Do you recall any of your fig varieties having noticeably smoother and glossier leaves than normal?  The thought being that smooth and glossy leaves should shed rain better and help with fig rust.

Hmmm that makes sense! Interesting fact.

Some varieties do have a fuzzy feeling leaf, such as Hardy Chicago, while others have smooth shiny leaves.  I have not studied the differences in water repelling though.

My native black has fuzzy hard leaves which get rust for example. It gets rust. Smith has smooth leaves it also gets rust. My findings are the trees that get more shade from sun have noticeable less rust. I have 28 in ground trees planted

What is rust? Is it curable?

Rust is a common fungal disease of figs in rainy areas.  It doesn't kill the plants, but it does weaken them through leaf loss.  Some people pick off all the infected leaves, or spray with anti-fungals approved for other fruit trees, but most people I think just put up with it, since there isn't a decent cure yet.  Since I'm starting to hybridize figs, and I get a lot of rain, I'll be selecting heavily for seedlings that are naturally more resistant.  Plants over time usually develop many defenses against things that attack them, some physical, some chemical.

 

More info,
http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonlyres/3CB47A0E-BCBD-4802-B05A-B60386A052AA/71575/pub3159FigRustHIGHRES.pdf
http://lyra.ifas.ufl.edu/LyraServlet?command=getNewsletter&oid=6070518&path=0.10&countyID=liberty.ifas.ufl.edu

In my opinion, White Marseille has very glossy and smooth leaves.
White Marseille might be the same as Lattarula or Peters Honey. Try and have a look at the leaves from these varieties.

Thanks, I'll check it out.