Dollar Spot
Dollar Spot wide view
Dollar Spot close up
North
Grass varieties affected
- Bluegrass
- Ryegrass
Disease occurrence
- Late-March through early-November
South
Grass varieties affected
- Bermudagrass
- Centipedegrass
- Zoysiagrass
Disease occurrence
- May through September
- It can be caused by both drought soils and prolonged wet foliage.
Symptoms
- Straw-colored patches 2 to 6 inches in diameter.
- Hourglass-shaped lesions with reddish-brown margins will develop across the leaf blade.
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The branching mycelium of dollar spot fungus looks like spider webs or cobwebs on morning grass, but unlike spider webs, dollar spot mycelium disappears when the dew dries.
Management
- Opposite conditions encourage dollar spot to develop: drought soils and prolonged wet foliage. Address both by watering deeply and infrequently early in the day to allow the leaf blades to dry off and not remain wet for long periods of time.
- Fertilize regularly to help turf overcome the disease.
- Mow unaffected areas first and diseased areas last to avoid infecting a healthy lawn.
- Collect and dispose of grass clippings in the garbage when the dollar spot lawn disease is present.
- To avoid spreading the fungus, after mowing, clean the mower blades by rinsing with water and drying with a cloth.
