My brother has it. And he says there's really nothing you can do about it.
What is it? What causes it? And is there anything that can be done about it?

TOM KAN PA said:

My brother has it. And he says there's really nothing you can do about it.
What is it? What causes it? And is there anything that can be done about it?

It's a fungus, doesn't overwinter well in very cold climates, and the best
solution is to fertilize the grass and keep it growing vigorously.

I haven't had it in my lawn until this year, when the 'restoration' after the
street paving involved bringing in really poor, sandy dirt with a thin layer
of weird, black crusty 'top soil' and then hydroseeding. One patch of cooler
than normal, moist summer weather and whammo! the new grass had this
disease. Mow the infected area separately from the rest of the lawn, wash off
your shoes and mower afterward, and apply a slow-release organic fertilizer
on the rust infected area.

We are so dissapointed with the 'restoration' that the township has not signed
off on the project and we are not yet being billed for the paving project.

See the following selection from the MSU extension service:
http://www.ipm.msu.edu/CAT03_land/L08-08-03.htm#5

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

My brother has it. And he says there's really nothing you can do about it.
What is it? What causes it? And is there anything that can be done about it?

Rust on grass is a result of stress, usually associated with drought or very
hot weather. Rust spores exist normally in turfgrass but only become active
under certain conditions. There is really no treatment for it other than to
make sure your lawn is as healthy as possible (good cultural practices such as
mowing at the right height, aeration, fertilization, etc.) and reseeding with
rust-resistant varieties.
sed5555

On 29 Aug 2003 12:34:06 GMT, c (TOM KAN PA) wrote:

My brother has it. And he says there's really nothing you can do about it.
What is it? What causes it? And is there anything that can be done about it?



Fungus diseases are nearly impossbile to control once started. I
neglected to use preventative measures on my roses and all got black
spot. I cut down the roses half way to allow more air circulation.
The following spring I regularly applied funginex to the roses and
giant grasses and have no rust, despite all the wet and rainy days. I
tried the baking soda sprays, but I found them not very effective and
they leave ugly white residue on the plants. When you trim plants use
clean sharp tools.

c (TOM KAN PA) wrote in message ...
My brother has it. And he says there's really nothing you can do about it.
What is it? What causes it? And is there anything that can be done about it?

Well you have to wash your sneakers more often to get the color out---
Its a fungus.
During seasons where the temp and moisture are just right and the
grass grows long into the weeks where it would be dormant (cool season
grasses) is when you see rust. A light feeding helps get things back
to normal as it seems to attack turf that has run low on nutrients. I
have never seen rust kill a lawn .