Dead or Dormant Lawn

 I have a Bermuda lawn that was sodded a year ago.  I live in Alabama and
large parts of the lawn are brown.  I tried to conserve water and maybe I
overdid it.  I have an irrigation system and have recently been putting down
and inch a week for the last two weeks.  However, I don't see the lawn
greening up.  I used Scott's Turfbuilder a week ago.  How can I tell if the
lawn is dead or dormant?  Should I keep watering an inch a week?  Any
suggestions?

 

Your lawn isn't dormant.  Bermuda should have been fully green a month or
more ago.  It is always possible that your lawn has a disease (brown patch
comes to mind) Do you have a county extension agent you can call to look at
the lawn?

What kind of fertilization (if any) did you do late last fall (say September
or later)?  Also, what kind of herbicides have you put down since last fall?

 When was it sodded? Also what time frame was between the sod being put down
and any pesticides being applied.
How is the root system, can you pick up any sod?

 It was sodded around the first quarter of 2005.  I put down a pesticide a
couple of weeks ago.  You can't pick up the sod as it grew well until a
couple of months ago when noticed the browning of large parts of the lawn.
I ascribed it to a lack of water as it has been very dry here.  I am now
watering three times a week with about 1/2 inch each time for the last two
weeks.  I can't see any improvement yet.  I would like to know if the brown
spots are dead down to the roots, or if the roots are still good and the
lawn will survive.

 What pesticide did you apply to your lawn?
Without seeing your lawn I can't say, perhaps have a local lawn care company
come and look or post a picture to the internet.