Where in the USA are you?
How much fertilizer has been spread on this turf?
These are both disease more common in the hotter areas than in the northern tier although they can be seen up here when the weather gets really hot (85's).
Brown Spot is more common in soils too well fed while Dollar Spot is more common in soils with too little Nitrogen.

Hi,

Thanks for replying... I am in Southern New Jersey. I fertilized with Scott's Weed and Feed (or whatever they call it) in the spring. The lawn in fescue that I planted in the spring two years ago and then heavily reseeded last fall. It came in great but is quickly dying as a result of this fungus.

Last night I aerated the whole lawn. I also bought 240 lbs of cornmeal, which I read is an organic solution to this type of fungus. I didn't put it all down last night becuase it got dark out. I'm planning on finishing tonight.

I've read the dollar spot fungus is caused by:
1.) Low levels of nitrogen;
2.) Dry soil??
3.) Excessive thatch.

I believe my N levels may be low becuase I fertiziled early in the season and I don't think Weed and Feed has much slow-release nitrogen in it.

As for the soil moisture, I was watering 15 minutes per zone in the early morning. When I noticed the brown spots, I upped it to 20 minutes per zone. When that didn't work, I began watering in the evening too (same amount of time). I only watered in the evening for about a week before I realized I had a fungus problem and turned the sprinklers off completely about two weeks ago.

I'm compltely confused becuase the problem has gotten worse both with more water and less water. Before I turned my sprinklers off, I mowed in the evening and noticed that the ground was really wet even though the sprinklers hadn't been on since the morning watering (which started really early but I have eight zones so it takes a while).

Since turning off the sprinklers, the problem has continued to get worse too. This morning I have huge areas (about 10ftx8ft) compeltely covered in the white webbing shown in the picture.

Anyway, my plan is to finish putting down the cornmeal tonight. Then set my sprinklers to 30-45 minutes per zone twice per week in the morning. I'm going to try to start the watering early enough so it's done before mid-day, but not too early so that the water sits pre-sunrise for too long.

Any other input or suggestions. I'm really disappointed with my lawn. I've put a ton of time and a good amount of money into it and it looks like crap. In addition to this problem, I have weeds and crabgrass invading. I put down crabgrass preventer back in Feb/March, but it seems to be ineffective in certain areas of my lawn.

Kevin

Start by contacting your local Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service office about having a good, reliable soil test done so you know what your soils pH and nutrient levels are, even though they do not test for Nitrogen. They probably will be able to identify the problem you have.
What is the level of organic matter in your soil?
How well does your soil drain?
What kind of life is in your soil?
What does your soil smell like?