Does Hydretain/FOURPlay Increase Fungus In Your Lawn?

I've heard this rumor or statement many times. Some believe these products that pull moisture from the air cause or make fungus worse. Is it true? Is that what I am seeing? I'll answer that question with my evidence in this video! God bless, and consider channel memberships! Don't forget to check out the links below if interested.
FOURPlay | Ecologel (1 Gallon): shrsl.com/43sak
Hydretain Liquid | Moisture Manager Reduce Watering by up to 50% (1 Gallon): shrsl.com/43sam
FOURPlay (Quart Hose End): shrsl.com/43san
Hydretain (Quart Hose End): shrsl.com/43sao
OII-YS Natural Adjuvant: bit.ly/43dCiF5
GCI Turf 5-0-5 (1 Gallon): bit.ly/3pbdMF9
GCI Turf Ca (Calcium) 1-0-1 (Gallon): bit.ly/42iQQCk

[@Chad_7777]

Nah, IMO you would have got this fungus with or without the hydratain. I sure did up here in Indy anyways with no hydratain. My lawn looks nearly the same as yours and we have been battling this at the same time. Leaf spot and melting out are still present. Takes forever to get new growth to see improvement when the fungus AND the heat stress stunts the normal growth. I did just put a tiny bit of liquid fert 50% slow release on there to encourage some growth and applied a bit of chick n poo (from Menards) as well. Hoping we both start to see some recovery soon! This fungus reoccurs REAL easy so we will need to stay in front of it once we do see some recovery. God bless!

[@davidcrowson4745]

Thanks for the update. I've been bagging my yard all year... Mainly to get the Poa seed heads but now that poa is done I think I'll continue like what your doing. Have a great day.

[@twane8457]

@davidcriwson4745 Hey I saw you're dealing with that nasty POA. I had it an out break in my fescue lawn really bad last year after a partial renovation. I sprayed some Ephosumate and Prodiamene (Premergent) in May, just before the 85 degeee days kicked in and did the combination with some Pro Grass (Basically Ephosumate) in September and it made a HUGE difference this year. I have very few Poa plants. The few that i did have, I walked the 31,000 sqft to pull the few plants by hand in a 5gal bucket. Let me know if you need more info, because that POA is the worst stuff I've dealt with in years.

[@alceja3522]

Just sprayed my Preventative fungicide along with Drought Defender and a little iron. Good luck Mr. F 👍🏻

[@atg4469]

I've never used four play, but I do use hydretain with surfactant.. It does NOT cause fungus. But if I don't use it my tall fescue won't survive. I will try four play next year

[@MrFergusonLawn]

Thanks for commenting ATG! I appreciate your input.

[@CCCC-tq8yo]

Did u

[@WayneMoore-rv8oj]

Thanks for making all the videos. Keep up the good work. My lawn looked exactly like yours almost a month ago. I’m in East Tennessee. I used the Jonathan greens fungicide. Put on the lawn early in the morning while the grass was still wet so it would stick to the grass. rained a few days later and my lawn looks as good as early spring. Seems to have taken care of the fungus. Maybe give that a try. I haven’t noticed anymore and reapplying this weekend. Thanks for all you do.

[@MrFergusonLawn]

Great to hear! I looked the JG fungicide up. It’s the same active ingredient as clearys 3336. Same thing, different form and brand.

[@robertellis2717]

Boy, this is a real eye-opener. Thank you for bringing up this topic I’m still somewhat new to lawn care and was wondering that myself. Last year I battled fungus. maybe that was a cause. I definitely think putting down a preventative. Fungistat is a good idea when applying this product may be a week after maybe a couple days after.

[@MrFergusonLawn]

Yes sir, you always want to do preventative fungicides when you can. It's an interesting question that I think only time will truly answer for me!

[@BigDaddy13515]

During the humid times of the year from trial and error I’ve found that applying the low rate of propricanizole 14.3 (usually .5 oz per 1000 sq ft) every two weeks does the trick I used to get slammed with brown patch every couple weeks no matter how much box store fungicides I put down but blanket spraying the low rate every two weeks during the summer and early fall does the trick.

[@benh580]

I actually was wondering about this because i live in a high humidy region right by the gulf.

[@MrFergusonLawn]

It's not a scientific 100% proof positive result. Many will disagree, but I'm not 100% sure either way honestly. Based on MY own experience, it's not a factor, bc I used it last year with not a hint of fungus. This year, I do have fungus. More time will equal more evidence to help me make up my mind.

[@whosonfirst81]

We did notice the change in music. Our 6 year old heard the beginning and said “oh no, I missed Mr. Ferguson’s video haha.

[@MrFergusonLawn]

😂 funny!

[@harperexplores9349]

Have you considered top dressing the spots by the road? Over time that will improve as the soil is added slowly with small top dressings over time. The grass will grow through it and you will be able to deepen the roots without too much effort.

[@MrFergusonLawn]

Thanks Harper...I suppose yes, that's something I should probably do!

[@twane8457]

@harpersexplorers9349 Good idea with the top dress, I had a few spots like his and when I repaired them, I did a top dress with fantastic results and have since top dressed with 50/50 mix(half topsoil/half compost), it was the best single thing I did to my yard, the soil is the key to a great yard... Good luck !!

