Brown patch - Ask Extension
Hi, this brown section started small in the upper left corner of this picture and appears to be spreading to the right and down. Zoysia is the grass....
Knowledgebase
Brown patch #872809
Asked June 12, 2024, 1:51 PM EDT
Hi, this brown section started small in the upper left corner of this picture and appears to be spreading to the right and down. Zoysia is the grass. I don't treat with anything and no other part of my lawn has this. There was a large gardinia just to the left of this near where my wife is standing which I just pruned in half. Maybe it was causing extra dampness in this spot?
Anyway, speculating as to cause and wondering how to mitigate?
Thanks!!
Wake County North Carolina
Expert Response
What you have looks like what is called Zoysia patch, or large patch which was formerly called brown patch. It is confusing when the experts change the names of diseases, but apparently large patch affects warm season grasses and is a different type of fungus. I’ve attached a link that describes it. Several different extension sites gave different answers about how to treat. Some said it will go away when it gets really warm, while others said you can treat with a fungicide. It is excessive moisture that allows the fungus to grown, so you might be right about the shrub allowing moisture to stay on lawn longer.
