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August 14, 2012

Turf rust

- by Debra Anchors

Turf Rust / Grass Rust
Does a walk on your lawn turn your feet and pant cuffs dusty orange?  Is the grass yellow-brown, thin, and declining?  A disease called rust may be devouring your lawn.  This fungal pathogen steals nutrients from the plants, causing them to lose vigor and even die.





Airborne rust spores are easy to see when stuck to humans and pets.  Occurring in mid- to late summer, infected leaf blades and stems show yellow, orange, or brown spore-producing blisters.


Although not a human health threat, rust weakens a lawn, making it more susceptible to even worse pests such as grubs and chinch bugs.

Unlike most other plant diseases, rust likes dry weather.  Water lawns early in the day and allow time to dry overnight.  Fertilize to promote strong active growth, and over-seed with rust-tolerant grass varieties such as Kentucky blue grass or perennial rye grass.  Rust can usually be managed; only in extreme cases are fungicides needed.

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-Debra

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3 comments:

  1. Yes i am having the same issue. Please write a post that how to get rid of it. would like to see the detailed method.

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  2. Interesting, never heard of lawn rust... is there any particular area in the US where it is more prevalent?

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  3. Very interesting read. I have never had the issue of lawn rust before, or have never heard of it. However, this might be due to the fact that my lawn is all turf. The turf I got was from a place called Easylawn and they are very reliable.

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