[@jsee2385]

Had fungus in my front yard, none in the back yard where my ph is naturally lower. I wonder if manipulating the ph would help with fungus issues. I had to put a bunch(150lbs) of lime on my front yard per soil sample and ph still needs to come down more. Just a thought here.

[@rodgersandrodgers8191]

As I was thinking to myself I am lucky that I do not have that much grass and I do not have any fungus in my grass I realized that I do have fungus in one or more of 30 palm trees. My lawn care man does not seem to be able to get rid of it, or maybe it can't be gotten rid of until it grows out of it but now I have a job to do. Figure out if it's possible to stop fungus in palm trees. Good luck with your condition.

[@Dsaubt]

Interesting video. This is something I thought about... I used hydretain last year and had fungus all summer. I am not going to use it this year and just keep using my sea kelp, bi weekly potassium apps, and humic/fulvic acids. I'll see how it fares. Im also doing shorter intervals of fungicide apps and sharpening blades eveery week.

[@MrFergusonLawn]

Awesome! Let us know how this works for you. I might skip it next year too to see what happens. We'll see! Good luck in your lawn!

[@mysteriouse5891]

At RDU where the Raleigh official weather is recorded we have had 2.6 inches of Rain since May 1. That averages to .4 inches per week. I put down Hydretain and Yucca and things are doing well considering the lack of rain, but I have watered more than I like. I would really like to see if using O2-YS makes a difference. I've wanted to do that with the Hydretain but lawn has taken a budget cut. Hope that rain they are forecasting shows up next week. NOAA really dropped the ball on Monday.

[@MrFergusonLawn]

Sure did. I saw 70% chance of rain for Monday in my area and we got nothing. Lol, this is why I tease and joke about the climate change topic. They can’t tell me this a day away but can tell us how it will be in 7 years? Nope.

[@MRM5J]

I like the old music

[@ChefDevo1776]

Nice video. I believe Hydretain DOES cause fungus. I have chosen to only use it as hot spot treatment and not broadcast applications. I had the worst fungus outbreak last year and that was the first year using it. Never had a problem like that before. I too am using natural adjuvant and GCI 1-0-1, that is making a huge difference. Here in Hickory its not been really hot yet so keep that in mind. God bless!!

[@CCCC-tq8yo]

Call the company and ask

[@ChefDevo1776]

@@CCCC-tq8yo they would never admit to it. Bad for business. Only my opinion, I only have circumstantial evidence to back up my claims

[@MrFergusonLawn]

Thanks Devin! I do believe you can argue both ways on this. I used it last year too...no fungus. So, mixed results such as in your case. Thanks man!!

[@MrFergusonLawn]

@@ChefDevo1776 Yep, that's true. I think using it and just seeing for yourself is the only true answer for each homeowner

[@alceja3522]

I only spot use it as well.

[@bobbyfarmer3649]

Which have you found to be more effective between Four Play or the Hydretain? And do you feel one is slightly more susceptible to funguses than the other? Thank you!

[@katesomossy4157]

Impressive results from your test area around the mailbox!. Btw, Hydretain does NOT pull moisture out of the above ground air. It condenses it from air pockets in the soil. So it is not providing "free" water from the surrounding air. It is recapturing water evaporating from the soil.

[@MrFergusonLawn]

Thanks for this. I actually needed to research exactly how it works. I'd heard rumors I guess of it pulling it from humid air, so i guess that was incorrect. I appreciate it!

[@katesomossy4157]

@@MrFergusonLawn It is a common misconception. I've even heard Allyn Hane provide a similar description for how it works. Hydretain has some great resources on their website. It's fascinating reading to someone who is interested in turf. On the topic of Hydretain increasing disease pressure... I think there are arguments both for and against. Since Hydretain is retaining moisture it has the potential to increase pressure as it is easier to mistakenly overwater. However, because it is reducing the microhumidity around the grass blades from soil evaporation, I think it could, in a small way, reduce fungal disease pressure. Although if you live in a constant high humidity environment like yourself, it likely doesn't make much of a difference.

[@stash7714]

I’ve used hydretain the last 3 years and never got fungus from it.

[@jamesrouth3530]

I also live in Central North Carolina and my lawn disease looks like just like yours. Dd you ever figure out what it was?

[@MrFergusonLawn]

No sir. People have said it looks to be leaf spot and melting. I’d research those and see if it matches what you are seeing.

[@johnmcginnis2410]

If a person is concerned about Hydretain potentially causing fungus, is there any reason why he shouldn't apply a fungicide at the same time as the Hydretain?

[@MrFergusonLawn]

Good question. Again, Ive used hydretain for multiple years, and this year I've really only gotten fungus widespread. Last year I used it, didn't get any fungus. So I would think that makes sense.

[@wyattt9574]

Would you recommend applying Hydretain or four play if you can only take one product for your lawn.

[@MrFergusonLawn]

Personally, Fourplay, bc it’s Hydretain with 3 other ingredients to help your lawn as well! Especially the Sea Extract which is equal to Sea K.

[@CCCC-tq8yo]

1:38 dose it