Burned Spots in Bermuda Grass: Fertilizer Burn vs. Brown Patch—Organic Fixes

Diagnose Before You Treat

Wyl in Atlanta has three dead dirt spots in Bermuda. Could be fertilizer burn (if recently over-applied) or brown patch fungus. Pull a handful: if roots are slimy/short, it's brown patch. If soil is crusty/salty, it's fertilizer burn.

Brown Patch: Horticultural Corn Meal

Apply 10–15 lbs/1,000 sq ft over entire lawn (fungus spreads). Water in. Corn meal hosts Trichoderma that attack Rhizoctonia. Safe, effective.

Fertilizer Burn: Flush with Water

Deep, repeated watering (6–8 inches, 2–3 cycles over days) leaches salts past root zone. Then start organic program.

Shade Check

Bermuda needs full sun. If spots are shaded, no grass will grow. Convert to shade ground cover or mulch.

Prevent Recurrence Organically

• Stop synthetic fertilizers/pesticides.
• Mow at 3 inches (not ½–¾ inch). Taller = deeper roots, less stress.
• Deep weekly watering.
• Sugar, alfalfa meal, lava sand, corn gluten meal on schedule.