I grow several different varieties of figs and many of them have had rust before but my LSU Purple never has. It is a vigorous grower. That should help with rust because even if many of the older leaves get infected the tree can still pump out new rust free leaves. Your climate may just make rust a problem for you no matter what variety you grow. I have had success controlling rust by picking off leaves that show rust, spraying with a copper spray to prevent further spread, and by watering the ground around the tree and NOT the foliage.

Joe

Thank you Frozenjoe (I like your name by the way) for interesting info. From what I was told, LSU Purple is indeed very vigorous in Thailand too. Neighbours were amazed at how fast it grew. Of course, they never saw one before. Anyway, since it rains a lot during rainy season it's very difficult to control. Anything you spray on is washed off quickly.

I second what frozen said. My experience in South Floria (sub-tropical climate, with heavy summer rains) has been that fighting rust is a loosing battle on all my figs. I have lsu purple, but its located at a different property, 300 miles north of me in a temperate climate. That area has no rust fungus problem due to cold winters. I have a few air layers cooking on that lsu purple and will be trying it in South Florida next year. My suggestion is two fold,

1 - get a fig variety that has a heavy breba crop and a closed eye to keep bugs out, that will ripen during the dry season, you will at east enjoy some figs from your tree before the rains come and the rust problem explodes. You can consider the main crop a total loss due to rust and falling leaves. Desert King variety would be a good option.

2 - Remove your fig and plant a mango tree..

Ben