Fertilizing Lawns
Essential Elements All plants require certain chemical elements for proper growth and appearance. Of these at least 17 are known to be essential elements. Table 1 lists the 17 known elements and the...
Category: Lawns
Brown Patch & Large Patch Diseases of Lawns
Introduction The beauty of a lawn can be quickly destroyed by brown patch or large patch, which are serious fungal diseases (each caused by different strains of Rhizoctonia solani) that can affect...
Gray Leaf Spot on St. Augustinegrass
Gray leaf spot is a fungal disease (caused by Pyricularia grisea) that occurs most commonly on St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), but occasionally may also be found infecting tall fescue,...
Spring Dead Spot
Spring dead spot is a fungal disease of bermudagrass lawns and is a result of infection by one or more species of Ophiosphaerella. These soil-dwelling fungi damage the roots, rhizomes, and stolons...
Leaf Diseases of Lawns
Home lawns in South Carolina are commonly infected by leaf diseases including dollar spot, rust, gray leaf spot, powdery mildew, anthracnose and Helminthosporium leaf spot. Most of the time, these...
White Grub Management in Turfgrass
White grubs are the larval (immature) stage of several different scarab beetles. In South Carolina, as well as the rest of the southeastern United States, turfgrass can be attacked by the grub stage...
Overseeding With Ryegrass
It is not generally recommended to overseed home lawns, but if it is performed, it should only be on a bermudagrass lawn. The extra irrigation, fertilization, and shading effects of the overseeding...
Calibrating Spreaders
Proper calibration of application equipment can be one of the trickiest tasks that homeowners and commercial applicators face. However, it is one of the most important steps in making fertilizer or...
Annual Bluegrass Control
Annual bluegrass (Poa annua) is a cool-season, annual grass that spreads by seed. Annual bluegrass has a tufted habit with a bright green leaf color and fine texture. It is native to Europe and is...
Moss & Algae Control in Lawns
Mosses are nonparasitic, primitive green plants that have fine, branched, threadlike stems with tiny leaves. They reproduce by means of wind-blown spores. Mosses typically form a thick, green mat on...
Poison Ivy
Eastern poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) is a woody, perennial vine or small shrub that can be found in fields, pastures, woodlands, farms and home landscapes. As a vine, it attaches itself to...
Annual Trampweed
Has your lawn been invaded by a weed that goes to seed in early summer with white, fluffy, dandelion-like seeds? This invasive, winter annual weed is Facelis retusa, or annual trampweed. It’s been...