This disease occurs only in peaches and is caused by the fungus Taphrina deformans. If it is not controlled, after a few years the leaves of infected trees become smaller and smaller, there are fewer fruits from season to season, and the bark peels off and falls off. The trunk may crack. Flowers die and fall off earlier. Fruit symptoms are very rare and imperceptible. The tree is sensitive to low temperatures and other infections.
Paralysis symptoms
The first symptoms appear at the end of spring.The leaves are twisted, the blade is distended and brittle. The affected leaves develop a delicate gray-white coating composed of bags with fungal spores. The spores are released from the bags, e.g. during rain, they stick to the shoots and scales of the buds and remain there until the next growing season. In early spring, the developing leaves become infected and the cycle repeats itself.
Prevention
Protection of peaches against this disease requires careful observation of trees and nature. The main mistake is to overlook the phase of bud swelling, because when the first leaves appear, infection occurs and then it is too late for any chemical treatments. Spraying should be carried out during the leafless period of the tree, i.e. in the fall and early spring (from leaf fall to the stage of bud swelling). Early spring treatments can be performed even in February, if the temperature exceeds 5 ° C.
Chemical preparations
From the list of plant protection products registered against peach leaf curl, the most commonly used are: Miedzian 50 WP, Miedzian 50 WG, Miedzian Extra 350 S.C., Pomarsol Forte 80 WG and Syllit 65 WP. Copper fungicides are best dosed in the fall, while the remaining ones just before bud break. The treatment must be performed very carefully. The solution of the liquid should cover the tree from the base of the trunk to the tips of individual twigs.
