Today's quick post is to give a little bit of insight into a common disease type: Leaf Spot and Melting Out Disease.
According to American Lawns (see link: http://www.american-lawns.com/problems/diseases/leaf_spot.html), "Leaf spot and melting out are among the most frequent and destructive lawn diseases of common bluegrass... Excess thatch, heavy nitrogen fertilization, excess shade, mowing too close, and broadleaf herbicides promote these diseases." Leaf spots cause the death of the blade tips and move their way down. Melting out then occurs as the disease spreads to the crown and the root.
You can read on Turf Files (http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/diseases/Melting_Out.aspx): "Leaf spot symptoms initially appear as small, brown or black spots or flecks on the leaves or sheaths. As the lesions expand, the center of the lesions becomes tan with a dark brown or black border. The lesions may also be surrounded by a yellow halo. As the lesions expand, they coalesce and cause dieback of entire leaves or plants. Melting out symptoms appear as a reddish brown rotting of the sheaths, crowns, rhizomes, or stolons which initially leads to wilting, yellowing, or death of the foliage."
University of Rhode Island has some great steps listed to solve the problem from Leaf Spot and Melting Out- you can read them here: http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/leafspotsetc.html. You can find advice for how to manage as well as eliminate the disease by avoiding excessive nitrogen treatments and using fungicides for treatment.
I hope this info was helpful! If you see this occuring in your lawn- give me a call. I'll be happy to help see what I can do for your situation!
