Any idea what's up with this peach tree?

[carutama-kinara]

I dropped this guy in the ground last year, then I took off and came back a few weeks ago. The other fruit trees I planted seem happy but this one is having a tough go of it. Looks like fungus, but I'm no expert.

Can anyone offer a diagnosis or possible treatment?

[Claire]

Peach leaf curl or peach curl.

Could it look more disgusting? When I see the horrid pinkish version after a good rain, um, it looks as alien as anything I've ever seen.
The prevention I know of is to spray sulfur (really? that's how you spell it?) before it blooms.
I cannot do this as I am allergic to sulphur (I thought that's how to spell it) after living by vineyards, not that it was ever pleasant. uugh.

This is what I remember: Clean up the leaves so you are not reinoculating the soil for next year.
If you have any fruit at all count yourself fortunate. (I do and I do.)
Your main goal at this time is to help the tree make food (photosynthesis of course. we all know this) by growing more leaves.
So that means Nitrogen -- easy! Fish Emulsion, Alfalfa , the Grow type fertilizer.. .. what else..

That's what I know about this fungus. Can someone tell us what to use besides freegin Brimstone??
Is there something lighter you can use after the blossom period? You know, when you realize that it's suddenly too late, your tree is flowering, and you didn't find a single person to con into applying your hey-it's-natural fungicide.
Is it ok to spray that near your winter veggies and flowers meant for the pollinators? Although there isn't as much going on in the garden then. The bees are normally working the mustard and rosemary.
Should I worry about the high acidity level, do you think?
What are the best sources of Nitrogen for a beautiful peach tree?
Any horticultural expertise here would be appreciated.
thank you

I love the drawing of James' Giant Peach tree. It's a classic shape. You see it all the time.

Peaches are so amazing (talk about a Divine Plan!-- you know, for dessert).

[davidwhite]

That is peach curl. It affects cherries, peaches, nectarines (maybe plums, also..I'm not sure)

The bark of the tree keeps the infection, so in the winter you treat the bark (after the leaves fall off) with sulphur (there are other treatments, you can check for one you feel good about). Do not treat it in the summer, you'll kill the tree. I did.

Good Luck!

David

[Tofu Larry]

Another alleged cure for Peace Leaf Curl, after removing and discarding the infected leaves (do not compost), is to spray the tree with either kelp meal or fish emulsion. These also work as a fertilizer and are beneficial for all trees & veggies.
Tofu Larry

That is peach curl. It affects cherries, peaches, nectarines (maybe plums, also..I'm not sure)

The bark of the tree keeps the infection, so in the winter you treat the bark (after the leaves fall off) with sulphur (there are other treatments, you can check for one you feel good about). Do not treat it in the summer, you'll kill the tree. I did.

Good Luck!

David

[davidwhite]

Oh, yeah! Get those leaves away from the tree, they will reinfect the tree. Perhaps they even need to be destroyed more thoroughly. The Public Library has plenty of useful books concerning trees and tree care, catalog is here: https://catalog.sonomalibrary.org/ip...ile=dial#focus

Good Luck!

David

[carutama-kinara]

thanks guys! keep you updated on my progress.. though that may take a while if i have to wait till fall to treat the tree..

[Claire]

thanks guys! keep you updated on my progress.. though that may take a while if i have to wait till fall to treat the tree..

You have to wait until winter. The tree needs to have lost its leaves and be dormant.
Also, if you wait until March and the buds have swollen already, the cakey sulphur spray can glue them shut and the flower buds just fall off.
They say it's best to do it at least twice in the winter season.
yeah right.

[Esther Shain]

Don't forget to spray copper on your peach (and nectarine) trees in the winter.

[Claire]

Don't forget to spray copper on your peach (and nectarine) trees in the winter.

Ok. Copper instead of Sulphur? Or in addition? Do I have to worry about the plants underneath getting copper on them?

[Esther Shain]

We spray the copper while the trees are still dormant or when nubs start bulging on the branches. We don't usually use sulfur on peaches until much later in the season (April or May). It won't hurt the other plants.

