Causes of peach leaf curl and methods of dealing with it

Peach

Peach trees are very delicate and vulnerable. They are susceptible to many diseases. One of the most common is peach leaf curl. This disease is caused by a fungal infection. Without prompt treatment, it spreads rapidly, leading to foliage loss and crop failure. Effective disease control measures include prompt treatment of peaches with folk remedies or chemicals. Prevention of infection and protection of plants from re-infection are also important.

Description of the disease and its danger

Leaf curl is a very common condition on peach trees. It is caused by the fungus Taphrina saccata. The pathogen penetrates tree tissue through buds and cracks in the bark. The fungus most often affects seedlings aged one to two years. The disease causes deformation of young foliage aged five to eight days. Leaves that survive two weeks are not affected.

The Taphrina fungus attacks many varieties of peach trees. Therefore, it is impossible to guarantee that a given plant will be completely immune to the disease. Experienced gardeners cultivate varieties with increased resistance to the pathogen. These include:

Morettini's favorite;
Juicy;
Early Kuban;
Kyiv early;
Redhaven;
In memory of Rodionov;
September yellow;
Saturn.

Left untreated, infected trees lose fruit and young shoots. The tree stops growing. The fruit loses its flavor and is unfit for consumption. Infected plants lose their winter hardiness. Their shoots die from frost. With the arrival of spring, trees that survived the winter stop bearing fruit. Without treatment, infected specimens die within a few years. An infected plant appears in the photo below.

Note!

In addition to peaches, the Taphrina fungus affects nectarines, apricots, and almonds.

Causes of infection

The pathogen's spores remain viable over winter, remaining under tree bark. They also live on diseased leaves and shoots or under bud scales. With the onset of spring, when the air warms to 10°C, the spores germinate, forming mycelium. The disease actively develops simultaneously with bud break and leaf unfolding. The pathogen first attacks young leaf blades. Then it infects developing shoots and buds. Fruit is least affected by the disease. With the onset of summer, when the air warms above 26°C and leaf blades become rougher, the likelihood of infection decreases.

Signs of the disease

You can recognize an infected tree by the following symptoms:

young leaf blades become curved and wavy;
the elasticity of the leaves decreases, they become fragile and brittle;
on mature foliage, swellings appear, gradually changing color from green to red;
due to a disruption of photosynthesis, the leaves dry out and fall off;
when the infection spreads strongly, the branches become completely exposed;
After the foliage is affected, the infection spreads to the ovaries;
the fruits do not ripen;
thickenings and curvatures appear on the shoots;
infected trees stop growing;
frost resistance of plants decreases;
7-10 days after the first signs appear, a dirty-white waxy coating consisting of fungal spores forms on the back of the leaf blades.

Peach leaf curl control measures

To protect trees and achieve a high yield, spraying is repeated multiple times. At least four treatments against peach leaf curl are required, in several stages:

in the last days of February or in the first ten days of March;
in mid-March before the sap begins to flow;
in early April before the buds appear;
in the first ten days of May after flowering has ended.

Additionally, the plant should be treated in the fall after the leaves have fallen. Repeated spraying prevents reinfection and makes the plant more resistant to the disease.

Trees infected with leaf curl are difficult to cure. Comprehensive control methods are required to combat the pathogen. Proper, step-by-step treatment increases the chances of successful treatment. To protect trees from further spread of the fungus and ensure treatment, all infected leaves are cut off and destroyed. For safety, they are burned. This stage of treatment is performed in May, when signs of the disease are clearly visible. The first treatment is performed after flowering has completed. Re-infected plant parts are destroyed after 7-10 days, before spores begin to form.

Preparations for processing peaches

Various medicinal approaches are suitable for treating fungal infections. A comprehensive approach, combining chemical and traditional remedies, as well as agricultural techniques, is particularly effective.

Folk remedies

At the initial stage of the disease, peach trees can be treated with safe home remedies. Spraying with a clay-lime solution produces good results. Prepare the solution immediately before use. Dissolve 350 g of pre-soaked clay and 90 g of slaked lime in 10 liters of warm water. Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are dissolved.

Note!

In addition to treating leaf curl, clay-lime solution is useful for saturating plant tissues with aluminum, silicon, and calcium.

Tobacco infusion is also used to prevent leaf curl. It is prepared from 1 kg of pre-crushed tobacco leaves. The mixture is poured into 5 liters of clean water and left to steep for 72 hours. The infusion is then filtered and mixed with clean water in a 1:2 ratio. The trees are sprayed with the resulting liquid twice, 7 days apart.

Chemicals

For plants that have been re-infested, more effective treatments are needed. Traditional treatments are ineffective in this case. Spraying is done with the chemicals "Skor" or "Horus." The solution is prepared strictly according to the instructions, diluting 2 g of the product in 10 liters of water. A 1% Bordeaux mixture solution or 0.4% copper oxychloride is also effective. Infected trees are sprayed twice, with a 15-day interval between treatments.

At the first sign of infection, biological fungicides can be used. These products destroy the pathogen without harming plants or the environment. Pentafag is effective. It is mixed with water at a ratio of 100 g of the product per 10 liters of liquid. If necessary, multiple treatments can be carried out at any interval. Biological products can be used during the fruiting phase, when chemical spraying is prohibited.

The following products effectively destroy fungal infections:

Trichodermin;
Planriz;
Guapsin.

Agrotechnical techniques

To ensure proper development and fruiting, peach trees should be planted with crop rotation in mind. Strawberries, nightshades, and melons are poor precursors. Before planting, the area should be cleared of weeds. Weeding around the tree trunks is also carried out regularly, eliminating the environment conducive to fungal growth. Weeds often harbor insects that spread fungal spores.

When caring for peach trees, follow watering guidelines. Excessively wet soil is a breeding ground for fungal infections. Also, regularly perform pruning To shape the crown and remove damaged branches. A dense crown restricts air flow and increases humidity, facilitating the spread of infection.

Plant restoration

To speed up the recovery of peach trees, they are provided with additional nutrients. To achieve this, the plants are regularly fed with mineral complexes and organic matter. In the fall, the seedlings are covered to protect them from winter cold. With the arrival of spring, damaged areas are pruned:

if some of the fruit buds freeze and the rest of the plant tissue is completely preserved, only the branches that do not have inflorescences are removed;
If fruit buds are damaged or branches are frostbitten, remove vertically directed shoots up to four-year-old wood and thin out the crown;
If the main branches are frozen, pruning is carried out in the summer after the green shoots have grown.

Prevention

When planting peach seedlings, choose sites with low soil moisture and good sunlight. In such areas, the likelihood of leaf curl is reduced. Preventive work begins in the fall, after temperatures drop to 5°C. Infected plants are pruned and the crowns are treated with a copper sulfate solution. A sulfur-lime solution can also be used instead of copper. The area around the trunk is cleared of plant debris, and the soil is loosened. Any branches and foliage remaining after pruning are burned.

Important!

In the spring, preventative maintenance begins in March in southern regions. In more northern areas, treatment is postponed until April.

In spring, the tree is treated with a 1% copper sulfate solution. Repeat spraying is performed after 7-10 days. Bordeaux mixture diluted with water to a 3% concentration is used in the same manner.

The best protection for peach trees against leaf curl is proper preventative treatment. This disease spreads quickly and destroys a large portion of the crop, so controlling it requires effort. However, with the proper use of chemicals and natural remedies, plants can be saved.