Problem with the lawn
Marietjie Lutz writes: A year ago I planted 100m² Kikuyu on my new plot. The grass was a gift from a friend, who owns a wine farm. The grass started to grow quite nicely, but last November it started turning a yellowish brown and now it looks like the entire lawn is dead. We water it at least every second day and two weeks ago we treated it for worms and Dollar Spot. (I noticed early last year that there were small brownish dots on the leaves of the grass).
More information:
When I laid the grass last year, the grass smelled of grapes. I have an idea that the grapes were used as compost on the grass
The lawn gets a lot of sun
The ground is clay, but not hard clay
The ground was well prepared and we used enough compost
Do you have any advice?
Nick Stodel, General Manager of Stodels Nurseries, replies: It sounds as if your lawn has Dollar Spot, a fungal problem that occurs on the blades of grass. You mention that you have clay soil and that you water every second day. While Kikuyu is a thirsty lawn, watering twice a week in the summer months for a longer period would be more beneficial. Clay soils tend to retain moisture for long periods, which is ideal for harbouring fungal problems. Watering in the morning as apposed to the evenings also allows the lawn surface to dry during the course of the day, thereby lowering the chances of Dollar Spot occurring. The grape smell is probably that of grape skins that may have been used as compost in the soil; this should not pose any problems.
You can use a product called Bravo 720 by Efekto to cure the problem. Apply twice within a period of seven days at a rate of 50ml to 10L water for 100m². Thereafter, spraying every 7 to 10 days with an application rate of 35ml to 10l water will prevent further infestations.
Lawn Caterpillar can pose a serious threat in the hotter months from October to March. They usually kill off the grass in round patches dotted around the lawn, and for this reason I do not think that this is the main cause. A good preventative measure however, is 4.1.1 with Karbaspray, which not only prevents attacks of this sort, but has a well balanced fertilizer for this time of the year.
