Plum leaves curl: what to do and how best to process them

There are several reasons why plum leaves curl. What should gardeners do in order not to be left without a crop and not to destroy a tree? First of all, they are determined with characteristic symptoms and find out what such a plant signal is associated with. Careful inspection and timely measures taken will help to avoid negative consequences.

What curling leaves look like

The appearance of swirling plum leaves depends on the cause that led to this deformation. The sheet can not only curl up into a tube, but also wrinkle, and also change color, dry out and fall off. The reasons for this may vary:

1. Twisted leaves on a young tree indicate root damage.
2. Yellowed and twisted foliage in the middle tier of an adult plum indicates a rise in the groundwater level or excessive watering.
3. Rolled green leaves signal a lack of moisture in the soil.
4. Curled leaves forming a cap at the top of the plum indicate excess nitrogen fertilizer.
5. Deficiency in phosphorus, iron, potassium, or magnesium also causes tree leaves to curl.
6. When the processes of chlorophyll production (chlorosis) are disturbed, leaf curling is also observed.
7. A fungal disease like verticillium also causes leaf curl in plum trees.
8. Twisted leaves often signal the negative impact of pests (plum aphids, elephants, leafworms, mites).

Why do plum leaves curl

Properly identifying the cause of plum leaf curl will help you quickly navigate and take action to eliminate it.

Plum Tube Roller

This pest has another name - plum elephant. Outwardly, it looks like a weevil, only very microscopic. The female insect lays her eggs on all parts of the plant, including the leaves. The larvae that appear not only eat away part of the plate near the petiole, but also fold it into a tube. Over time, such a leaf dries up and falls off.

To combat the tube-roller on plums, the Lepidocid agent is used. It can be used a week before the expected harvest, in dry and warm weather. After a day, the insects will stop their activity, and after a week they will die. To combat pipe worms on the drain, broad-spectrum insecticides are also used (for example, Fitoverm or Aktara).

Butterfly leaflet

Adult butterfly does not harm the plum, but this cannot be said about its offspring. Caterpillars are capable of destroying all green parts of a tree (from buds and leaves to buds and ovaries). They fold the leaf plate into a tube and pupate in them. If you shake the plum, the caterpillars will fall out and hang on a thin cobweb. It is recommended to deal with them in the same ways as with the tube-roller.

Plum Aphid

The danger of this pest is that it spreads very quickly. Up to 15 generations are reproduced during the growing season. It is difficult to deal with aphids even when isolated cases of damage are found. The parasite settles not only on the outside, but also on the inside of the plum leaf plate, turning it into a tube and making it difficult to process. Soot fungus often settles in habitats, blocking the plant's nutrition and clogging its pores.

Experienced gardeners recommend every spring to treat plums with Inta-Vir for prevention purposes. Also, plants with a characteristic frightening smell are planted in the garden:

• coriander;
• marigolds;
• chamomile;
• sage.

If the plum is already affected by aphids, then all the foliage is cut off and burned, and the tree itself is sprayed with insecticides containing karbofos ("Decis" or "Spark").

Unfavorable environmental conditions

The condition of plum leaves also depends on environmental factors. In particular, freezing leads to twisting and wilting of the green mass. This phenomenon is typical for regions with a changeable climate, where spring return frosts or early autumn cooling often occur. The tree should be protected with a good shelter for the winter, otherwise it may die.This is especially true for young seedlings.

A common cause of leaf curl in plums is excessive moisture or close groundwater. In this case, the green mass not only curls up, but also turns yellow en masse. If such symptoms are detected, watering the plums is stopped, and, if necessary, the tree is transplanted to a hill.

Damage to the root system

When transplanting or loosening the soil in the area of the near-stem circle, damage to the root system occurs. If plum leaves begin to curl for this reason, then it should be fed. In the spring, 20 g of urea is added to the soil.

Nutritional deficiency or excess

Inexperienced gardeners often make mistakes with plum dressings. With their excess or deficiency, the plant not only shrinks, but also turns yellow, and then the leaves fall off.The lack of nitrogen affects not only the state of the green mass, but also the growth and development of the tree itself, its shoots. But as a result of its excess, the opposite is true: greenery grows abundantly, and a cap of twisted leaves forms at the top. Flowering and fruiting is poor.

