Managing Leaf Curl

By Anne McNamara

LEAF CURL: This occurs on stone fruit, especially peach and nectarine trees. Leaf curl does affect the tree’s fruit if left untreated.

To deter leaf curl:

1. You can start spraying in Autumn when the leaves start falling from your peach or nectarine trees.

2. It’s best if you spray your fruit trees ONCE A MONTH through Winter with a copper-based spray. I found Yates Leaf curl powder worked well.

3. Add the copper-based powder to a litre of water and mix well in a spray bottle or attach a sprayer to an old drink bottle. This amount will cover a small to medium tree. A larger tree may need a second mixture to cover.

4. Spray your trees until they are drenched to the point of run off and make sure you get that spray into all the nooks and crannies of the tree. It’s recommended to put down an old sheet or similar over the ground to avoid the run off getting into the soil.

5. Stop spraying at bud burst in Spring.

I sprayed my peach tree last year doing the above and my peach tree didn’t have any leaf curl this year and I’m repeating this spraying regime this year.