Last summer’s heavy rain and stress from January’s icy weather have contributed to widespread take-all root rot.

The culprit? A soil-inhabiting fungus — Gaeumannomyces graminis var. graminis — that causes leaf color loss and yellow grass patches ranging from a few inches to more than 15 feet in diameter.

Symptoms appear in the spring, but the disease can persist all summer and survive winter. Over time, the entire area dies as the root system rots away.

Taking action

When disease occurs, raise the cutting height. Scalping grass damages the growing point; raising cutting height increases the green plant tissue available for photosynthesis, resulting in more energy for turfgrass growth and subsequent disease recovery.

If an area of the lawn has an active fungus, washing or blowing off the mower after use will reduce the disease's spread to unaffected areas.

The amount of water and timing of its application can prevent or contribute to disease development. Most fungal pathogens that cause leaf diseases require free water — rainfall, irrigation, dew — on the leaf to initiate the infection process.

Still, irrigating daily for a few minutes is not beneficial for turfgrass — it does not provide enough water to the root zone — but it does benefit turfgrass pathogens. So you should irrigate when dew is present, usually between 2 and 8 a.m., and only apply enough water to saturate the turfgrass' root zone.

Beneficial nutrients

Excessively high nitrogen fertility contributes to turfgrass diseases, so you should apply the minimum amount required for the grass species.

Potassium (K), key in disease prevention, prevents plant stress. Applying equal amounts of nitrogen and potassium is recommended for turfgrass health.

When disease damages turfgrass roots, it is beneficial to apply nutrients in a liquid solution. However, nitrate-nitrogen increases diseases' severity, so avoid its use when possible. Ammonium-containing fertilizers are preferred nitrogen sources.

Heavy liming has also been linked to take-all root rot increase. Since most turfgrasses can tolerate a range of pH, maintaining soil at 5.5 to 6.0 can suppress the pathogen's development. When the disease is active, frequent foliar applications of small amounts of nutrients is necessary to keep the turfgrass from declining.

Additional maintenance practices are thatch removal and reduction of soil compaction.

Fertilizing habits

Applying azoxystrobin, fenarimol, myclobutanil, propiconazole, pyraclostrobin, thiophate methyl and triadimefon and excessively irrigating newly laid sod can help prevent disease development.

Ideally, the turf area should be mowed and irrigated prior to fungicide application. Unless the product needs to be watered in, do not irrigate for at least 24 hours after a chemical treatment.

Do not mow at least 24 hours to avoid removal of the product attached to leaf blades.

Since recovery of take-all damaged turfgrass is often poor, complete renovation of the lawn may be necessary. Removal of all diseased tissue is advised. As a native, soil-inhabiting pathogen, take-all root-rot cannot be eliminated. But suppression of the organism through physical removal, followed by proper cultivation of the new sod, is critical to establishing a new lawn.

Turfgrass management practices, not chemicals, offer the best control of the disease.

Sheila Dunning is an agent at the University of Florida's Extension office in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EXTENSION CONNECTION: High rainfall, ice storm bring take-all root rot

You might not enjoy thinking about estate plans, but such planning is necessary to ensure your assets go where you want them to go.

It's important to regularly review your plans with your tax, legal and financial professionals.

You might be surprised by how many financial assets and legal documents have beneficiary designations tied to them. If you have an IRA, a 401(k) or other employer-sponsored retirement plan, a life insurance policy, an annuity, a transfer-on-death (TOD) arrangement, or any of a variety of other assets or accounts, you almost certainly named a beneficiary. This designation offers a simple, direct and efficient way to transfer assets to loved ones.

As time goes by, you may experience many life changes — and that's when beneficiary designations may need to follow. If you are like many people, you might forget to update these designations after a marriage, divorce or other change in your family situation. And because the beneficiary designation is a legally binding document, the asset will go to the person you once named as a beneficiary, regardless of your current relationship status.

It takes little effort to review your accounts and legal arrangements to ensure beneficiary designations are current — and if they aren’t, it’s pretty easy to change them. For some financial accounts, you may be able to update the beneficiary designations online. Just plan on reviewing your beneficiary designations regularly, but especially when you experience a life change.

In addition, ensure your beneficiaries know they will eventually receive your 401(k), IRA, life insurance proceeds or other assets that require a beneficiary designation. This knowledge may help them as they plan and maintain their own financial and investment strategies.

Although it’s important to update your beneficiary designations and communicate your actions, you need to tend to other areas of your estate planning, such as providing care for minor children or dependents, deciding whom you want to receive items that don't carry a beneficiary designation, naming someone to manage your affairs if you become incapacitated, and specifying the control you wish beneficiaries to have over their inheritance, among other considerations.

Everyone’s situation is different, so consult with your legal adviser to determine the level of estate planning you require.

Joe Faulk is a financial adviser.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: FINANCIAL FOCUS: Update beneficiary designations, avoid problems