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Peach Tree issue #869893

Asked May 24, 2024, 9:35 AM EDT

Hi, I have a peach tree that I planted 2 years ago. It was looking super healthy -great bloom this year, lots of growth and tons of leaves. Then I went away for a week and when I returned on Wednesday night the tree had some sort of disease. All or almost all of the leaves are curled up. My mom, who used to run an orchard, suggested it was X disease but she didn't know of a treatment for it. Any thoughts on what this might be and how to treat? - Jessie Price

Chittenden County Vermont

Expert Response

Hello Jessica,

Thank you for your question to the Master Gardener Extension. Since you didn’t upload any photos, I am going to share some information with you about X-Disease and some other common Peach diseases here in VT.

X-Disease is not common but is a serious disease that not only affects peach trees but nectarine and cherry trees and is caused by a bacterial pathogen. This article from Cornell shows some good closeup pictures about how the leaves start to turn red. https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.cornell.edu/dist/0/7265/files/2017/01/peachx-14hi03p.pdf

This pdf has some good information and images about X- disease. Notice the hosts and the pest cycle. At the end of the article, they list some integrated pest management strategies to try.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/ipm/uploads/files/StoneFruitIPM_X-diseaseinpeaches18.pdf

You mentioned that the leaves were curled up so a suggestion is that it might be Peach Leaf Curl. Peach Leaf Curl is a fungal disease that happens in the spring when there is a chance of cool wet weather for a few days. Notice the disease triangle towards the bottom. If your peach tree has PLC it is possible that it will survive. PLC is caused by a fungus, Taphrina deformans, which can affect “a few other plants in the Prunus genus” according to Joe Boggs. (https://bygl.osu.edu/node/754) Notice the disease triangle towards the bottom of the article. The next link has some information on how to deal with PLC.

https://bygl.osu.edu/node/1895

Finally, here is a pdf from Michigan University with common peach ailments and techniques for how to mitigate them. https://www.canr.msu.edu/ipm/uploads/files/StoneFruit-FactSheets-WEB-F My suggestion is that you look at your tree and compare it to the pictures in the links that I have shared. Different plant diseases have completely different methods of treatment. I am sorry that your young tree is having problems, but If you are able to send some pictures, we might be able to figure out exactly what it is. Thank you again for reaching out to us with your question.


Lisa Burg, UVM Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Replied May 26, 2024, 8:25 PM EDT

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