Winter has finally arrived, though it certainly does not feel like it. With the cooler weather and time of year, some homeowners might be noticing patches of dead or brown grass in their lawn. The prevalent disease on turfgrass this time of year is Large Patch, Rhizoctonia solani. Another name it goes by is brown patch. Large patch is a cool season disease that is usually observed from the months of November through May, when temperatures are usually below 80 degrees F. Conditions such as rainfall, excessive irrigation or periods of high humidity elicit the infection, especially when leaves remain wet for more than 48 hours. Large patch is a fungus that affects leaves closest to the soil and spreads quickly. It does not infest the roots. Large patch affects all warm-season turfgrasses in Florida, especially St. Augustinegrass and ‘Empire’ Zoysiagrass. The symptoms of large patch are very easy to identify in these two grasses. Homeowners may notice irregular round-shaped patches with a copper-yellow halo or edge. The size of the patches may range from a few feet in diameter to areas that may be more than eight feet in diameter, some even larger. For more information, visit the references used http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/lh044 and https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/PP/PP15400.pdf to learn more about large patch and control.

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