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Ask The Yard Doctor

White substance on grass

17 years ago

My Myers Zoysia is a year old last month. This summer I started using Milorganite and a few weeks ago I spread 100 lbs. of 40% soybean meal. I have the greenest thickest lawn on the block!!! The neighbors' chemlawns look sick next to mine.

Problem: this weekend I noticed a white substance on several patches. It isn't powdery mildew. It kind of looks like someone dumped paint at various spots because the coverage on the blade is almost veined, like paint running down the blade. It flakes off when I rub it. The grass is in full sun, the shade spots are not infected. I haven't irrigated in a while because we've been getting lots of rain.

Any ideas what this might be? Is it dangerous for my lawn? How can I control it organically?

Comments (3)

yarddoctor
17 years ago
Dear YT,

Thank you very much for your inquiry. While I will be the first to say I cannot exactly pinpoint your issues without a few pictures (even though you did a great job of describing the problem as best you could), I can also say to not be too alarmed. First, see if mowing the turf and substance off helps. This will help to prove it is a blip on the radar. Zoysiagrass is most susceptible to brownpatch, rust, and leaf spot (it does not sound like any these are your issue). I would do nothing at this point to see if the rain is the main issue (combined with high nitrogen release from organic nitrogen sources). F you could send a picture of the total affected area and a close-up, it would help tremendously.

Again, thanks for the question and let me know if you have more.

Respectfully

Trey Rogers
The Yard Doctor
ytnok
Original Author
17 years ago
I checked this morning and it seems to be disappearing. You can barely see the spots that were white and that substance appears to be simply falling off the blades (though some of the blades are a a dark olive color). I'll keep it mowed down for the next few weeks and see if that does the trick. Thanks for the "don't panic" tip and if it comes back I'll post pics.

Also, I play softball for your sponsor, we even have jerseys in the same color as the shirt you are wearing in your picture, minus the collar of course. Are you located in the Auburn area?
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yarddoctor
17 years ago
YT,

The company I work with is located in Milwaukee, I am in Michigan.

TR

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