HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Mosaic virus, a grass disease, has spread to Hillsborough County.
It’s important people know how to identify it.
“Once you cross off your chinch bugs and your root rot and your other possibilities, your telltale signs are going to be your yellow splotches going through the blades,” said Chris Schmidt, service manager for Brothers Pest Control.
Schmidt found the first confirmed case of mosaic virus in Hillsborough County at a home in the Carrollwood area.
The disease isn’t new to the state. The University of Florida has been tracking it.
“Mosaic virus was first discovered back in the 1960s around the sugarcane fields in South Florida,” said Susan Haddock with the Hillsborough County extension of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
For the past decade, mosaic virus has been fairly isolated to parts of Pinellas County. But now, it’s spread to Hillsborough County.
The type of grass that’s susceptible to the disease is St. Augustine grass of the cultivar "Floratam."
“The majority of lawns in Florida are St. Augustine grass, and about 70% of those are the cultivar 'Floratam,'" said Haddock.
Experts said it’s concerning to see this in a new area. That’s because the virus can take over a lawn and kill it completely.
“This disease progresses into what’s called lethal viral necrosis,” said Haddock.
It’s not harmful to people or animals, but at this time, there’s no cure for lawns.
“Unfortunately, there’s no chemical control for it. There’s no mechanical control to stop the spread of it,” said Schmidt.
Experts said the only way to really manage the virus if you find it in your yard is by putting a more resistant type of grass in its place to slow the spread.
“Your only solution would be putting a resistant cultivar of St. Augustine in those areas. That can be as extreme as cutting out the whole grass, you know, the whole area or your whole lawn, which is obviously expensive. Or you could simply put plugs of the resistant cultivar to fill into those areas,” said Schmidt.
It can spread in different ways, including through lawn equipment like mowers, the root system from one lawn to another or insects.
“What we need to be aware of is that it’s in the sap inside the grass. It’s not on the outside. And so once that sap dries, it’s no longer a viable virus," said Haddock.
Experts believe catching it early is the key to saving lawns as researchers work to find a solution.
“This could really take off in the future,” said Schmidt.
“I would like people to be aware that if you have problem areas in your 'Floratam' St. Augustine to take a good look at it. Be familiar with the systems," said Haddock.
She believes it’s important lawn care professionals are aware of this as well and how to limit spread.
“It’s very important for lawn care professionals to be aware that once that sap dries, it’s no longer a viable virus, and so we do want to either blow those clippings off of the lawn that they’re currently with. Or allow those clippings to dry before going to the next lawn,” said Haddock.
“There are also disinfectants that some folks will use out of an abundance of caution. So things like Pine-Sol, bleach. You also have to be very careful with that. Bleach is very corrosive to equipment, and then Pine-Sol could damage the landscape, and we can’t let those products run down into our storm drains either,” she added.
If you believe you could have this virus in your yard, contact UF IFAS.
“If you do think it could be the lethal viral necrosis, have a sample taken and send it to one of our diagnostic labs. You can always contact your local extension agent and get instructions on how to do that sampling and how to send it up to a lab,” said Haddock.
