Several calls came to the Adams County Extension office this week directed at solving lawn problems and one interesting call about pond management. With our recent weather patterns and warm spring days, here are two questions Mississippi homeowners will ask.

Q. What are the large brown circles in my yard, and how do I stop them from growing?

These large brown circles of dead grass are caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani, and are commonly known as “brown patch” or “large patch.”

This disease is most common in warm season turf grasses, such as St. Augustine, centipede, and bermuda in the spring and fall in south Mississippi. Brown patch is most damaging during extended wet conditions and in relatively cool temperatures, much like recent temperatures in the Miss-Lou area. There are several things you can do to prevent this disease from occurring and to treat it if already present.

When watering your lawn, avoid watering late in the evening or at night where grass will remain wet for long periods of time and avoid early nitrogen fertilization this promotes susceptibility for spreading and additional problems. Good news is at temperatures of 75 degrees F and above, and with lower moisture conditions activity will decrease significantly. If problems still exist after prevention fails, a fungicide treatment will be necessary for effective control. Some products available include Heritage, Immunox, Bayleton, and Strike.

Regardless of the fungicide you choose, carefully read and follow label directions. Make certain that the product is labeled for your particular turfgrass and is an approved fungicide for brown patch control.

When spraying lawns be sure to spray the entire infected areas and an additional 3-5 feet outside of the infected area. Lawn cutting can also spread this fungus, therefore you may want to rake up clippings from brown patch infected areas and wash the mower’s undercarriage with a mild bleach solution to kill any remaining fungus.

Q. How can I make my pond more productive and catch larger fish?

Several factors can contribute to small stunted fish in most ponds; however the most common is over population. To achieve a good balanced pond you should harvest a minimum of 5 ponds of bream for each pound of bass.

If you want to catch larger bass then you need to remove more bass from the population to increase the carrying capacity of the pond and allow remaining bass to have more readily available food sources.

In an unfertilized pond you can manage for larger bass by harvesting between 7 to 10 ponds of bass per acre per year. For a fertilized pond you should harvest up to 15 ponds of bass per acre per year.

This will increase bass size, but it will also reduce your catch rate and reduce the size of your bream population. Ponds and fish also benefit greatly from being on a fertilization program. Ponds are fertilized to stimulate a good algae bloom that produces oxygen the pond needs and shades the pond, preventing rooted plants from becoming established and interfering with harvest.

Fertilization also encourages a good zooplankton population that greatly enhances aquatic species growth.

For more information on pond management, fertilization programs, or lawn maintenance, I recommend you visit the MSU extension Web site at www.msucares.com.

David Carter is the director of the Adams County Extension Service. He can be reached at dcarter@ext.msstate.edu.