BREEDERS AND GROWERS____ ie 

DISEASES 
Turf areas are often attacked by fungous diseases, of which Brown Patch (Large 
Brown Patch) and Dollar Spot (Small Brown Patch) are probably the most common. 
BROWN PATCH: _ This disease produces irregularly shaped brown areas, more or 
less circular in outline, varying from an inch to three or more feet in diameter. At 
first there is a rapid wilting of the leaves, followed by browning and finally death 
of the plants. 
DOLLAR SPOT: Affects small areas (about the size of a silver dollar) of the turf; 
at first the grass appears dark and water-soaked then turns yellowish to light straw 
colored. As the disease spreads and the spots become more numerous the turf takes 
on a bleached and unsightly appearance. 
Control: For both diseases. 
Cultural Practices: Remove the dew by early watering, or dragging a light 
object over the area. Professional gardeners and greens keepers often use a 
long pole brushed across the grass. 
Provide good surface and subsurface drainage. 
Provide sunlight and free circulation of air. 
Regulate fertilizer application to avoid soft, tender growth of the grass. 
Excessive acidity tends to favor the disease. 
Chemical Treatment: Two ounces of calomel (mercurous chloride) with one 
ounce of corrosive sublimate (mercuric chloride) mixed with four quarts of 
dry, screened sand spread on 1,000 square feet of turf. Frequency of applica- 
tion will be determined by the season and past record of the disease. As a 
preventive an application of two ounces to 1,000 square feet every ten days 
is usually effective. A light watering should follow each application in order 
to wash the mercury from the leaves. During hot, humid weather, not more 
than two ounces per 1,000 square feet should be applied. 
Caution: Compounds of mercury are poisonous to animals, including man. 
There are on the market two products which have considerable value in the 
control of brown patch and dollar spot: Tersan, manufactured by Bayer- 
Semesan Co.; and Spergon, manufactured by the U. 8S. Rubber Co. 
SNOWMOLD: This disease is prevalent during winter or early spring, usually when 
snow is present or just melting. It appears first as a thick, cottony growth on the 
turf which may extend over an area several feet in diameter. 
Control: Any treatment which will hasten the drying of the surface soil when spring 
thaws begin will aid in the control of snowmold. 
Late fall applications of fertilizer should be avoided where there is danger of 
snowmold. 
Corrosive sublimate and calomel applied in late fall at the rate of two to five 
ounces per 1,000 square feet is beneficial. 

