Curly leaf refers to the common diseases of many agricultural plants and trees. Peach was no exception and, being prone to this ailment, can lose a very significant part of the fruit. It is wrong to consider that this is only an aesthetically noticeable peach disease - curly leaves cause damage to shoots that are deformed, and can lead to the death of a tree, not to mention the loss in yield. In this regard, at the first signs of a fruit tree disease, treatment measures must be taken.
How is the disease manifested and what is dangerous
Provokes curly voice-activated fungus in early spring. This usually occurs in conditions of high humidity and low temperature. Just at this time, the tree opens its buds, and the spores become active and start the process of developing diseases that a peach cannot resist. Curliness of the leaves, the fight with which should be waged already in the early stages, is eliminated precisely by destroying the fungus. If appropriate measures are not taken, the infection affects all leaf buds against the background of marsupial sporulation of the fungus.
The development of the disease begins with the fact that the leaves turn pale, after which they change their color to a reddish color. From this moment, curliness of peach leaves begins. Treatment should be started at the first symptoms, but with gentle means. If you start the disease, then the curl will hit the shoots, and eventually become ovary. Peach fruits harden, lose their taste and become inedible. If you do not fight the disease for several years, then in addition to losing the crop, you can lose the whole tree that will die.
Removal of affected leaves
It’s not easy to cope with curly hair, but if you approach the fight against fungus comprehensively, the result is likely to be positive. Pruning and subsequent burning of the affected leaves and shoots is one of the primary means to defeat the curl of peach leaves. Treatment in this way is usually carried out in May, at a time when the signs of the disease are most pronounced. Experienced gardeners also practice several-stage removal for greater efficiency. For example, the first pruning may take place during the growing season when flowering has ended. The repeated procedure is performed until the spores of the fungal infection are dispersed.
How to spray from curly
One of the most effective means of combating tree diseases is still spraying. It is important to consider during which period the peach was infected. Curly leaves, the fight against which is carried out after flowering, requires the use of tank biological products. These include trichodermin, planriz and pentaphage. Also at this time, fungicides and copper oxychloride can be used . Before budding, the same means are used, as well as copper sulfate, milk of lime and urea. When the leaf fall has departed, it is necessary to spray the tree and soil in the zone of the ram circle - that is, where the fallen foliage lies. In this case, it is possible to treat with the listed means, but without fungicides.
Bordeaux mixture treatment
Lately, protection against kinkiness has been increasingly provided with a 3% Bordeaux mixture. It is immediately worth noting that this method has a serious minus: increased phytotoxicity, which, however, eliminates the curly nature of peach leaves. Treatment with a Bordeaux mixture is accompanied by a delay in the tree's entry into the fruiting period and affects low productivity. In addition, treatment with such a preparation increases the copper content in peach leaves. Moreover, the availability of heavy metal will increase as the shoots grow.
Despite all the negative factors, there are obvious advantages from using a Bordeaux mixture. If in the fight against other diseases its effectiveness may not justify itself against the background of negative factors, then the curly hair of peach leaves, the treatment of which is carried out regularly with this agent, will definitely give a beneficial result. This option is advisable especially in the fight against infection, which developed over several years.
Clay processing
If Bordeaux mixture for processing is rather recommended as a specialized means of combating the disease, then clay is a traditional folk remedy. It is used in the composition with lime and acts as an effective adhesive. But not only this property of the substance is important - clay also works as an adsorbent, not to mention the presence of a number of nutrients in the composition. Among them are silicon, aluminum, sulfur and other components that can defeat the curl of peach leaves. Treatment with folk remedies in the form of clay with lime improves the biological and physico-chemical characteristics of peach, at the same time nourishing the tree and mineral elements.
If it is not possible to use clay together with milk of lime, then the option of using the former in its pure form is not excluded. In this case, the fungicidal effect will be less pronounced, but the phytocidal properties will manifest themselves quite effectively, eliminating peach disease. Curliness of the leaves is most easily eliminated by the clay-lime mixture in the optimal consistency, which provides a neutral effect. For this, the ratio of clay to milk of lime should be 4: 1.
Modern curls
It happens that the action of clay-lime mortar does not help, and the use of Bordeaux mixture is excluded due to its negative factors in relation to a particular plant. So the question arises of how to treat a peach from curly leaves with minimal harm to the tree itself. The answer lies in the new generation of drugs, among which is speed, chorus is made. They can be used one at a time, in a complex or alternately. In addition, an addition in the form of a clay-lime mortar can significantly extend the effect of the same done. According to experts, such drugs provide 98 percent biological effectiveness in the treatment of curly leaves.