiseaseEx label a few years ago, there was no mention. It just said not to apply more than 9 (I think) times per year, which was disconcerting. It's about time they updated it. If they have, that is great. The problem is they don't make any other fungicode currently. A regular person using granulars from the local store or on Amazon would need to go to Jonathan Green, Bioadvanced, or another brand to get T-Methyl, since Scotts discontinued their product with it.
Good point. I just looked at the diseaseex label and it just says don't apply more than 37lb's per sqf per year. However, every azoxystrobin label I've seen says 3X unless targeting pythium (and now GLS, I see).
It brings up a good question though. Scott's label allows around 9 sequential apps per year. Does anyone have solid firsthand experience showing disease resistance with azoxystrobin because of multiple apps? I've never gone more than 3X sequential but how likely is resistance to say, brown patch, if you go 4X? My guess is not that likely.
It brings up a good question though. Scott's label allows around 9 sequential apps per year. Does anyone have solid firsthand experience showing disease resistance with azoxystrobin because of multiple apps? I've never gone more than 3X sequential but how likely is resistance to say, brown patch, if you go 4X? My guess is not that likely.
Thanks guys!! To answer the "tgreen" question, I've been going thru this similar pattern for about 5 years now. The only difference this time around was that I began using the DiseaseEx in spring 2022 thru fall 2022 (before that, I had never used a fungicide), and I scaled back on the watering following the early September 2022 reno (my thought was that in prior years, I watered the new lawn too much and for too long into the fall). Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the lawn while it was thriving from the end September following germination thru most of October. I generally only snap pics when I have a lawn issue & I'm in panic mode. I only had the one pic from April because I was snapping it of my puppy running around out there.
There are a lot of factors in play, but I'm pretty sure that the DiseaseEx did become less effective with continued use. The only other detail to note is that the primary fertilizer that I use is starter, since I'm always working with a relatively new lawn.
There are a lot of factors in play, but I'm pretty sure that the DiseaseEx did become less effective with continued use. The only other detail to note is that the primary fertilizer that I use is starter, since I'm always working with a relatively new lawn.
That's a really odd pattern to lose the stand in late Oct and for five years in a row. It's hard for me to believe it's due to disease but I also can't tell you what it is.
The only thing I can think is that maybe the roots are interfered with starting at two or three inches below the ground? That would explain the successful germination. Do you have any trees with spreading roots like maples? Maybe try taking some soil probes to see if something is going on underneath. I've seen utility companies around here dig holes, remove the dirt and backfill with mostly rock and maybe 3 inches of top soil. Maybe something like that going on?
The only thing I can think is that maybe the roots are interfered with starting at two or three inches below the ground? That would explain the successful germination. Do you have any trees with spreading roots like maples? Maybe try taking some soil probes to see if something is going on underneath. I've seen utility companies around here dig holes, remove the dirt and backfill with mostly rock and maybe 3 inches of top soil. Maybe something like that going on?
Any chance this is grub/insect related?
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