Disorder/Damage Identification

There are 4 main causes of damage on turf

• Human error• Disease• Insects/Vermin• Environmental

Human Error

• If a person is responsible for damage to turf, you will typically see:• Patterns or fairly straight lines• Single spots of damage

Diseases

• Most turf diseases are caused by fungi. To determine if the problem is disease related, look for:• Circular patches• Colored margins• Mycellium• Multiple spots of damage

Insects/Vermin

• To determine if insects or vermin are responsible for damage, look for symptoms like:• Staggered or irregular shapes• Missed areas of healthy turf• Entrance holes• Mounds• Tunnels• Direction of damage

Environmental

• Environmental damage can be widespread in appearances. Typically damage will:• Be over entire area or singular spot• Causes an overall thinning of turf• Results in more competitive plants/biotic life taking the place of grass

Ant Mounds

Armyworm Damage

Notice that damage appears to be coming out from house and trees where adults lay eggs on surfaces.

Brown Patch

Dark – grayish brown ring on outside margin. Leaf spot lesions can be observed.

Cicada Killer Damage

Compaction

Ground appears hard and possibly cracked and may have algae growing on it or weed species such as spurge or goosegrass.

Dollar Spot

Small, sunken spots that turn straw colored. Brown margin border. In humid early mornings, webbing (mycelium) may be seen.

Equipment Damage

Fairy Ring

Circular patches with interior containing actively growing grass. May appear darker green on edges.

Fertilizer Dump

Normally single or independent spots with straw colored, dead grass inside area with outside areas showing more lush growth.

Flooding

Fluid Leak

Normally seen as thin streaks or line of dead grass

Gray Leaf Spot

Brown Lesions on leaf and stem that become oblong with purple to brown borders. General turf decline follows.

Grub Damage

Sporadic shape with healthy clumps intermixed with dead area. Early symptoms appear as wilt. May also see heavy presence of birds, moles,

or other grub-eating animals.

Lightning Damage

Microdochium Patch

Circular spots with borders beginning with orangish margins to reddish brown. Affected patches may look bleached.

Mole Cricket Damage

Thinning of turf with small holes in areas. Presence of thin raised lines due to tunneling

Mole Damage

Scattered, zig-zag lines of raised soil and grass due to tunneling

Pythium

Small patches that lay have some living turf in center eventually becoming large patches. Areas can be affected in short amount of time. Cotton-looking mycelium can be present in

high humidity

Red Thread

During times of heavy moisture, red colored sclerotia are observable.

Rust

Orange/yellow pustules on leaf surface

Scalping

Lawn appears thin with mainly stems being visible. May also haves large amount of clippings nearby.

Shade

Thin/bare areas caused by nearby trees, shrubs, or buildings. May also be accompanied by excessive moss growth.

Spring Dead Spot

Circular patches of bleached dead grass observed during spring green-up. Areas may appear sunken.

Wilt

Turf will become thinner with a blue/grey to brown appearance. Signs of traffic are more evident.

Wind Damage