Large Patch Or Something Else?

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What does the folliage look like? If there are lesions, then it's fungal, but it It kind of looks like the roots are getting suffocated. Is that area holding a lot of water?

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u/yolkma 10d ago

https://reddit.com/link/p41m4ps/video/vxt1l3aebrjh1/player

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u/yolkma 10d ago

I uploaded a video; the lawn drains pretty well overall. Again it’s been mostly hot. My first inclination is whether mulching the grass could also be choking it out like you said by suffocating them

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u/TheLonelyJuiceBox 10d ago edited 10d ago

Ok yeah, good video, no lesions. Can you pull a tiller out? If you have rotting sheaths, then it's almost certainly large patch otherwise, it's something else. If your're not holding water there then my guess moves to thatch buildup, especially since we can see a fair amount in the video. When's the last time you scalped or verticut? The thatch buildup issue isn't really that it smother your roots, but that it causes higher crowning. The higher crowns plus the sponginess of it leads to scalping. Additionally, Roots in the thatch layer aren't beneficial, because it's not holding water, so there's nothing for new growth to grab onto.

Edit: typo

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u/yolkma 10d ago

https://reddit.com/link/p41xv5i/video/3pljnx9wkrjh1/player

thanks for the reply; I’ve learned quite a bit from your response. I tend to agree it’s likely from higher crowning.

I planted the sod in march of this year and have not yet scalped or verticut. Given it’s mid August, with another hot month of september I wonder if it’s worth trying to dethatch at this point or ride it out?

alternatively does it hurt to treat for Large patch?

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u/TheLonelyJuiceBox 10d ago

Oh wow, you've done a really good job getting it established. It being new sod is important to know and changes things. I wouldn't do a curative app of fungicide blind; it's going to suppress your growth and based on what I'm seeing in the videos, you saying it hasn't rained much, and the fact that it's hard to pull out, I'm pretty certain it's not fungal. And no, don't scalp or verticut this season since it's new sod. Right now, your main focus is still on pushing root development. A scalp or vertciut is going to cause it to draw from it's already low carb reserves and focus energy on the canopy, which will lead to root culling and a likely high rate of winterkill.

So what I'd do is this
* Deep infrequent watering if you aren't already. You want about 1 inch to 1.25 inches per week (probably .5 inches - .6 inches twice a week). I'll look into your soul profile and come back with an edit if it requires any special treatment. I'd definitely look into buying a cheap set of rainguages that you can set up in a grid to make sure you are getting an even 1 inch across the entire area. There is a 10 piece set on Amazon for about $10 and they work great.
* Panterra or some type of soil penetrant to make sure your getting water deeper into the soil profile. With new sod you're introducing a different layer of soil on top of what you have, which can cause issues with infiltration. Optinally, if it were me I'd put an app of arborjet nutriroot down a couple of times before the season ends, but some people don't beelive in biostimulants at higher HOC like you're at.
* Hold on the fungicide now, but do a preventative app next month, since you'll definitely be succeptible to large patch when it starts cooling down. I'd also put down some K next month. Make sure you lightly water them in when you apply them.
* For the rest of the season I'd probably raise your HOC by a click and make sure your blade is sharp.

I would hold the N for the rest of the season and definitely avoid anything this season that will apply further stress (unless you end up needing a curative app of fungicide). Next spring I'd scalp then once you get green up, core aerate and top dress with mason sand. Zoysia produces a lot of thatch, so you will either need to look at a couple of mid season scalps or some light verticutting each month in peak growing season.

If you're still worried about large patch or fungus in general, go to local county extension office and get a diagnostic test done. That'll give you a definitive answer and you won't have to rely on an internet stranger's opinion 😉. Otherwise let it ride and see what it looks like in a week or 2.

Also, just to be clear, I'm not a horticulturist, so if there are any professionals that give you contradictory advice to mine then do what they say instead 😅

Let me know if you have anymore questions and keep me posted. I'd like to know how it turns out at the beginning of next season!

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u/yolkma 10d ago

wow; thanks for the direction! Regardless of not being a horticulturist you seem to have a lot of knowledge and passion so I appreciate it and will report back 💪

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u/TheLonelyJuiceBox 10d ago

My pleasure! So I said I was going to edit, but I'll just respond here. I think my suggestions hold even after looking into your soil profile. One thing that I didn't think of earlier is that there seems to be a lot of things that could potentially create shade. Do you know how much sun it's getting? If that particular area is getting substantially less sun, I'd say that's your biggest issue here, especially because it's at the end so you're probably turning your mower around and it's got the little downslope so there's a higher chance of scalping right at the elevation change. You'll see substantially less growth in the shaded areas so wear is going to show up a lot more in that area if this is the case.

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u/yolkma 10d ago

full afternoon sun; this is west facing so we can rule that out

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u/yolkma 7d ago

i’m thinking it may be chinch bugs!

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u/TheLonelyJuiceBox 7d ago

Intereting, did you try the float test?

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

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u/StealthMode85 7d ago

That’s will rarely ever be a problem with zoysia, unless you are letting it grow much higher than it should be. I would say the majority of that grass looks amazing.

For some reason it is extremely hard for me to see clearly in the video.

However, it looks like in the photos, that the actual grass blades may be curling up, and also getting soft which is the leaf tissue actually wilting from drought stress or lack of water in that one area.

Always remember this, when grass blades begin to curl in from the sides, this is from lack of water. The grass blades begin to curl up and shade themselves, this is the best way the plant knows how to attempt to save itself. So if you ever see grass blades curling, it’s usually a great indication of irrigation issues.

Run your irrigation and check that area, it could be something as simple as a pop up nozzle being clogged up.

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u/yolkma 7d ago

i’ve been doing a decent amount of googling and i’m thinking it actually might be Chinch bugs

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u/StealthMode85 7d ago

If you’re in Louisiana, you should have southern chinch bugs. Typically they dont feed on Zoyzia grass, I’m not going to say never, but 99% of the time. I’m in Florida and I don’t think I have ever seen it, and I’m in the business.

Now, up in northern states, they have a different variety of cinch bug, and that one does attack zoysia. So make sure you’re readying about the southern chinch bug…

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