Brown Spots in Bermuda Grass [Including Cause & Treatment]

Is a brown patch destroying the beauty of your Bermuda grass? Don’t be upset.

Brown spots in Bermuda grass is a common disease. When the temperature is high, from 70 to 90° Fahrenheit, brown patches start to scatter around the garden. Like other warm-season lawns, Bermuda grass is affected by brown spots in two seasons, late fall and early spring.

Now, we will point out here overall pick in the brown patches of the Bermuda grass. 

First, you uncover the symptoms and causes of the brown spots that encourage you to identify the disease effortlessly.

Then, go through the treatment and prevention that supports discovering the ultimate solution.

Symptoms

According to the soil conditions and categories of grass, the symptoms of the brown patch can be changed. In the case of Bermuda Grass, the disease begins with a smaller size and circular shape. 

Day by day, the brown patch of the size will increase in the warmer season. Sometimes the external spot forming ring, and some grass live in the inner brown spot. The affected grass edges become small, tan color, and ragged. 

Five Best Causes Of The Brown Spots In Bermuda Grass

Generally, every gardener loves his/her lawns and desires to get the lush green grasses always. Without knowing the fundamental causes of the brown spots in Bermuda grass, no one can protect or prevent the disheartening spots appropriately. 

Plus, you can’t take the right steps to prevent this remedy and don’t stay in black green lawns. So, we mention here five causes of brown spots:

1. Fungal Diseases 

The most common cause of the brown patches in Bermuda grass is a fungal disease. Due to the fungus effects, your lawn can attack not only brown spots, but damage to the other diseases such as spring dead spot, leaf spot, dollar spot, and more. Ultimately, fungi are dangerous for your Bermuda grass health.

Fungus delay and live in stagnant conditions until hot weather is coming. So, when fungi feel the hot temperature, they grow quickly. You notice that every lawn becomes brown and eventually dies. 

The thirsty and dry grass can not be prepared to protect against this condition or illness. Gradually, fungi spread in the large area automatically, and they try to destroy the photosynthesis cycle.

2. Excess Shade

Another cause of the brown spots in Bermuda grass is too much shade. With the absence of enough sunlight, lawns, or leaves don’t complete the photosynthesis procedure. 

Plus, not only Bermuda grass but other grasses like to withstand the sun. Don’t think that the shade of the turf roots is unnecessary. But, too much or excess shade can destroy your turfgrass. You notice that the shade area’s lawn becomes unhealthy. 

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Even with the lack of acceptable sunshine, they don’t get proper nutrients for growing quickly and actively. Every day, the Bermuda terrace needs at least four hours of sunlight directly. When your grassroots get low sunlight, they stop growing and wait dead.

3. Compacted soil

Sometimes your surface is compacted for many reasons. The common thing is the lack of proper aerating, digging up, or plowing the lawn regularly. It can be happening especially in your newly formed gardens. 

This compacted soil is not eligible to receive sufficient water, and your grassroots can be blocked eventually. If you don’t ensure a safe drainage system during rainfalls, your turf roots can be waterlogged. This is why your Bermuda grass will damage just because of lacking the proper oxygen and nutrients.

4. Bermuda Grass Dormancy

When winter or fall season comes, the Bermuda grass goes through the dormant stage. Because it is one kind of warmer seasonal turfgrass. You notice that your grass will affect brown patches of the dormancy period. Plus, the Bermuda lawn can destroy and lose the green color for the coolers.

From April to September, this grass keeps more active and grows up quickly. The Bermuda grass feels comfortable up to fifty-five degrees temperature. So, they can’t tolerate the fall atmosphere or below forty-five degrees. As a smart homeowner, you should take steps to protect the dormancy.

5. Effect of the Pests 

This is another cause of the brown spots in Bermuda grass. Several pests love to eat the grass and make a dead spot. Sometimes grubs eat the grass green blades and roots. At first, they attack the small space, then spread it in the whole garden. You have to protect them from the starting period.

How To Treat The Brown Spots In Bermuda Grass

You have already understood the five main causes of brown spots. Now, it is time to find out the treatment.

This is because we are presenting here

How to treat the brown spots in Bermuda grass

1.Fungal Disease Treatment

During the warm season, this fungal infection is increased by the effect of sunlight. The most common and simple way is, you need to provide more moisture in the dry season. Because of the lack of proper water, fungi grow promptly

Keep in mind that you don’t need to supply water in the evening or nighttime. Morning is the best time. For this reason, homeowners should ensure sufficient water in the morning that supports the whole sunlight day activity of lawns.

