Propiconazole sprayed, what next???

9 years ago

Quick background. Total renovation in fall of 2013 using TTTF blend from Hogan Seed. Front lawn is 14.5k and the back lawn is 4.5k square feet. I do not water although I tried it and it's much cheaper to overseed each fall than water almost 1/2 acre during the summer. I'm in central North Carolina.

Each summer since the reno I've lost quite a bit of grass in the front yard due to what I thought was drought but looking back I think fungus (brown patch) was actually stressing the lawn and the drought conditions killed it in it's weakened state. At this point I am seeing the brown lesions on the grass blades in the patches of grass. I purchased a gallon of Propiconazole 14.3 and sprayed it Monday at a rate of 2oz per 1k using my Northstar 31 gallon pull behind sprayer. I plan to do that rate again in two weeks and see how it's doing. Of course next year the plan is to start treatment in early May before any fungal signs appear to hopefully avoid this situation all together.

My main question is, how should I mow the lawn? Up until now I have kept it at 4" generally mowed twice a week. Normally when the heat and dry weather hit I would keep it a little taller or not even mow it at all depending on rainfall but with the fungus going on I'm not sure what to do. You see, here in NC even during a drought we still have temps in the 70's and very heavy dew each night which is ideal conditions for fungus. Should I carry on as usual, keep it at 4", or would it be better to mow a little shorter to help the grass dry? Also, should you use a surfactant with the Propiconazole? I read the label multiple time but didn't see anything on there about it.

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Comments (4)

User
9 years ago
It's very likely much of the grass isn't going to make it through summer without irrigation. I believe it's going to be 95 today. If you're not irrigating, that's going to be the main driver for loss of turf.

If you think there's brown patch issues - and there probably are, then 2oz/k every 2 weeks is going to get you through summer. You should definitely use a surfactant - if you have NIS use that, if not baby shampoo or even plain dish soap works great.

As far as mowing, stick to mowing as high as you can - water is your main issue and tall grass helps shade the soil underneath and preserve moisture. The fungicide will help protect against fungus.
forsheems
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks! We just got rain on Saturday. By the rain gauge it was just over 1" and they are calling for a chance each day through Saturday. Yesterday evening the soil was still fairly moist so water isn't an issue yet anyway. There is definitely a fungus issue and from all of my research brown patch appears to be the culprit.

My herbicide skills are pretty dialed in but this is my first go at fungicides so trying to cover the bases. I do have plenty of NIS but didn't use it on the first app but will going forward. The 2oz per 1k rate was applied with roughly 4 gallons of water per 1k trying to get good coverage all the way down to the crown and maybe even the soil. Does this sound about right or should I make adjustments on the next app?

Going to keep an eye on the weather and probably skip mowing this Saturday to bring the height up since you think the fungicide will control the brown patch.

I realize water is the key around here but a dry month would run me $500+ to keep it watered which isn't feasible considering I can reseed the whole thing for $300 or so. I feel there would be much more grass make it through the summer providing it wasn't already stressed so bad from the fungus.
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User
9 years ago
Lucky you, that storm passed over my house, made a lot of noise and dropped next to no rain. Been lugging hoses around since.

Definitely cheaper to just seed than to water.

I use a backpack sprayer so I only use about 1.5 gallons per thousand. 4 gallons should give it a pretty good soaking. I say check the grass next time you spray to make sure it's not all beading off, but it should be fine. Even if it goes into the soil, it will get absorbed by the roots.
forsheems
Original Author
9 years ago
Perfect! Thanks for the help. At first it looked like that storm was going to miss us but it suddenly shifted east and we got a soaker. I'm in the High Rock lake area. I was using the smaller nozzles on the sprayer with pressure set about 30PSI so it was putting out a very fine spray and coverage was just to the point of dripping so I think that part was good. Just wish I had used the NIS.

I had borrowed a pull behind sprayer from a friend and decided I had to have one. Between my half acre and my parents 16 acres it gets used a lot. Bought it back in April and probably put 300 gallons through it already. I still use a cheap 2 gallon pump deal for spot spraying but the pull behind was worth every penny for the big stuff.