Peach curl: how to treat and what to do, methods of struggle and processing

Peach leaf curl is the main symptom of a viral-infectious disease of plants, leading, due to untimely treatment, to a decrease in yield and death of these cultivated plantations. Therefore, knowledge about the factors in the development of this most dangerous disease and methods of dealing with it can help not only stop the pathology itself, but also prevent secondary infection of the culture.

What is this disease

A common disease - peach curl - is caused by the fungus Taphrina, the Taphrin order, penetrating the structure of the tree through buds and cracks in the shoots.Often this fungus affects annual and biennial sprouts with young leaves located on them, in the age period from 5 to 8 days. Infection of peach leaves aged two weeks and older does not occur or occurs, but is extremely rare.

Immune varieties

It is impossible to guarantee one hundred percent that one or another type of peach will not be infected by the described fungus.

However, it's still worth trying, and choosing a variety with the best resistance to this most dangerous disease. Moreover, there are varieties of peach in the form of varieties of Early Kuban, Juicy, Favorita Morettini, Memory of Rodionov, Redhaven, Early Kyiv, Saturn, September Yellow, which are not amenable to infection from the fungus.

Causes and factors of manifestation of the disease

At the initial stage of the disease, the lower surface of young leaves is covered with a whitish coating formed by marsupial sporulation of this fungus.

The causative agent of the described disease in the form of budding ascospores spends its wintering between bud scales or in cracks in the bark of trees. And weather favorable for the fungus with rains, dampness and coolness provokes its development and further infection of the tree. That is why the arrival of spring can contribute to a new outbreak of the disease.

Signs of tree infection

Curl in the described culture initially manifests itself in the form of greenish swellings on the leaf plate, which subsequently turn red and darken. The tissues of the leaflets thicken, and due to their underdevelopment and uneven growth, they twist. Infected leaves, covered with a so-called wax coating, turn black over time, dry and die.

Tree branches are also exposed to infection, manifested as:

• gum education;
• shoot deformations;
• visible yellowness;
• drying out.

After the foliage dies, the ovaries also die.

What is the danger of the disease

In advanced cases, with the defeat of the fungus described, against the background of the loss of ovaries and shoots, the tree slows down its growth. Peach fruits lose their taste and become unusable.

The winter hardiness of the culture is falling. In winter, the affected shoots die, the tree becomes susceptible to frost, and then, during the fruiting period, it stops producing crops.

Without treatment, literally after a few years, the infected peach crop dies.

Terms of treatment procedures

Processing trees from infestations and pests should be done at least 4 times to ensure crop protection and high yields.

Peach culture must be processed in the spring, in stages, in compliance with the timing of the treatment procedures:

• early spring - late February, early March;
• in the spring - in the second decade of March, until the moment of formation and blooming of the kidneys;
• in the midst of spring at the beginning of April, before buds begin to emerge;
• early May, just after flowering.

Also, processing is carried out in the field of falling leaves.

This sequence of procedures will help prevent infection and increase resistance to disease.

Treatment methods

It is difficult to save a culture that has fallen ill with curl, but thanks to the methods of complex treatment it is possible. However, this should be done in stages, following the advice of experts.

Removal of infected foliage

The process of pruning with further burning of infected foliage and shoots is the most important and integral method of combating the fungal disease in the form of curl.

Such actions must be carried out in the days of May, at the time of the manifestation of obvious signs of the described disease. Based on the opinions of knowledgeable gardeners, it is necessary to remove the affected parts of the tree, for greater efficiency, in stages.

For example, the first pruning can be done during the growing season, after flowering. Secondarily, the procedure is to be carried out before the spores of the described fungus begin to spread.

Spraying

Another, no less important, way to combat peach leaf curl is the spraying method.

It is necessary to spray the peach tree, strictly following the attached instructions, as well as in calm and not rainy weather, to prevent washing off the products used for processing.

As a preventive measure, spraying is carried out in the spring-autumn period and after the growing season.

Treatments

It is necessary to treat a fungal disease in a complex way, using biological, chemical and folk remedies.

Next generation products

To combat fungal pathology, the latest tools are used, the development of which was based on viruses, bacteria and even toxins, whose inhibitory effect, during experiments, had a negative effect on pests and garden diseases.

Similar new generation products include:

• Planriz is a biological product for the protection against fungal and bacterial diseases, used to treat the root area of the culture in a ratio of 330 milliliters per bucket of water;
• Trichodermin - a remedy with a depressing effect and the ability to develop some resistance to re-infection with the fungus.

Important! The use of the above-described means used to treat fruit trees from a fungus must be started armed with special respiratory masks, and only if the recommendations given in the attached annotation are followed.

Folk recipes

Often, experienced gardeners use folk remedies to resist infection in the form, for example:

1. Infusion of tobacco, prepared from one kilogram of tobacco mixture and filled with 5 liters of water. The remedy is insisted for three days, and then diluted with water in proportions of 1: 2. Sprayed immediately and, to consolidate the effect, again after half a month.
2. Mixed components - slaked lime, clay and water in the ratio of 90 grams / 350 grams / 10 liters. Infected trees are treated immediately after the solution is prepared.

Clay application

Clay (350 grams) mixed in water (10 liters) and mixed with lime (90 grams) is a classic folk remedy. The resulting homogeneous emulsion is the so-called adsorbent and a means of nourishing the tree with minerals.

Modern chemicals

Processing with chemicals is carried out in the spring at all stages, but with some alternation, since such drugs are addictive. The main chemicals that have proven themselves on the positive side include:

1. Copper sulphate, which suppresses peach curl and other diseases. Processing is carried out in the spring with copper sulphate mixed with water in proportions of 300 grams / 5 liters.
2. Skor - fast-acting fungicide; diluted with water in a ratio of 2 milliliters / 8 liters of water.

Treatment with Bordeaux liquid

Regular treatment with 3% Bordeaux liquid, with a disease in the form of peach leaf curl, almost always gives a positive result. But it is more expedient to use the remedy in the fight against curly hair, which has been lasting for more than a year.

How to prevent reinfection

Prevention of re-infection involves agrotechnical measures aimed at pruning and destruction of infected parts of the tree, as well as spraying in the spring-autumn period before and after the growing season.

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