[MarkAguglia]

I'm seeing the first signs of rust fungus.

I had it BAD last year, but it was incredibly humid, rainy, and I had been watering at night.

Flash forward to this year... I've yet to irrigate, its been dry, lower humidity and its been a beautiful month. Yet, there is is again, RUST! My arch nemesis. (Ok, bentgrass is my arch nemesis) but this and clover are close behind.

I have Propiconozile that I can spray today, but I'm curious as to why I'm getting the rust fungus in the first place. Any thoughts?

 

[g-man]

It does not look like it. But there is an easy test. Go get a white damp paper towels (or something white). Rub it in the leafs blades of concern. Look at the towel, is it brown/red? If so then you have rust.

 

[MarkAguglia]

It does not look like it. But there is an easy test. Go get a white damp paper towels (or something white). Rub it in the leafs blades of concern. Look at the towel, is it brown/red? If so then you have rust.

Great idea..! I don't have enough of it to see on my shoes or mower as usual either.

I did the paper towel test. No orange.

Here's a better photo:

 

[MarkAguglia]

Any idea what it could be or what to do? I put down Milo yesterday, maybe it'll grow out? This is earlier than I planned on using a fungicide. I was thinking in 2-3 weeks from now.

 

[Tsmith]

Rust is a little different from other lawn fungus as it can occur in dry conditions and when your lawn is low on N. There are treatment options with fungicides but the best thing to do is to try and get your lawn to grow out of it.

You also want to prevent it from spreading which it does easily if you're mulch mowing or even just walking on it so if it's bad you might want to bag those areas and clean mower after each mow.

I dealt with Rust all last year too and didn't fully get rid of it until the fall.

 

[MarkAguglia]

Rust is a little different from other lawn fungus as it can occur in dry conditions and when your lawn is low on N. There are treatment options with fungicides but the best thing to do is to try and get your lawn to grow out of it.

You also want to prevent it from spreading which it does easily if you're mulch mowing or even just walking on it so if it's bad you might want to bag those areas and clean mower after each mow.

I dealt with Rust all last year too and didn't fully get rid of it until the fall.

Thanks for your input! Never knew it could grow in dry conditions. My lawn was very low on N but I dropped 1lb/N last night so it should push through. I also bag now every time (my mower cant mulch 😆) which should help.

 

[LIgrass]

Rust is a little different from other lawn fungus as it can occur in dry conditions and when your lawn is low on N. There are treatment options with fungicides but the best thing to do is to try and get your lawn to grow out of it.

You also want to prevent it from spreading which it does easily if you're mulch mowing or even just walking on it so if it's bad you might want to bag those areas and clean mower after each mow.

I dealt with Rust all last year too and didn't fully get rid of it until the fall.

+1 to this. The low amount of N you mentioned combined with little rain and spring flush coming to an end is when these slow growth diseases pop up. Along with the N boost, you could irrigate very early in the morning. Increasing ventilation & sunlight penetration if there's overgrowth near the areas also helps. I battle rust every year as well. If it comes down to needing a big box OTC fungicide, propiconazole works good, but Daconil works better from my experience.

 

[g-man]

Any idea what it could be or what to do? I put down Milo yesterday, maybe it'll grow out? This is earlier than I planned on using a fungicide. I was thinking in 2-3 weeks from now.

I would keep an eye on this area. I like to do an early am walk to look for fungus. Having a bag of the new Scott desease stuff would be a good idea too. (can you get it in NY?)

 

[MarkAguglia]

Any idea what it could be or what to do? I put down Milo yesterday, maybe it'll grow out? This is earlier than I planned on using a fungicide. I was thinking in 2-3 weeks from now.

I would keep an eye on this area. I like to do an early am walk to look for fungus. Having a bag of the new Scott desease stuff would be a good idea too. (can you get it in NY?)

Yep, I have seen it in stores. I have a bag of the other Scott's fungicide, but it doesn't treat Rust. I have the propiconozile too. I think I'll check out the new Scott's I see it has great reviews and I'll follow all the advice you guys gave. 😁

 

[MarkAguglia]

Rust is a little different from other lawn fungus as it can occur in dry conditions and when your lawn is low on N. There are treatment options with fungicides but the best thing to do is to try and get your lawn to grow out of it.

You also want to prevent it from spreading which it does easily if you're mulch mowing or even just walking on it so if it's bad you might want to bag those areas and clean mower after each mow.

I dealt with Rust all last year too and didn't fully get rid of it until the fall.

+1 to this. The low amount of N you mentioned combined with little rain and spring flush coming to an end is when these slow growth diseases pop up. Along with the N boost, you could irrigate very early in the morning. Increasing ventilation & sunlight penetration if there's overgrowth near the areas also helps. I battle rust every year as well. If it comes down to needing a big box OTC fungicide, propiconazole works good, but Daconil works better from my experience.

Propoconazole worked well for me last year when I had a real bad rust outbreak. I will look for Daconil too! Thanks for ther help. Good to rotate fungicides.