Fungus attacking spring lawn

Q I work on Saturday mornings and missed your talk on fungus control last month at Possum's. My daughter said it was informative and has helped her already. Do you have a transcript of the talk?

A. I'm glad to hear your daughter is having luck getting rid of her fungus! I do my talks without notes, but I can hit the most important points from memory.

From your question, it sounds like you are most concerned with the fungus in the lawn. This time of year, that likely would be large patch (brown patch).

All fungus diseases have three factors that line up to make an active problem. This is referred to as the disease triangle.

-- There must be a susceptible

host (your grass)

-- A favorable environment (cool nights, grass coming out of dormancy)

-- The disease must be present (in the soil in this case).

When all of these conditions are met, the disease strikes your grass.

It sounds like you have some immediate needs. My talk summary will take at least two columns, so I want to address your situation before it gets much worse and weeds take over the damaged areas. The quick fix would be to apply T-Methyl throughout the yard. T-Methyl is a systemic fungicide that gets into the plant (grass) and protects it. Getting a flu shot would be a human equivalent.

In areas where you see the damage and out from that area, use PCNB fungicide. PCNB reduces sporulation and the growth rate of fungi. Fungi spread by spores, so if you reduce the fungus' ability to make spores, you will have a better chance to keep it from spreading.

Fungus loves water, so let your ground dry out between watering. Always water in the morning so the leaves can dry out before nightfall. Keeping the grass on the dry side will prevent spores from germinating.

Next time, I will cover some of the ways to "fix" the problem instead of putting on a chemical bandage.

Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum's Landscape and Pest Control Supply, 481 Long Point Road, Mount Pleasant (971-9601), 3325 Business Circle, North Charleston (760-2600), or 606 Dupont Road, Charleston (766-1511). Fax ,questions to 406-2700 or e-mail ,to