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On the other hand, if you don’t get a good result or prevent fungal disease after providing water regularly, you must turn to any professional lawn care. Before going to treat the fungal disease, they will analyze the fungus types. 

Then, check the affected terraces for treatment. After testing, lawn care suggests medicine. 

Or, if you desire, you can provide a sample individually near the local testing store. In this case, you take some diseased and fresh lawns to test. After collecting sample lawns, never give up on the sunlight. 

Ready quickly and go to the testing store. You need to wait ten to fourteen days to get results. Once getting results, you have to purchase the right anti-fungal pesticides or fungicides.

According to the label direction, you have to apply the fungicides into your Bermuda grasses. 

2. Lessen Excess Shade

You have already known that the extra shade might occur in brown spots in your Bermuda grass. Turfgrass needs direct sunlight, a minimum of four hours. For reducing shade, you can cut a large number of trees around the lawns. 

Don’t need to cut the small trees. They can make extra shade. If you don’t like to cut any trees and can’t ensure proper sunlight, you can change the location of the lawn.

Alternatively, you can keep your Bermuda grass short while mowing. From 1 ½ inch to three inches high is adequate to protect shading stress. If you don’t get satisfactory results, you have to turn on the professional lawn care.

3. Deduct Soil Compaction

Compacted soil is another cause of establishing brown spots in Bermuda grass, you know. You highly try to curtail soil compaction. The best strategy is to aerate the gardens timely for reducing compacted soil. In this issue, homeowners need to collect a great quality plug aerator. 

A plug aerator helps to eliminate any thumb-sized soil within a short time. Create different passes for reaching enough water, air, and nutrients to the grassroots. So, with the combination of water and air, your Bermuda grass will grow properly.

Alternatively, in the snow or rain season, you can establish an extra drainage procedure to pass the excess water and reduce the soil compaction.

4. Controlling Insects

Sometimes insects eat the Bermuda grass roots and leaves. If you notice the dead spots appropriately, you find the evidence of the grub worms while coming spring. So, to control the Bermuda grass brown spots, you have to control the grubs.

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It is easy to protect the pests. Just move to the local shop and purchase the good quality grub control pesticides. When you apply, you should follow the manual instructions. Otherwise, your Bermuda lawns can destroy for a little mistake.

5. Donot take stress if the grass goes dormant

The brown spots in Bermuda grass will increase in the winter season. During the cooler temperatures, you notice that your grass is completely sluggish and dormant, just like a dead garden. 

In this situation, you don’t take pressure because the Bermuda grassroots are not lifeless. They are healthy and wait for the next coming spring. At this moment, every homeowner needs to provide water until growing new green blades.

Preventing Brown Patch In Lawn

By following the basic lawn care rules, 

homeowners can prevent brown patches to keep the garden green & active. Prevention is better than to treat brown spots after outbreaks. Alternatively, when it scattered the whole garden, you can’t discourage the disease with ease.

Here is some basic prevention of the brown spots in lawns:

  1. During the summer or high temperatures, you should ignore applying for more nitrogen fertilizers. Though nitrogen helps to lessen your lawn disease stress, it increases fungicide action. So, ignore high rates & powerful nitrogen. If you need, you can provide a perfect amount of natural fertilizers.
  • Another highlighted way to prevent brown spots in Bermuda grass is overseeding, especially in the cool-season. In the winter months, some lawns go through dormancy. So, overseeding supports producing a lot of grass after fall.
  • Too much irrigation is not good for your lawn. Irrigate when required and provide water if your lawn is needed. 
  • According to the grass types, you should keep them proper height to prevent several diseases.
  • Try to keep your soil healthy. You have to ensure good drainage for the subsurface and surface areas for preventing soil compaction.
  • When you notice some different syndrome of the Bermuda grass, you will test the soil. Check the soil’s pH rates. Is it more than 6.0 pH? It’s not terrible.

Verdict 

Brown spots or the large patch always attack Bermuda grass, St. Augustine, and Zoysia grass, we mentioned. Brown patch is harmful to your garden. We have indicated the causes of the brown spots in Bermuda grass along with how to get rid of brown patches in this article.

Hopefully, you learned all-around from our principles. So, resolve your problem as early as possible.