[nicofrog]

Leaf curl is said to be benefited by spraying with
Compost Extract Brew
I am currently making large quantities of this in Green valley
and experimentally applying it to a young peach with leaf curl

I sell it to commercial users for $ 5,00 a gallon(at Harmony,an inferior product is $10.00)
the infusion I aerate for 12 hour in a flow-form system contains
this brew is particularly good if you are using commercial soil mixes,or gardening in newly prepared "dirt" that you would like more "Humic" activity in.
Contents
aged Worm Compost-damp
Mychorrhyzal Compost (damp)
Glacial Mineral powder
Kelp meal
Fish Hydrosylate
bug powder

This infusion is a plant and soil bio-dynamic pro-biotic
It is harmless to plants in any quantity,and can be thinned to the hundreds and still be useful,like yogurt for humans.

call me at 684 0341
look up Ian Davidson, Elaine Ingram or www.biologicsystemsusa.com
to find out more about the science behind these assertions

by the way the less perlite and vermiculite your soils have,the more worms you will have.

[carutama-kinara]

thanks nico, i have been curious about treating the tree with something more natural. copper sulfates certainly don't sound that friendly, not friendly to invasive spores, nor to everything else, keep me posted on your progress, I'd love to hear how your what kind of results you get with your mixture. :)

[Esther Shain]

Nico, that is awesome. And very economical.
Yes the copper is "organic", but it's pricey at Harmony and we go through a lot of it.
I love your ingredients, especially if it work on this leaf curl which we get every year.
Although I should mention that sometimes we forget to spray. Sometimes it effects the
fruit but sometimes it doesn't seem to bother it at all.

[WolfCub]

Hello, I have had an interesting experience with "peach curl" that I figured I might as well share as it might be an alternative to spraying sulfur. We have a small peach tree in our back yard that spontaneously started showing signs of peach curl. It was fine last year. The tree is to the right of our compost pile and the left of our small garden. We have been building our compost for about a year and it is finally making wonderfully black rich soil. Our garden is small but producing abundance on a rich bed of sheet multching. In other words the peach tree is now existing between super nutrient dense moist soil. About a month ago the tree spontaneously started sprouting large fresh healthy leaves. The peach curl leaves are now quite diminished and are hardly noticeable amongst the mass of healthy leaves. My guess is all the tree needed was a dose of nutrients and possibly water. Before you spray your tree with sulfur consider building up the soil around the tree. You might be surprised the healing that occurs.
Good Luck!!

[Claire]

Remember this thread from last year?
If you haven't done anything to prevent this horrid fungus, you should do it soon. Peach buds are swelling.
A few trees have popped a blossom or two.
There's nothing like a good peach!

[WolfCub]

yes, i remember; and my peach tree is looking vibrant and healthy. the cure seemed to be a healthy buildup of sheet mulching and the nutrients from a compost pile that lays near by. after our veggie garden starting thriving (likely in correlation to our sheet mulching decomposing) and our compost pile started heating up and and producing black soil our peach tree seemed to spontaneously heal itself. looks like all it needed was nutrients. nice and easy! my suggestion to anyone with a tree suffering from peach curl is to build up a sheet mulching pile around the base of tree...or farther out depending on where the roots tend to spread to. its an inexpensive and non-toxic alternative to sulfur.

Remember this thread from last year?
If you haven't done anything to prevent this horrid fungus, you should do it soon. Peach buds are swelling.
A few trees have popped a blossom or two.
There's nothing like a good peach!

[Claire]

... my peach tree is looking vibrant and healthy. the cure seemed to be a healthy buildup of sheet mulching and the nutrients from a compost pile that lays near by. its an inexpensive and non-toxic alternative to sulfur.

hi WolfCub,
The real test will be after the the leaves come out and we have rain. Most trees with peach curl will drop the affected leaves and grow back nice, new ones but it takes vitality from the plant to produce the new foliage.
I will be very interested to hear if your tree was resistant to the fungus later this spring, so keep us posted, ok?