Older plants will usually overcome the damage during favorable growing periods. White patch is a disease that often occurs in 1 to 2 year-old lawns that were planted in recently wooded areas. Symptoms are circular white patches 0.5 to 1 foot in diameter in the summer. The tall fescue may become thin in spots, but usually enough plants survive and grow in the fall to fill in the affected spots. Proper soil pH and nutrient levels, especially phosphorus, in new lawns help to prevent or reduce the severity of this disease.
Rust occurs on tall fescue and is seen more often in later summer on older plants.
The symptoms of rust are small yellow spots on leaves with masses of yellow to rust colored microscopic spores in the center of the spots. Infected leaves may become yellow and die slowly. Most of the tall fescue plants will recover from the rust disease during favorable growing conditions in the fall. Pythium blight can occur on tall fescue during long periods of hot-wet weather. The turf appears to wilt in irregular patches and gray masses of fungus mycelium may be present on the dying grass.