Which practice is commonly recommended to address suspected fertilizer burn?

• A. Repeatedly water the area
• B. Apply additional fertilizer
• C. Remove and replace the lawn
• D. Apply herbicide

Answer: (A)

When fertilizer burn happens, the root cause is high salt concentration around the roots, which pulls water out of root cells and damages tissue. The best remedy is to flush those salts out of the root zone by thorough, repeated watering. Deep, steady irrigation helps leach the excess salts down through the soil so the roots can regain access to water and nutrients without the salt overload. Don’t fuel the problem with more fertilizer while it’s stressed; instead, water to dilute and remove the excess salts and let the lawn recover.

Other options don’t address the issue. Adding more fertilizer would increase the salt concentration and worsen injury, while removing and replacing the lawn or using herbicide treats symptoms unrelated to salt stress, making them unnecessary.