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Fruit & Orchards

Peach leaf curl

12 years ago

PLC was really bad last year and I had planned on spraying all my peach trees this year along with prunning. However, because it's been a warm winter they came out of dormancy too fast and I didn't have the time to prune and spray. I guess I'll wait to prune them next year (they are small trees) but is it too late to spray for PLC? My early peaches already have fruit the size of small marbles and the late peaches are in full flower. I already see signs in the leafs...

Also, what is good for PLC? Hopefully it's something I can find at the big box stores for convenience. Thanks!

Early peaches - 2 out of 3 has PLC:

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Late peaches in full flower:

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Sandra

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Comments (9)

fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
12 years ago
Sandra:

Sorry but it's too late to do any good spraying. Maybe PLC won't be bad this year because of dry weather. I think the rule of thumb may be Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Super Bowl. This year the Super Bowl may have been too late. The last spray needs to be just as the buds start to swell.
Sandra Tran
Original Author
12 years ago
Hi fruitnut,

I think I might have read that in some post but they also talked about spraying in March so I was hoping that might have been the case. I've read that it won't kill the trees but it shortens their life span. I feel bad but will be more diligent about it next year. Thanks the reply.

Sandra
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An alternative option is to take a method from fig growers, who bundle up their trees to protect them from cold. The difference is that you can bundle up peaches to protect them from rain. I live in W. Washington and peach leaf curl is rampant. It takes using small pruned, or genetic dwarf, peach trees like Ponderosa (Or is it Bonanza?) or Honey Babe or Garden Gold (My varieties). I bundle up the branches with twine, each major branch being one bundle. Then I cover each bundle with a white plastic trash bag "sheath" and tie that in place as well. Keeping the rain off the buds, prevents peach leaf curl spores from getting into the buds and growing. I've sprayed the bundles before covering with copper spray but not sure if it's necessary. The bundling needs to be done in November. Then in February, I remove the trash bags and unbundle. I watch for when buds begin to swell, then remove the bags. This technique changed my peach loss from almost 100% to an overabundance of peaches. Only a few leaves were infected wtih leaf curl. I also did this with a Tri-lite peachplum, which is not genetic dwarf but is small. It worked for that as well. I plan to keep it pruned small so that the bundling is reasonably easy.
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mamuang, Do your trees get sprayed every year,even though they don't get it?I read somewhere that young trees are affected more and some can "outgrow" the disease as they mature.I'm not sure if this is accurate. "I've heard it rains every day in Seattle WA." olpea,that just isn't true.I can remember one day last year,I think it was in July,that there wasn't any precipitation.Just kidding,but March this year could have been the wettest on record.Now that I'm talking about rain,yeah,it happened today. Thanks again for the posts.It gives a bigger picture of where this is happening. Brady
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I am dealing with this problem on a newish peach as well. I have been searching the internet (which is how I found this thread). I read on one of the university sites that some of the resistant cultivars need to be sprayed for the first couple of years until they are established, at which time they can fight off infection. So really infection at this stage doesn't necessarily mean your tree is doomed. Depending on the variety, it may be able to fight once it gets comfortable in its new setting. It also may be affected every year. I see Jean's point, but I think she was a bit heavy-handed about it. For myself, I am hoping to find something less toxic than copper and Bordeaux mixture that will help my tree along until it can cope better. Good luck to you! Ellie
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It would help, probably a lot, but might not be as fool proof as PLC control. I've never had it in west Texas because it's so dry. But we don't have dew much and it dries off fast when we do. If there is little inoclulum for the bees to carry around and the trees aren't infected to start with, I'd bet on your plan working.
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wildforager
12 years ago
I've been battling PLC for a few years. Now I'm grafting over my peach with a couple varieties of plums and pluots. I'm also on the look out for peaches that are said to be resistant to PLC like.....

-John Muir
-Oregon Curl Free
-Avalon Pride
-Autumn Rose
-Indian Free
-Q-1-8
-Charlotte
-Kreibich Nectarine

Hope this is helpful.
hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
12 years ago
Nope, March is way too late for us to spray for PLC. Fruitnut is closer to the mark. We refer to it as the "holiday" spraying for PLC: Thanksgiving (you'll still have leaves on your trees no doubt), Christmas and Valentine's Day. But this year, it was too late to do a February 14th spray since we had a bit of a warm up and generally mild winter, so I only got two sprayings in this year. But, we've had a much, much drier winter this year than the last 3 years, so I think we'll be okay. I just had one of our local orchard specialists over today, and he was in the same boat as me. So, don't feel so badly :-)

Patty S.
Sandra Tran
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks Little John and Patty,

I guess I should have done better research on my peaches before selecting them. The worst infected are the Earligrande and Tropic Snow but I've read somewhere that Flordaprince is a magnet for PLC. Last year all these plus the Red Barons and Babcock got it bad until I figured out what it was. I'm setting a reminder for those days for next year's spray. Thanks!

Sandra
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
12 years ago
A copper spray up to the buds showing color will get good control, unfortunately you are well past that point. Do what you can to support the tree having to replace the foliage, two years in a row weakens the tree. Al
olpea
12 years ago
Sandra,

Based on the first photo, you'll need to thin the fruit more. This is especially true when a tree has peach leaf curl. A good portion of your foliage will be lost, so it won't have near enough foliage to support all that fruit.

Your peach tree has too much fruit even for a healthy tree.
hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
12 years ago
For us here in "PLC Country", just about no peach or related variety can escape PLC, Sandra. It's just our bugaboo. We have this unique environmental combination in the late winter/early spring of mild humidity from the ocean or winter rains, with just the correct cooler temps that promote PLC. Same reason why we struggle here with rose fungal issues - mildew, rust and black spot. Just the perfect storm of humidity, air temps, and the fungal spores that are impossible to kill. Could be worse things to deal with, though!!

Patty S.

Here is a link that might be useful: UC IPM: Peach Leaf Curl
Sandra Tran
Original Author
12 years ago
Yes, I still need to thin the fruits. Everything just happened so fast this year, from the flowers to the fruit... Last year I did thin them about 60 to 70%, twice and still had over 30lbs of fruit. I just need to catch up. Next year I'll be prepared!

Thanks everyone. I always appreciate the help and guidance from this forum. Have a great day!

Sandra

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