[twotogo]

I am in the village of Charlotte. I am seeing dark brown grass
mixed in with green grass throughout my entire lawn.

The brown grass easily pulls out without any roots attached.

I walked around the Charlotte neighborhood and saw other yards have the same problem. Some yards have green grass with patches of tan colored grass. I think the tan grass is due to lack of water. I went to the USF annex and they thought I had brown patch or army worms. I did find some grubs when i spread the grass apart. The grubs were about an inch long and pale color with a stripe. I have my grass cut at 4 inches. I was told now that it should be cut at 2 inches. Has anyone had this problem? if so, how did you fix it?
Thanks.

[bagboy]

Overall, I have a decent lawn. Better than alot of lawns I see while driving around. That said, I have had an increased number of weeds. I held off mowing until my lawn treatment company arrived so they were sure to spot treat all of the weeds, which they did and it seems to be working. My lawn appears lighter brown after mowing at 2". I attribute the occasional very dark spots to lack of water, and watering does green them up. I have two small bare spots forming and my tech said could be a number of things but most likely mole crickets. He treated them and advised top soil over the spots. I have done that in the past and it does work.
As for mowing height, the tech recommended cutting at 3" during the hot season. Because of the above comments, I have researched the topic and the advice is all over the map, 1" to 3.5". Most opinions though are more in line with the 2"-21/2" height. I'm trying the 3" height just to see how it goes. My last comment regarding watering. The tech suggested cutting back watering times but water more often. AND he suggested a midnight watering time as the lawn holds the moisture longer before the sun comes up. And Zoysia grass resists the fungus that can come with watering at night. I'll have to see how this all shakes out.

[Stdole]

I would bet two problems... lack of water.. and a bad case of Army Worms... I have been involved with these for the past two weeks.. easy to kill but must stays with it and proper order of directions... two methods
One.... to kill now and Two.. Preventions.. meaning two different chemicals entirely...

For kill now... use SEVIN (Available Lowes by granular
about $8.00 per 8,000 ft. don't skimp at this time.. water in good.. do this each week for two weeks..
or the chemical used is called CARBARYL... ALSO A PRODUCT CONTAINING TRICHLORFON (DYLOX- TALSTAR PRODUCTS)

FOR PREVENTION USE ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR ...
Products containing... Imidacloprid... Clothiandian... Chlorantraniloprole.. or Thiamethoxam.. If these products are used in June they will prevent next years infestation... These products will also kill White Grubs..

Home Depot has an excellent product call GRUBEX-1
$20.00 PER BAG..

ARMY WORMS eat the blade of the grass usually only and not the crown or root.. but can turn a lawn brown in two weeks.. Lots of info on the internet on Army
Worms..

[biker1]

Mole crickets are a real possibility. I have seen them on my driveway in the morning and I have some brown patches.

Originally Posted by twotogo

I am in the village of Charlotte. I am seeing dark brown grass
mixed in with green grass throughout my entire lawn.

The brown grass easily pulls out without any roots attached.

I walked around the Charlotte neighborhood and saw other yards have the same problem. Some yards have green grass with patches of tan colored grass. I think the tan grass is due to lack of water. I went to the USF annex and they thought I had brown patch or army worms. I did find some grubs when i spread the grass apart. The grubs were about an inch long and pale color with a stripe. I have my grass cut at 4 inches. I was told now that it should be cut at 2 inches. Has anyone had this problem? if so, how did you fix it?
Thanks.

[jnieman]

Originally Posted by Villages Audio Video

Empire Zoysia needs to be cut between 1-2 inches. At a four inch cutting height you'll have a thatch problem which you've described.

The Villages Lawn Maintenance - EMPIRE Turf - YouTube

Also because of the long length of the grass mold could have formed. That is what happened to us and we had to have it dethatched and treated for fungus a couple of times.

[Doctor Who]

Who did you use to dethatch your lawn ?

[autumnspring]

Originally Posted by twotogo

I am in the village of Charlotte. I am seeing dark brown grass
mixed in with green grass throughout my entire lawn.

The brown grass easily pulls out without any roots attached.

I walked around the Charlotte neighborhood and saw other yards have the same problem. Some yards have green grass with patches of tan colored grass. I think the tan grass is due to lack of water. I went to the USF annex and they thought I had brown patch or army worms. I did find some grubs when i spread the grass apart. The grubs were about an inch long and pale color with a stripe. I have my grass cut at 4 inches. I was told now that it should be cut at 2 inches. Has anyone had this problem? if so, how did you fix it?
Thanks.

If, you are seeing grubs, it should be easy to catch one and ID it on the internet or by the cooperative extension.
You can then discover the correct insecticide to use. Of course it will take several weeks for your lawn to recover from the insect damage.

As to cutting height for empire zoyzia I too have read 2-3 inches. The suggestions are always NOT to remove more than 1/3 of the grass blade. Simple, if your lawn is now 4 inches and you want to drop it to 2 inches, cut it to three inches wait a few days and then cut it to two inches.

[autumnspring]

Originally Posted by Villages Audio Video

I wish we could get a handle on this issue. I drive around all day everyday and EVERY zoysia lawn has this same issue. Someone once told me it was mole crickets. I put down quite a bit of Imidacloprid over the last 18 months and chased them away but the issue still remains. I keep it short (under 2 inches) and don't over water.

Is it a fungus? Bermuda? Insects? Disease?

My suggestion is to cut out a section of your lawn at the edge of the problem. If, you do not see what the problem is, take it to the cooperative extension and they will ID the problem at no cost. The only problem is they will not recommend particular brands of products. Just because the bag says fungicide or insecticide DOES NOT MEAN IT WILL KILL THE PARTICULAR FUNGUS OR INSECT THAT IS CAUSING YOUR PROBLEM.

May sound foolish but, nothing is instant. If, your lawn is damaged it will take time to recover after you control the problem