TULSA MASTER GARDENERS - Key to Turfgrass Diseases

Do you have a DISEASED TURF area??


by LEL

The best defense against turfgrass disease is to follow fundamental rules in turf management such as choice of adapted grass varieties, good drainage, proper watering, fertilization, thatch removal and mowing. When disease problems occur, early detection and proper identification of the disease are essential in order to select the proper control practice and reduce extensive damage.

To assist you in the identification of the major diseases attacking turfgrass in Oklahoma the following key has been prepared which provides a brief description of the various diseases. Select the entry that best describes your situation by clicking on the gray button to the left of your symptoms. Diagnosis will be displayed at the end of the key. Control information is available in the EAH.
NOTE: For additional information see: Bermuda or Fescue maintenance, and Tulsa TURF by Barry Fugatt.

  Leaves Healthy
    Seed heads black with dusty appearance
  Leaves spotted, usually not entirely yellow brown
      Leaf spots gray with purple or black ring around the spot
      Disease found on St. Augustine Grass
      Disease mostly on Bermudagrass or grass other than St. Augustine Grass, forming small dead spots about the size of a silver dollar in the lawn. See more info
    Leaf spots raised, yellowish, dusty
    Leaf spots dark, often with yellowish area around the spot and often in irregular lines along the leaf
  Leaves yellow or turning brown
    Leaves mostly dead at the base, easily pulled from runners, runners not dead
    Leaves usually only yellowish, not dead, growth poor
  Leaves and all other plant parts dead
      Dead areas appearing in spring as grass turns green
      Dead areas regularly circular over 6 inches in diameter, in Bermudagrass. See more info
      Dead areas irregular in shape,in other grasses as well as Bermudagrass See more info
      Dead areas appearing during summer growing season
      Dead areas small, circular, usually with "wet" or "greasy" appearance, most often in shaded areas
      Dead areas small, circular, often whitish or gray in color, about the size of a silver dollar. Seemore info
      Dead areas usually over one foot in diameter, with wilted appearance, sometimes with cobwebby fungus growth
      Dead areas inside a dark green ring of grass. See more info
Leaves covered with white to light gray dirty mold
Leaves covered with black to dark gray dusty mold See more info



DIAGNOSIS

RETRY

This KEY adapted from E-832 the 1998 OSU Extension Agents' Handbook of Insect, Plant Disease and Weed Control, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Oklahoma State University, p.443.
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