Peach leaf curl on nectarine - Ask Extension
This is the third year. Last year I did a thorough spraying schedule which did not seem to help much. Tried to remove a many leaves in fall as possibl...
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Peach leaf curl on nectarine #865073
Asked April 19, 2024, 9:00 AM EDT
This is the third year. Last year I did a thorough spraying schedule which did not seem to help much. Tried to remove a many leaves in fall as possible. Was unable to do much this year yet. I noticed tree almost had no blossoms. Also on the developing leaves I already see it upcoming. I removed some of them manually. I also found the following interesting article online: https://acmg.ucanr.edu/Over_the_Fence/Peach_Leaf_Curl__No_Cause_for_Concern_If_You_Know_How_to_Treat_It/
How would this schedule translate to SE Michigan?
Anything else I can still do at this point to help tree recover?
Any sprays etc need to be organic as I'm verified and want to keep it up.
Thank you!
Oakland County Michigan
Expert Response
Fungicides targeting the leaf curl fungus need to be applied at or before bud swell. The fungus overwinters on the bud scales and by the time the leaves are pushing out of the buds, it is too late to prevent infection. There are copper-based fungicides approved for use in organic production that are effective against peach leaf curl. This article from Penn State has some good information if you would like to learn more about peach leaf curl: https://extension.psu.edu/peach-leaf-curl-in-the-home-fruit-planting
Thank you.
What I also meant to ask about, how does the suggested spraying schedule from the alameda county extension translate to zone 6b? If I want to try this, am I also supposed to spray before Thanksgiving and Valentine's day as they mention there or rather at a later point in the season? Thank you.
I would not rely so much on calendar dates to time your fungicide sprays for peach leaf curl. You can spray anytime in the fall after the leaves have dropped. Alternatively, you can spray in the spring before the buds have opened.
Thank you.
Will do rhat.
2 more things came up mean while 1.i noticed 2 of my Apple trees that had nice amount of blossom and fruit last year thia year one has very little and one has even zero. That was an unexpected surprise. Is it true that some trees only bear every other year?! Or could it be anything else - just what? Nothing really changed from last year. They are in the same location etc
2. One of my cherry tree (sweet/black cherry) now had a lot of blossoms. And I see little green fruit developing. But it seems to have minor almost no leaves on some branches which seems to be strange too. What could that be?Please submit your new questions as separate new Ask Extension questions so that we can route them to the right experts and get your answers in the most timely manner possible.