Phosphorus deficiency is manifested in the twisting of the edges of plum leaves closer to autumn. The fruits of the tree either crumble green or ripen tasteless. Leaves begin to fall prematurely. If a plant lacks potassium, it can become barren.Sheet plates in this case turn yellow at the edges and curl, then become completely yellow. Over time, they turn black, but do not fall off even with the onset of cold weather.

With a lack of magnesium and iron in the soil, the foliage on the plum turns yellow, curls down and wrinkles. Outwardly, this resembles signs of curlyness in raspberries or gooseberries. If magnesium deficiency is experienced, then adult leaves are modified, and if iron, young ones.

Chlorosis

This disease is a consequence of a violation of the production of chlorophyll in plums. The foliage first acquires a yellow color, then brown, then folds, a tube is formed, which turns black over time. The edges are starting to dry out. Gradually, the disease moves to young shoots, the top leaves of the plum are already curling.

The branches become very brittle, break easily. Contributes to the development of the disease carbonate soil. For the treatment of plums, the drug "Antichlorosin" is used, alternating it with "Hilat". Treatments are appropriate throughout the growing season.

If you neglect the treatment and let the disease take its course, over time it can affect the entire garden.

Verticillosis

Spores of this fungus tolerate winter well right in the soil. As soon as heat sets in, they penetrate the roots through the resulting cracks and wounds.The mushroom picker does not allow nutrients to move along the trunk, as a result, the foliage on the plum first turns yellow, then begins to twist upward and dies. At the initial stage of the lesion, the tree is treated with Topsin-M or Vitaros.

If the disease is running and the plum leaves are curling on the tops, the question of how to treat it is no longer relevant. It is best to uproot the plant and burn it so that the infection does not spread further. For prevention, every spring and autumn, plantings are sprayed with Previkur.

Coccomycosis

Every year this disease is becoming more widespread. It affects not only plums, but also other stone fruits, damaging shoots, leaves, fruits and flowers. The first sign of infection are small red dots on the foliage. Over time, they cover the entire plate, after which it folds into a tube.When unfolded, small pale pink pads are clearly visible - traces of spores.

Favorable conditions for the spread of a fungal disease are high humidity and wet weather. If you start the disease, then the spores are clearly visible even on the wounds and cracks in the bark. Bordeaux mixture treatments will help save the plum (3 times per season). They spray not only the tree and its trunk, but also the soil in the trunk circle.

What to do

Timely preventive measures can avoid many problems and keep trees he althy. When the first signs of the disease are detected, it is necessary to immediately take measures aimed at treating the plant and eliminating the causes of the disease.

Insect and disease control

Digging the soil in the trunk circle in late autumn helps to destroy wintering plum pests and their larvae.Once on the surface of the earth in a cold winter, pathogens and pests die. With the onset of spring heat, insects that eat the ovary actively accumulate on the branches. But to attract beneficial insects, it is recommended to plant honey plants near the plum tree.

Codling moth is caught on traps in the form of hanging cans with fermented compote or beer. In the spring, ticks that have emerged from shelters are destroyed by spraying with acaricides. Also at this time of the year, it is necessary to clean the wood from the old bark and whitewash it with a solution of lime to get rid of overwintered larvae and pests.

Rationing tree feeding and proper care

In the first year of life, the plum does not require top dressing at all. This is especially true for nitrogen fertilizers. If the plant is overfed, then by autumn it will begin to build up the root system and young shoots, as a result of which it will not survive the winter.As for organic fertilizers, they are used no more than 3 times a year.

Plum care is not only about regular watering and fertilizing. The tree needs crown shaping, weed removal, soil loosening in the trunk circle, preventive treatments. In regions with a cold climate, plants are prepared for winter, insulated and covered.

Preventive work in the garden

When spring comes and dangerous insects fly out, it is recommended to spray the plum with an infusion with a sharp aroma (for example, coniferous trees or wormwood). This will not kill the pests, but it will confuse them and force them to look for another place to stop.

Prevention of the appearance of aphids is carried out by treating plums with ash-soap infusion. To prepare it, 1 kg of ash is taken per 10 liters of boiling water, the resulting mixture is infused for 2 days, after which 100 g of soap is thrown and mixed well.Trees are sprayed with this drug every 2 weeks.

To prevent the appearance of dangerous diseases in the garden, plums are treated with insecticides 3 times a season. The first time spraying is carried out before bud break, then before flowering and before the crop begins to sing. Autumn treatment with Bordeaux mixture will help prevent the development of fungal diseases in the garden.

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