Hi Tui, please see the photos attached. I have a new fescue lawn that has died off. What is happening here and how do I fix it. Cheers Chester.

Hi Chester, your lawn has burnt off, possibly due to a lack of water, or the lawn wasn't established enough and fertiliser has been applied too soon. With the temperatures we have been experiencing, to maintain a green lawn you will need to be watering daily using a sprinkler, (an automatic sprinkler system is the best) and water for at least 15-20 minutes a day. Early morning is the best time, watering at night isn’t ideal as the lawn will be damp overnight until the sun comes up and this leads to fungal disease affecting the lawn. If it is caused by a fertiliser application, watering will help leach out the excess fertiliser. A product called Saturaid may also be helpful, it is a wetting agent that helps retain soil moisture as well as breaking up the soil surface tension so that water penetrates deeply into the soil and down to the roots. Saturaid can be top dressed over the lawn at a rate of 50g per square metre and watered in. Alternatively, could grass grub a problem in your region. Grass grub feed on the roots underground and the lawn dies off like this, but not usually in such big patches. If there are a lot of starling birds visiting your lawn that can be an indication of grass grub. Dig down to a spade depth and look for grubs. Talk to your local garden centre of DIY store for a control if you suspect grass grub. To rejuvenate your lawn it is best to wait until autumn. Keep the water up to it now, and in autumn apply Tui LawnForce New Lawns which also helps repair damaged lawns, wait and see if the lawn revives, otherwise you may need to re-sow in autumn. The Tui Team.