BEING I LIVE IN SOUTH LOUISIANA WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH RUST. UPSETS ME EVERY YEAR
SO THIS YEAR I BOUGHT LIQUID COPPER AND MIXED IT MYSELF KIND OF STRONG. JUST A BIT STRONGER THAN THE DIRECTIONS SAID.
MY 30 IN GROUND FIGS ARE BREAKING BUD SO I SPRAYED THE TRUNK AND EVERY BRANCH AND THE GROUND BEFORE THEY LEAF OUT IT WAS RATHER EASY WITH MY TWO GALLON PUMP SPRAYER. FROM WHAT I READ BUYING CONCENTRATED LIQUID COPPER IS THE BEST. I READ YOU CAN MIX IN POWDERED LIME BUT DIDNT ADD ANY. I AM GOING TO SPRAY AGAIN IN 2 WEEKS AND GO FROM THERE.
RICHIE FROM LOUISIANA

Keep us posted Richie. I had some rust spread through my yard last year. It sure was ugly, but the trees still made tasty fruit.

Yea it doesn't hurt the,fruit. But i really like my white ischia. It really big and loojs so nice in the beginning of the year the rust hits it and all the rest of my trees. Very upsetting to me.

Thanks for the reminder Richie. Last year rust showed up but mostly in fall

Violette de Bordeaux has probably had some of the worst sensitivity to rust where I am. I think Flanders and UCR 291-4 are coming for that crown, though.

I've used copper fungicide concentrate for the past few years and I've applied it so consistently, I'm not even sure how well it works - lol. My yard isn't exactly the kind of place where it'd be advantageous to keep a control plant. And when it comes to disease prevention, I do as I'm told.

I had rust issue last year for the first time. I sprayed each potted plant at the end season with a copper fungicide. I will probably re spray them before I put them back out just to be on the safe side. I plan on also spraying the ground where I usually keep the fig nursery.

I was wondering if anyone knew if the rust fungus lives/ hibernates in the soil? I am just wondering if its related to tomato blight, which lives in the soil and when it rains will travel up to the plant, infecting it. Has anyone tried black plastic on the soil to reduce infection (used to reduce blight)? I received a celeste fig which was highly infected and nothing I did reduced the rust. This year since, the fig is still small I disinfected the branches with 10% bleach solution which will kill the fungus but if its lurking the soil then that's another story.

Treat soil with liquid copper.

liquid copper is not a product, copper sulfate is what you probably used.  ($8.00 per lb).  it is soluble in water and is an old and effective rust preventive.  To neutralize the acidity lime is added  One formula is1-1-50   1lb copper sulfate 1 lb hydrated lime 50 gal water.  also UC Davis mix at
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7481.html  
this mix should help hold down tomato blight and was a common grape spray.  copper sulfate in a pond will kill alge and is used to kill roots in sewer pipes, I wouldn't use it as a soil drench or anything other than a spray on leaves, both sides  and branches.

http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Ag-Liquid-Copper-Fungicide/dp/B0052NL4FK

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Southern-Ag-1-Pt-Liquid-Copper-Fungicide-100048940/100599149

I hate rust.
I consider my operation organic.
Copper is slowly being kicked out of the organic family in countries in Europe, for example.

I want to harvest leaves for tea to treat my diabetes and to allow others to try the tea as well.
I can not do this if the leaves are butt ugly with rust.

BUT - I also can't spray a bunch of copper and then harvest leaves either.
Folks have been claiming copper is a safe and organic treatment for decades but it is not. Well at least it is not completely harmless.
The issue is not a simple one and soil beneficials (bacteria, microorganisms, etc.) can be easily wiped out by copper, for example.

I'm not going to climb up on my soap box on this issue one way or the other (here at least) as I'm not an expert and my level of knowledge on this subject is "mid-level" at best. 
I do know it should be of concern to anyone using copper but whether my level of concern meets other's level of action is the question.
Just please do not buy the hype that copper is a completely safe and organic way to treat rust.

But,
How safe is copper? I don't know. That's the simple answer. 

How toxic is copper?
Should you stop using it? --- I don't know. I have never used it and do not intend to ever do so.
I am concerned about the fact our government does not protect us from ingesting hundreds if not thousands of toxins and doesn't test or plan to test a very very long list of dangerous substances we are exposed to every day. Where does copper land on that list. I don't know.

So,
Please do your homework and please try not to poison your friends and family - at least not on purpose.

I pulled a bottle off the shelf at the store where I work to look at it and the active ingredient is copper octanoate (copper soap} in case anyone wants to look into it further. Here is a fact sheet.

http://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/registration/fs_PC-023306_01-Jul-97.pdf

Good points and concerns are always welcome, sometimes we take things for granted without question.

spraying a chemical on a tree to prevent rust and it works. May not be a good thing. Maybe i shell stop doing this if copper is bad for us to ingest. The cure is worst then the disease.

I spray my mango trees before the blooms open, both copper and sulfur, otherwise the fungus and mold will make the blooms fall off....limited fruit. Also, the sprays reduces the amount of black spots on the fruit. The copper and sulfur dissipate by the time of harvest. But information about these items is still welcome.

AHHH... it looks like my problem child Celeste fig still has rust (new leaves are showing signs of rust). I used almost an entire bottle of Bonfide's Copper treatment last summer :(. I have tried everything to get rid/ manage this- I guess I have learned my lesson. The only responsible thing to do now is to get rid of the thing before it infects the rest (I was hoping with summer it would be fine). Strangely enough one of the two branches shows no signs of rust (plant shaped like a V). Bye Celeste fig :(

Copper is also an essential trace element required for survival. From the little I know about it, poisoning the soil over time seems to be the bigger issue. According to some sources, copper isn't readily absorbed into the plants and fruit and can be washed off of the surface.

Just like most things, in the proper amounts, it's healthy. Over used and is toxic.

i will give it one more shot :)

Will the liquid copper fungicide burn the leaves of my figs in heat like neem oil? Or is the temperature not a factor?

I soaked my trees with it with no problems. But it was a few months ago. Spray a small area and test it. I dont think it can burn but dont want to be a cause of damaging your trees. Test it out. Great stuff.

I'm testing out 3 small trees that are in full sun. I'll know more tomorrow.