How to treat Kikuyu starting to die off?

[Mal78]

My Kikuyu grass is starting to die off.

I have tried air rating the area with the shoes but is starting to spreed.

  

The underneath of the Kikuyu wasn’t really prepared properly and this particular patch was clay base. 
Can it be saved and how. Would deeper penetration with a pitchfork help. Fertiliser?

Please help I hope it’s not too la

[Akanksha]

Hello @Mal78,

Sorry to hear about your Kikuyu lawn's declining health. I'm sure our resident D.I.Y. expert @EricL will be able to provide useful advice on how to revive your lawn when he's back online on the site later today. Let me also tag garden experts @Noelle and @mich1972 for their thoughts.

While waiting, I recommend checking out these helpful guides written by horticulturalist @Adam_W: How to detect lawn problems and How to repair a lawn.

Akanksha

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi @Mal78 

It is definatly not  to late, I would like to suggest a  range of options they can  help depending on the cause of the yellowing.  I dont think you need fertiliser as a cure but it wont hurt either,

My  first best thoughts are:

Some times those patches are caused by curl grubs (they look like little witchetty grubs curlled up with black heads try digging a sample hole if you wish 100 deep 300mm wide and see if there are any curl grubs(in there larva stage of and adult  beetle or other pests eating grass roots.  Keep in mind these grubs can be treated  with a  simple relativly low  cost lawn treatment.  Starting with 

Yates 2.5kg Grub Kill & Protect for Lawns I/N: 0207184   $57.83   From bunnings website

• Kills and protects against a large range of lawn pests, including Curl Grub, African Black Beetle larvae, Argentinian Scarab larvae, Argentine Stem Weevil larvae, Billbug larvae and caterpillars including Lawn Armyworm, Black Cutworm and Sod Webworm.
• Binds with soil to protect against curl grub for up to 6 months.
• Covers up to 333m²

I have noticed  with these treatments results are slow ( I dug up grubs in a weakened  sorry state monthes later  still. ) I some times alternate brands of these  products to try blizt the population numbers but keep in mind  some of these products hurt earth worms to I try to transplant earth worms from around the garden to restore balance.

I also have grass on clay with little soil. Gypsum and earth worms may help break up clay soils. ( feed earth worms with organic plant layer like whoflungdung not traditionally for the grass but it will break down nicly if this part of the cause.

In clay/ grass areas  more on a slope than you. I have  hired a machine and hole cored the ground and added a loomy garden mix to improve  the ground.  Garden soil mix Pick it up smell it at nursery it  has a rich smell compared to  top soil. Mix  this 50/50 with river sand it will allow water to get to roots and not run off on a clay slope.  The loamy  soil applied to your grass can  help  after  looking for grubs.

Good luck  hope this helps

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[EricL]

Hello @Mal78 

Thanks for sharing your question about your Kikuyu lawn. Aerating and fertilizing the lawn would have been my first suggestion. But since you've mentioned that there is clay underneath that spot, it's possible that there is a pool of water just underneath the soil surface. I suggest checking the soil in the late afternoon to see if it is still moist or soggy. If it is, odds are water is sitting in that spot and is suffocating the roots of the lawn. 

Your suggestion of using a pitchfork is quite sound and will allow the water to go down lower and relieve the roots of the lawn. I also suggest inspecting the lawn for lawn grubs. If the soil underneath the lawn is dry, you are probably getting good drainage and it's possible that the area is drying too fast. But these symptoms will be answered once you've investigated the soil itself.

If your suspicions are correct and water is pooling at the top, I suggest holding off on watering and allowing the lawn to dry off.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric